25 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, July 11, 1972

ALMOST a year ago Mr Anthony Barber Chancellor of the Exchequer, made an announcement which started one of the biggest business bonanzas of this century. He removed all restrictions on hire purchase sales. Since that memorable date, the restriction of having to put down a 25 per cent cash deposit on a washing machine or a three-piece suite has been abolished. During the past year, thousands of people who have never been able to save up for the 25 per cent cash deposit have opened new HP accounts to the tune of millions of pounds. Throughout the country, customers who have bought goods on the 'never, never' owe the shops and finance companies the massive sum of approximately £1,800 million.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, July 11, 1947

THE father of two birched boys today sent a telegram asking the Home Secretary to order a public inquiry into the birching. The two brothers, aged 10 and 11, received at Manchester County Juvenile Court yesterday the maximum birching sentence for their years of six strokes each for breaking into a garage and stealing £3 in cash and property. The sentence was carried out later. The father said today: 'I believe it is very wrong that a ten-years-old boy would receive a maximum sentence of birching for a first offence and a boyish prank at that.'

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, July 11, 1872

AT the Borough Court this morning, two lads, named Thomas Broughton and Wm Kelly, were brought up on a charge of wilfully damaging a pigcote and wooden fence, the property of Richard Parkinson, doing damage to the amount of 5s, on Tuesday last. Complainant stated that on the day in question, he went to a stable in his garden, near to Mr Walmsley's warehouse, and found a large quantity of the bricks off a pigcote pulled down. The cote could not be made good again for a pound.

Mr Winder (magistrates' clerk): It must be a very good cote for that month. You have charged 5s in the summons.

Complainant, in answer to questions from Broughton, said: 'I have seed thee doing lumber often enough'. I reply to Kelly, he said: 'I did not say that I seed thee'.

A lad, who appeared as a witness for complainant, said that he 'never saw them do nothing'. Complainant said that the witness had been as bad as the rest, and had 'repeatedly' told him that he saw them do it. The case was dismissed.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.