Manchester was transfixed by a case being heard at the City Police court involving seances and deception carried out at a premises on Oxford Road.

Mrs Edith Hunter had been arrested under the Vagrancy act charged with unlawfully pretending to tell fortunes to deceive.She carried out seances where the spirits of the dead and “that kind of thing went on” the court heard as well as conducting individual interviews where she would tell fortunes.

Witnesses told of paying for her services and spirits of dead ancestors being evoked.In her defense she told the court that she had a Nona guide belief in what she was doing and her solicitor told the court that people of the highest repute in the country believe that there is a great deal in it.

The defendant was fined five shillings .

Manchester was under blackout conditions for the first time that evening.The streets were said the Evening news less busy than usual, even though a bright moon mitigated much of the darkness.There was a collision between  two tramcars on Oxford Street.The chief constable had issued a special warning against anyone driving more than ten miles an hits after dark.

An foreign alien who lived alone on Bury New Road was found dead in his house after afire.The seventy one year old Samuel Kronhyan had been born in Germany and was a tailor who had gone under the name of Crown .He had lived alone in the house for over six years and would not let anyone in.The owner of the house had attempted to give him notice to leave several times,the last just before Xmas.

 After the fire, the house was found to be in a filthy condition, the floors covered in paper, several inches thick along with cigarette end and tobacco tins. It was also discovered that he had papers relating to investments in government bonds worth nearly two thousand pounds.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

The Manchester Parks committee set out recommendations restricting all capital expenditure for the coming summer.A previous proposal to set up a number of extra hard tennis courts would be put on hold. The band arrangements were announced with thirty nine engaged out of the seventy five applications.

“Any citizen possessing swans or peacocks inclined to give the same to the city would find welcome recipients in the Parks committee .”

A grey cloth agent on Deansgate found himself in court on charges of trading with the enemy.William Gochwind was charged with having unlawfully coated to be bought to the Alexander Dock in Liverpool thirteen pieces of ballon cloth that we’re going to be exported to Germany for use in manufacturing Zepplins.

The case was a complicated one, the defendant was a Swiss National which was where the cloth was going to initially, the cloth according to the manufacturers could be used for various purposes and it was thus uncertain that it came under wartime regulations.

The case was adjourned for a week.

The rector of St. Michaels Angel Meadow spoke at a meeting of the Manchester and Salford District Temperance society on the need to close public houses earlier in the city.

The Rev JJ Wilson spoke of how in his parish with 900 men out of the total male population of 1500 in the forces, the  people left behind who may disturb the peace of the family unit and some have become drinkers and there was therefore a need to control drinking hours to protect the families left behind.

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