War conditions invented many new crimes, such as feeding seagulls
with crumbs. Encouraged by such essays in original justice, a Birmingham Magistrate last week fined a man 10s. for reading a paper in the street, and repeating the offence after being moved on—thereby, one must assume, collecting a crowd of people who asked him for news, as they were without papers. At the same Court a newsvendor was fined 10s. for collecting a crowd by selling newspapers, " while stationary "—the inference being evidently that he should have taken gentle exercise, and drawn the crowd after him, even if thereby his sales dimin- ished. It remains now for a publisher to be fined for " printing such matter in a newspaper as might be deemed likely to collect crowds at the points of distribution." This would hit sporting papers hard.
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