PETITION CANVASSER'S ZEAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 310, 25 September 1918, Page 6

PETITION CANVASSER'S ZEAL

MAGISTERIAL WARNING. In the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M., tendered some useful advice to petition canvassers who are at present busy m the city streets seeking to obtain signatures. He had before him a returned soldier named Victor-"Wilfred Flood, and it was alleged against him that lie aided in a manner calculated _ to cause interference to the pedestrian? in Manners Street. Serjeant Martin, in hie evidence, showed that the defendant was acting for a certain side in the liquor campaign He carried in his hand a petition, and was carrying out his duties vigorously when the sergeant thought fit"to interfere. . The Magistrate: Assuming that a man is prepared to simply attract attention of people in a reasonable way without causing more congestion c-r traffic than was necessary, would you interfere with him? ~,,•, Sergeant Martin: No, I don't think

the' Magistrate: Then it was not what the man was doing, but the vay ho was doing it. ' The defendant was rather agitated, and could not understand why he should he selected out of, the many petition canvassers operating m the streets. . . , . , The Magistrate: "As this is tho hi 8t case of its kind, I will treat it as an ordinary b/each of the by-law. LV fendaiit will be. fined ss. and costs. Continuing, the Magistrate said that people with these petitions should ;c----mehiher that the streets of the city could not he blocked in this way. Ihe footpaths were narrow enough as ;ney were, and people should not be interfered with by over-zealous petition canvassers. The City Council would not object to grant a permit for canvassing so long as there was no undue obstruction. Objection arose when canvassers let their zeal outdo their discretion.