“WARNING CITIZENS”

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 92, 12 January 1935, Page 21

“WARNING CITIZENS”

The Writing on the Walk

UNUSUAL COURT DEFENCE

“I merely warned citizens of Wellington against very probable invasion by the Japanese; I submit that under the by-law I was entitled to write those words on the footpath. In the same way citizens are /warned against the danger of wet paint. I was warning them against another danger ’’ With this point, together with other submissions that gave rise to many a suppressed chuckle, in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court yesterday, Miles Ormrod, who was charged with writing a notice on a city street, sought to escape the penalty. The Magistrate, Mr. W. IT. Stilwell, imposed a fine of 10/aud costs, and allowed 14 days in which to pay it. The constable who brought the charge said he saw Ormrod chalking the notice on a footpath late one night. Ormrod told him he was a member of the Anti-War and Fascist Movement, and that the movement had a permit to chalk on the footpath. No such authority bad been granted. The notice was a simple statement that a meeting was to be held in the Basin Reserve, and other similar notices had been written in other parts of the city. Ormrod himself closely cross-examin-ed the constable on the witness stand, asking him how much of the notice he had seen him write. The constable said Ormrod was half way through when he saw him. He had assed Ormrod what he was doing, and the reply was that he could see for himself. Ormrod then finished writing the notice.

Accused: At that time you were off duty. Witness: I wish I was. We are never off duty. Accused: You were not in uniform. 1 am going to suggest you were infringing on the working hours of the police force —what we call trade union hours. Are you police officers in a union? “I don’t think it is necessary to answer that question. Accused knows it all as well as I do,” interposed Mr. Stilwell. “Beware of Jjipan.” “I claim I did not write the whole of the notice,” Ormrod said to the court. “I saw it on the footpath as I was going home. I am in sympathy with the movement, like a great many other citizens, and all I did was to add to the notice ‘Beware of Japan.’ New Zealand, I am convinced, stands in imminent danger of attack from Japan. . . . In the same way citizens are warned against the danger of wet paint. . . '. On these grounds I plead not guilty.” Mr/ Stilwell pointed out that the word “notice” was among the prohibitions mentioned in the by-law. “I am satisfied that what you wrote on the footpath was a notice.” he said. .Detective-Sergeant Hall: These men are creating quite a lot of trouble about the town. Ormrod objected to this statement, saying it was not properly, relevant to the'charge against him. Mr. Stilwell upheld the objection. Detective-Sergeant Hall added that quite a number of notices had been written at that time advertising the meeting. ...

After imposing the fine Mr. Stilwell lemarked: “I want this to act as a warning to you. jThe same excuses will not prevail next time You can’t do these things, against the by-laws of the Wellington City Council”