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Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 3, 27 March 1914, Page 2

Any waather, aooordiig t:> the EXCUSES. f"' 3rica " lady ’ is better than none, and according to several of the territorials who appeared before the Stipendiary Magistrate last. Friday, any excuse is better than silence, even when those excuses are frivolous and disingenuous to a degree. The futility of the reasons given caused hi - Worship to smile and remark that the Runtly youths were not tho m ost ing minus ho had met, they and that evidently took him for a very innocent and simple person. To one young man who had not received a uniform, and who objected to drill in his Sunclothes in a shed with an jearthen floor, Mr Rawson was not sympathetic, and told the defaulter that when the enemy appeared he would not have time to run home and change into his Sun lay clothes, so that lie hail better attend his parades and learn to shoot straight. The time of another was so taken, up in attending to the duties of the various tennis, football and other clubs with which he was connected, that ho had no time to devote (to military drill. The magistrate did not appear to think that tennis was an aid to markinanship, f >r ho advised the club-man to learn to shoot. A third was engaged in business sisters “ night out ”, and, on that account, could not answer the the call to arms. Again the S.M. was unsympathetic, bis advice being that he ought really to get his sister to exchange her Friday night for another that would not interfere with regimental work. The attitude of his Worship was, perhaps, the.reason why others, after pleading guilty, remained stolidly silent, or answered with the briefest monosyllables. It {was all the same, however, for penalties with court costs were inflicted in each cases.