A NIGHT OUT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 998, 30 May 1911, Page 4

A NIGHT OUT.

Mr Jesse Reeves, head commonkeeper of Putney and Wimbledon Commons, applied at the SouthWestern London Police Court on April 2nd for process against the drivers of three vehicles who, he said, drove in the early hours of Monday morning last a number of Suffragettes to a secluded spot on the common. The women, he said, arrived at a quarter to two in the morning, and remained till halfpast seven. The Magistrate: Why were they there ? Mr Reeves: To evade the census, I believe. Attached to the vehicles were placards bearing the words: “If we don’t count, we shall not be counted.” He explained that some of the women passed the night in the waggons, while others stood about. The Magistrate : What is the offence you complain of ? —Driving across the turf of the common. The Magistrate: Would you have had any objection if they had been anti-Suffragettes, or do you object to the ladies in their Suffragette capacity ? Mr Reeves assured the Magistrate his only object was to enforce obedience to the by-laws. The horses, he said, were removed from the shafts and housed at a stable. The Magistrate: Did you see the ladies arrive ? —No. As I have said, they arrived in the dead of night. Mr Reeves was allowed to take his summonses, but expressed the opinion that the ladies would be more responsible, as the drivers were evidently acting under directions.