DUNEDIN DOINGS.

NZ Truth, Issue 145, 28 March 1908, Page 7

DUNEDIN DOINGS.

BOODLE AND THE BENCH.

What a Title is Worth.

There is a lot of piffle talked and Written about this being God's Own * Country, the most democratic community known, the country where , all men are equal, where the working classes are emancipated, • and a great deal ■of other rubbish wherewith wily politicians secure votes. All this notwithstanding, New Zea-? landers are as ready t?o gi?ovel : : to ay : title, and the blatant wealth of -, Don Fat as are the so-called ■ ignorant r and unenlightened classes of the old world. A good instance of thi» occurred m the Police Court the other day. Sir James Mills has already had happy jJmenituJn m these columns. He is Dunedin's beautiful new baronet, and the silly, grovelsome people^ of that dead town still go into ecstacies over his smug, well-groomed person when they get him m public places. The Police Court proved no exception. Sir Jimmy sports an enormous motor-car, and Sir Jimmy's chauffeur seems to be eternally runmag the smell'M thing up and down .the main streets. Sir Jim was charged before Beak Widdawson the j other day with failing to keep as ■ •near as practicable to the left side of Princes-street. Lawyer Lemon said the baronet pleaded not gmlty. He had ordered Ms driver, when opposite the Naffeional Bank, to, cross over to the Ra-ttray-street car, but \yhen h.e got. there he found it .. .was "Ihe •High-street car}, one block furT ther down, -that he wanted. The lordly James did not think it was worth while to cross -hack to the ripht" side of the street for one block, and. the DRIVER CLAPPED ON SPEED, and ran down to High-street on the wrong side m the busiest part of Princes-street. He nearly ran down a pieman and a constable, 'and these --two worthies' attended m force and much indignation to give evidence. Sir James and Ms driver were also present to testify to the harmlessness of. their action, and linger the of Lawyer Orange, said that their speed was slow and . the street empty. It was obvious that fcfejaere had been at least a technical breach, but his Worship Widdowson practically . upheld the plea of the. Mefence and dismissed the case. Yet 'eilris same Wuship is famous for registering convictions m. by-l«w cases, and heaping up costs against small shopkeepers and struggling, expressmen, a Ad. no-account persons- of that ilk.' Even when it has been shown that the breach was the result of accident, or circumstances over .which Ttbe defendant had no control, Beak Widdowson had seldom failed to find fof the prosecutor, and the man charged has simply to pay and hear it. But because the Mills geableihan has steamers and a 'motor car and a -handle quite as good as the Premier's and because his daughters - and the ■daughters of the Beak drink afternoon tea together and help to -constitute the. select aristocracy of Dunedjn, it would never have ' done;*-, to hj^ye finbd him a common, fine in? /an ordinary Police Court, doni't y' know. Had he been a mere' clerk whose bicycle lamp wouldn't burn it .would have been 10s and costs, and damn little time to pay it m, too. But Sir James* Mills ! Oh, dear, no !