The Whole Circus

NZ Truth, Issue 1141, 13 October 1927, Page 5

The Whole Circus

"Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold, "And the mate "of the Nancy Brig, "And a bosun tight and a midshipmite, "And the crew of the captain's gig." CO wrote that inimitable balladist, H W. S. Gilbert, many years ago, long before the fame of the Winterless North had been blazoned to the world. But it looks as though Alex Logan, of Kaitaia, had that hero of the "Nancy Bell" — m no way connected with Allan Bell, be it said — chasing after his unique personality m the realms of history. * Alex Logan holds the position of county solicitor for the Mangonui County. Recently he undertook the defence of Charles McKinnon when the latter was charged with wrongful conversion of a cheque. Logan was called as a witness for the Crown during the hearing of the case; at the same time he took an unofficial part m conduct- . ing the prosecution and contrived to have documentary evidence produced when and where it became convenient to the defence of his client, who was an employee of the Mangonui County Council. Something of a record!

lldlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllHllllllllllllllllllUlllllllllllllllMllllll Court, when two charges were preferred against him. One was a charge of objectionable language and the other was a charge of failing to leave licensed premises when he was requested by the proprietor to do so. Senior-Sergeant O'Grady had m hand the prosecution and related how defendant had used "language" and had pushed the proprietor of the hotel away when he had been asked to leave. Evidence was given by the proprietor and his wife, both of whom wrote out the words which they alleged had been used. Waldegrave was represented by Lawyer H. O. Cooper, who put his client m the box, so that he might tell his own story of the affair. Defendant absolutely denied telling the licensee of the hotel to "go to ." i He also denied using the other lan- : guage which it was alleged he had - used. He further denied having struck the licensee. There did not appear [ to be any argument inside the hotel, he said. His only explanation as to why Mrs. • Patterson had sluiced him with sodas water was that he mistook her husband for the hotel porter. He could think i of no other reason. He declared that he never used ' "language" m front of a lady. As a I matter of fact, he hardly ever used it at all. Certainly he did not use language I such as had been described. One of ' the words which it was said he had • used he had never uttered m his life. 1 In short, he was not that kind of man. His story was borne out oy John Henry Rickman, a well-known accountant, who resides m Palmerston. It was true that he had been talking to another man and that he was deaf m one ear, but this did i not alter the fact that he had not heard anything. In giving his decision, Magistrate ! Stout remarked that- the case for the defence was 11 complete denial. j If the story told by Waldegrave and Rickman were true, then there seemed i to be no reason why the licensee of the hotel should have complained to a constable about defendant's conduct. He thought there .was no doubt that the language had been used and on this , count he would fine defendant £5. In regard to the alternative charge ■ of refusing to leave the hotel bar when requested, he thought that defendant might be given the benefit of the doubt. This charge would be dismissed. So perhaps m future Burton Charles Waldegrave. will mind his p's and q's to better effect when he is m a hotel bar. > Particularly will this be the case . when there is a syphon of soda-water t handy — for soda-water, though good m its place, is not at all good for clothes.