Welsh Newspapers

Search 15 million Welsh newspaper articles

Hide Articles List

9 articles on this Page

.1, HILARITY AT LLANGOLLEN.…

News
Cite
Share

1, HILARITY AT LLANGOLLEN. MADE FUN WITH THE BUS. POLICE COURT SEQUEL. POI,.ICB COURT SEQUEL. A charge brought against Mr. S. R. John- ten, proprietor of the Royal Hotel, LJan- folleri, of having permitted drunkenness on his licensed premises, created considerable local interest at Llangollen Petty Sessions on Tuesday, the magistrates on the Bench being Messrs. E. Lloyd Edwards, R. Darlington, A. Edwards, E. n. Parry, and C. B. Storey. De- fendant, who was represented by Mr. A. Graham, Oxford Circuit (instructed by Mr. E. Foulkes Jones, Llangollen) pleaded "not guilty. D.C.C. Tippett said that a party of non- commissioned officers came to the hotel about 6 p.m. on July 21. He understood that they had a good deal of amusement and, when they turned out of the hotel, the allegation was that some of them were drunk. P.S. J. H. Jones said that he was in Castle- street at 5 o'clock on the date named, and saw a number of soldiers enter the Royal Hotel. He was on duty on the Dee bridge from 5 to 7, there being a great num- ber of people about, and. he could see the men in the tea room at the Royal through the windows. After visiting othed places, he walked round to Bridge-street a few minutes after nine, and when he arrived there he saw a number of military men, some of whom ap- peared to be drunk, and they were pulling the omnibus about. There would be about 30 of the men in all, and eight or nine of them were properly" drunk. Two soldiers fdl down in the street, their caps being off and their tunics open. P.C. Thomas told them to get away and not disgrace themselves, and when they got into the brakes they threw up their caps, shouted and behaved most disgracefully. There were only two policemen in the town, and it took them all their time to look after it. He subsequently communicated, with the military authorities.—Cross-examined by Mr. j Graham: He had heard that the party hád I held sports on the Recreation Ground, but he did not see jfchem.—Have you ever been a young man? asked Mr. Graham. Witness re- plied, "I feel young now. "—Have you ever played games and, had a day's out? Not many since I was a policeman.—You know when a party of young men go out for a day there is always a certain amount of noise? Yes; en- joying themselves, as they should do.—And there is always a good deal of horseplay ? Not at th. times, they were dancing, and fell down.—You have seen ladies fall in the ball- room? Yes; but these were strong men.- Did, you see the men come out of the Royal? Yes; some of them.—You know that some of them were elsewhere about the town, and that their central meeting place was the Royal? Yes.—Can you swear that any of the drunken men came out of the Royal? All those wlw were drunk came out.—Why did not you corff- plain to some of the military sergeants in char,-e'? They were there to look after them. —I am asking a plain quaction. Why did not you call the attention of the man in charge of the squad of non-commissioned officers to the fact that some of them were drunk? I did not wish to interfere with their enjoyment, and I thought it was their duty to look after themselves.—If you had complained 'it would have been possible for the matter to have been investigated; now we are all in the dark, and you cannot name any man? I do, not know their- nomes.-You did. not bring the matter to the notice of the officer in charge at the time you allow it to-go on for a fort- night, and afterwards you say that some men, whom you cannot name, were drunk. I can- not see why you should, not have called the attention of someone in charge at the time to the state of the men. Would that not have been fair ? It would; why did not the military act ?- Y ou have preferred a charge, and I ask what would have been the effect of your speaking to the men? I did not think it- would be right.Why? The sergt,-major might have caused trouble.—But if you had. done this at the time we should have had an opportunity of investigating? I reported to the Deputy Chief Constable, whose instructions I have taken. — It appears that you never saw Mr-. Johnson? I saw him from a distance. P.C. Lewis Thomas said that on July 21 he was in Castle-street, and saw a party of sol- diers coming out of the Royal Hotel at nine o'clock. Some were drunk and some were sober. He spoke to the sergeant in charge, and told him to leave the bus alone. Some of the men were pulling the shafts and some were trying to get on top; and he told them not to disgrace themselves and try and get away more quietly, and he replied Mind your own busi- ness." He had no doubt at all that the men- were drunk, and when they would not leave the bus alone he told them not to disgrace themselves. Mr. Hawthorne, licensee of the Bull Hotel, said he was passing the Royal Hotel at the time and date named, and saw some men who I might be taken to be dorunk. He might say that it was very distasteful for him to be there that day as a witness. They were having a! bit of fun with the bus, and appeared to be fooling with it.. Percy Clarke, 10, Bridge-street, said he was In the neighbourhood of the Royal Hotel on July 21, and there saw a crowd of soldiers who had been to Llangollea for a picnic and were about to start back. One or two of them appeared to be a bit merry; and he might de- Scribe two or three of them as being drunk.— In reply to a question by Mr. Graham as to whether they were different from other young men, larking and pulling the bus about and flaying with each other, witness said they were not. This was the case for the prosecution and, at the outset, Mr. Graham, after alluding to the high character of the defendant, Mr. Johnson, who is 70 years of age, and has held, a licence for 47 years, during which time there had never- been a conviction against him- said that, in his opinion, this was a case thttt might very well have- been left alone. WhaJj evidence was there before them of any sort or description that Mr. Johnson permitted drunk- enness? Neither of the police nw the wit- neases were on the premises; and no one saw M ftiagte pint of beer sold. The only aridennn there was of drunkenness was that it took place outside the Royal Hotel, and before they could convict the magistrates must be satis- fied, first that Mr. Johnson knew of the drink being supplied to men who were drunk, and, secondly, that he had the power to prevent it. Upon this point, he asked them to comment before he called any evidence, adding that there kWas really no case before the bench upon which they could convict Mr. Johnson of having permitted drunkenness. f. I The Chairman, having intimated that the Bench had decided, to hear the case, Mr. ¡ Graham dwelt upon the fact that, after allow- ing three weeks to elapse and that the police at the time did not call the attention of the sergeant in charge to the fact that a lot of his men were drunk, this charge was sprung upon them, and he had never hear(I in any police court of a man being charged with drunkenness without the man so charged ¡ being identified. Sergt. F. C. Savage said that all of the 35 men who came on the picnic were picked men, and there was no drunkenness whatever. He had been a member of the Salford police force for eleven years and knew what drunkenness was. He was senior sergeant in charge, and had there been any drunkenness he would cer- tainly have reported it to his commanding 'I officer on the first opportunity. Sergt. F. Barrett who, before joining up, had. been 7i years in the Manchester City police said there was no one drunk on the occasi?n, and P.C. Thomas, accosting him, said You are having a jolly good time," and certainly he never told him to mind his own* I business. Sergt.-Major J. W. Marshall corroborated, and defend-ant said he certainly say nobody drunk, and was attending to business inside the house when the alleged horseplay occurred. After retiring, the Bench dismissed the case against Mr. Johnson, which, they said, they considered the police justified in bringing for- ward.

IWREXHAM COUNTYI ISESSIONS.I

' -ACREFAIR.I

[No title]

EAST DENBIGHSHIRE -APPEAL…

Travelled without a Ticket.

WREXHAM.

[No title]

EAST DENBIGHSHIRE -APPEAL…