TRAFFIC BLOCKED

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 263, 2 August 1929, Page 8

TRAFFIC BLOCKED

RESULT OF MANNEQUIN PARADE On May 29, Lewis’s, Ladies’ Outfitters, Manners Street, decided to stage a mannequin parade in their shop window. This parade attracted the attention of many people, and also of inspectors of the traffic department, who wanted to know what was the cause of the traffic being blocked. Investigations were made, and the firm was charged in the Magistrate's Court yesterday with causing persons to congregate in the street so as to impede traffic. In outlining the facta, Mr. J. Lockio Assistant City Solicitor, said that when the parade was staged, the inevitable crowd gathered, with the result that traffic was blocked. It finally required a cordon of traffic inspectors and police to move the crowd away. Victor Nicholas, a traffic inspector, described the density of the crowd, and said that he had inquired who was staging the mannequin parade. Mr. W. E. Leicester (for Lewiss): There was nothing indecent about the display was there? —“No.” Mr. Leicester: Th re were just some young ladies putti various costumes in the window? —‘“Yes.” Mr. Leicester: The crowd gathered thick at one stage, didn’t it? —“Yes.” There were other inspectors there too, weren’t there? —“Yes.” , Mr. Leicester then explained that his instructions were that, although the parade did attract a certain number of people, what, really attracted the crowd was the array of inspectors and constables. He understood that at one period there were six traffic inspectors and four constables there, and added that the public, seeing the array of uniforms, apparently thought, that there had been a murder, or expected the riot act to lie read at any moment. Counsel contended that defendants had not committed a breach of the by-laws, as he was making reasonable use of his premises. The Magistrate (Mr. T. B. McNeil), reserved his decision.