THREE WEEKS' GAOL

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 143, 18 June 1937, Page 15

THREE WEEKS' GAOL

DRUNK IN CHARGE

TWO YEARS' SUSPENSION

"The public Interest transcends my sympathy for your weakness," said Mr. J, H. Luxford, S.M-. in the Magistrate's Court today when sentencing Peter Robert B.utton Chadwick, agod 27,.t0 ai days' imprisonment with hard labour, and suspending his licence until May 31,1939, for being intoxicated on June 13 while in charge of a car,

Sub-Inspector C. E, Roach, who prosecuted, said that at'3.3o a-m. on June 13 Constable Shepherd, who was on duty at the Basin Reserve, saw a car being driven up Ellice Street at a fairly high speed and in an erratic manner, He engaged a taxi and. pursued the car through the Kilbirnie Tunnel, It was being driven in a dangerous manner, but the taxi headed It off at 40 or 45 miles per hour in Kilbirnie Crescent. The constable got; the driver out of the car and found him to be intoxicated. The windscreen of the car was smashed and the glass was in the car. The defendant said that he had left Island Bay with a companion, but had apparently lost his way to town, He said the windscreen was Intact when he left Island Bay but he did not know when Jt waa broken, The defendant had been before the Court previously, although not'on an Intoxication charge, ' Mr. C. Evans* Scott, who appeared for the defendant, said that Chadwick was deserving of sympathy as well m punishment, He came of a very good family in England but unfortunately had a weakness for drink, He had tried to break himself of the habit, and last year had taken out a prohibition order against himself without any persuasion. Within a few days, he had given in to his weakness again and had committed what was really a trivial offence. Being informed of tbe -facts, however, Mr. Mosley had convicted and ordered bim-to come up for sentence if called on within six months, ■■■_•_ Chadwick had gone to a cabaret at Island -Bay, counsel said, and had been led to take gome drinks Some time before leaving, be had restrained himself and when leaving, after considering bin position carefully, he had come to the conclusion that he was fit to drive, but he had not allowed for th" effect? of the fresh air. After he had traversed one of the most difficult pieces of the road in Wellington, near the cabaret, the JhtoxicatJon had apparently grown on hlro. The window bad probably beep broken by brushing a lamp-po«t ? when taking a lefthand turn. The. deJfendant, he submitted, had not acted with callous indifference to the general public.