EXTRAORDINARY CONDUCT.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7742, 13 May 1887, Page 4

EXTRAORDINARY CONDUCT.

On the Ist March, at the Westminster Police Court, a well-dressed defendant, ' who stated that his name was LieutenantColonel Philip Diekson, of Lansdowrv road, Bedford, was charged with wilfully breaking a lauip-at the Houses of Parliament., A police-constable said that on the previous night he saw the accuse i ■wilfully" tbrow~ something i>t a lamp in Palace-yard. - The glass of the lamp was smashed. Colonel Dickso'n, in reply to the" magistrate, said ho wished to poirft out that the laws passed by the Governmerit'imd Parliament, which were effective again§t>he humble and poor, were openly trodden/ on .arid ignored by the rich and , influential. The laws of Parliament .' which ruled poor people were powerless againstfthejieh. The magistrate : What ■ dpiyou say to this charge ? The defend,ant.':. L-- served, sir, throughout, the Crimeafi war, and was never absent from dhfyT and ..V have been treated with tils' greatest illegality by His Koyal Highness .the Duke of Cambridge, who 'kept, me' under arrest thuieeu ,or / fourteen months when it was ordered that no officer should he kept under, arrest more than eight days, or until such' time as a court-martial could assemble. The Marquis of Bipon promised me redress ■within a j ear, and having trusted to that 1 promise 1 found that I lost the right to appeal, which must be made within six months. By trusting to the Marquis of Bipon I have. been made an outlaw for many years. The magistrate: I think your mind niust be affected. The defendant:; Not a bit of it, sir. Mcns sunain eorjtare sano I still enjoy, thank God. You may; think it was an extraordinary thing to do, but I maintain that I have as much right to commit an illegal act as His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge. The magistrate: I must fine you 10s, and the damage, 2s. Will you pay the money? The defendant: I will tike a little time to th'nk. about it, sir. The magistrate : In default seven days. The defendant : Oh, yes ; I know a little about law. (A laugh.) The ihio was paid immediately.