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Otago Witness, Issue 4057, 15 December 1931, Page 26

The aversion of Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., of Christchurch, to the use of slang m the court was well illustrated recently. On several occasions he pleaded ignorance of the meaning of expressions used bv witnesses. " I was cleaning up the joint and found the bottles.” said one defendant. "Joint?” echoed Mr Mosley. " Joint of beef, joint ot meat, or “ The place, you know, amended defendant. The puzzled look left Mr Mosley s face and gave place to a smile. Again a little later the same defendant made another slip, but corrected himself just as Mr Moslev was about to intervene. “I was caught in a pub, under age,’ he said. “ I mean an hotel.” A woman witness found that the expression nicking apples.” conveyed nothing to the Bench. “Nicking?” repeated Mr Mosley several times. " Yes, stealing, you know, came the explanation. An unusual mishap occurred to Captain M’Gregor, of Hamilton, the wellknown aviator, while stunting over Pahiatua. He had just done two loops and a turn at 3000 feet and started on a downward spin when interested spectators below him saw a shower of dark objects fall from the aeroplane. The lid had flown off his tool box and its contents, spanners, a grease gun, a helmet, rope and tarpaulin had fallen out. The objects came to earth in gardens and on the roofs of houses all over the north end of the town, and a telephone wire in Main street was severed by a falling spanner. Captain M’Gregor was on hie way to the air display at Palmerston North and spent the night at Pahiatua.