AMUSING ARRESTS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1181, 18 September 1882, Page 2

AMUSING ARRESTS.

Sergeant Ballantyne, in his reminiscences of a barrister, tells the follow ing interesting story : — " One night late — it might be early in the morning — I was in Piccadilly, and attracted by a gathering of people, I came upon a policeman struggling with a drunken powerful woman. She had either fallen or been thrown down, and he had fallen upon her. There were expressions of indignation being uttered by persons around, and a row seemed

imminent I touched the officer lightly ' upon the shoulder, saying : ' Why do ! you not spring your rattle ? You will i hurt the woman.* He jumped up and j seizing me by the collar, said, ' I take ! you into custody for obstructing me in the execution of my duty.' I remained perfectly passive, and in the meanwhile another constable came up and had seized the woman, whom he was handling very roughly. At this moment Sir Alexander Cockburn, then Attorney-General, who was returning from the House of Commons, appeared upon the scene and seeing a woman, as he thought, ill-used, remonstrated in indignant language with the officer, upon which the constable who had hold of me stretched out his other aim — whether reaching Sir Alexander or not I could not see, ' I arrest you also.' A rrest me, ' exclaimed the astonished At-torney-General, '^wliat for ?' ' Oil,' said . my captor, 'for many things. You are well known to the police.' I cannot surmise what might have become of us. Possibly we should have spent the night in company with the very objectionable female on whose behalf we had interfered. Some people, however fortunately recognised us and wo were released. I took the numbers of the officers, and, being determined to see the end of the affair went next day to the Court where the charge ought to have been made, and heard that the woman had effected her escape, which, considering . J had left her in charge of half-a-dozen officers and that she was very drunk, was a remarkable feat.