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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0363.PDF
APRIL 4, 1914. By THE CAME I but of the stock of Buzfuz, I, be-wigged and be-gowned, would conduct the case for the prosecution. Rely me, I would, not on such slender evidence as chops and tomato sauce, in however unsavoury condition I might, garnished by forensic eloquence, be able to serve it. Counselistic subtlety should not wheedle from Bardells of tender years damning, though ambiguous evidence in favour of my side. Dobson and Fogg should never have undertaken a case " on spec" with more certainty of winning than I. Forcible, with all the vigour born of the certainty of conviction, would I quote Vies, and Caps.; respectfully would I refer his Lordship to Barber v. Penley, to the Pelican Club, to R. V. Moore. Hinde v. Evans should furnish me with precedent, and Article IV (2) of the Motor Cars Order should be my trump card, and clear for me a way whereby I would strike terror to the very souls of the transgressors. I was not born to " Silk," yet shall some gentleman of the Inns take up the cudgels on behalf of suffering humanity, and remove all loitering cars and pedestrian deadheads from the roads round and about Hendon, and suchlike centres of gathering. Understanding comes slowly to me why a man who can afford to run a car for his own and his friends' pleasure, should yet find it necessary when wishing to witness the flying to do so from a distance, and from the public highway, in order to save the small fee charged for admission. Should they be asked their interest in aviation, they would, I venture, reply almost to a man that it was the sport of the thing. One who is interested in sport is generally proud to be thought a sportsman, because "Sportsman " carries with it an impression of genuine straightforward fairness, and the sportsmanship of the average Englishman is known throughout the world. Yet here we have men thinking themselves sportsmen, who, knowing, as they must know, (70^3 REFLECTIONS. DREAMER. the enormous expense attached to the running of such places as aerodromes, are mean enough to take advantage of the fact that it is impossible to build the aerodrome fence right up to the sky ; to stay outside and place them selves on an equal footing with the small boy who crawls under the circus tent, and sees the show for nothing. Yes ! understanding comes slowly to me, but it is not with the nature of mankind that I have to deal; it is with that organisation which Mr. Samuel Weller was pleased to designate " A hass," but which appears likely to bray shortly, in a key which shall be heard a long way. Hendon, by reason of the great and continuous amount of flying that takes place there is a great sufferer, but they are by no means alone. Throughout the entire country, wherever there is an established aerodrome or where temporary aerodromes are used for the purpose of exhi bition flying, whether it be week-end meetings or as an addition to other shows such as flower-shows or agricul tural exhibitions, comes the same complaint, that many members of the general public stay outside the gates and see all or nearly all that there is to be seen free of charge. The general public seem to have an idea that on the King's highway they can stand, and leave their cars to their heart's content, but a little thought on the subject will show that they are amenable to law. A highway primarily exists for the use of those wishing to establish communication between distant places. The word " highway " embraces all three of the roads general in England—the carriage road, the footpath, and the bridle path; and the rights of the public consist only in the right to use these roads to pass and repass in their desire to proceed from one place to another. Stopping for a reasonable time to load or unload goods, or to take up or set down passengers, is a right, but they have no right whatever to congregate or stand about, forming units of The Albatros in flight. 363 Flight" Copyright.
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