[PRESS ASSOCIATION.] CARGO PILLAGING

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 119, 20 May 1912, Page 3

[PRESS ASSOCIATION.] CARGO PILLAGING

TO BE TREATED AS A HEINOUS | OFFENCE. AUCKLAND, 19th May. •Remarks made by Mr. Justice Edwarde at the Supreme Court to-d£»y indicate that, in future, cargo pillaging in any shape or form is to be treated as a very heinous offence, and persons against whom this class of offence has been proved have little chance of expecting leniency. / Amongst the prisoners who came up for sentence was a young man named Tod M'Cully, who had been found guilty on a charge of stealing cargo from one of the Auckland wharves. - Mi". Skelton, who appeared on behalf of the prisoner, said that he was sensible to remarks that had recently been made in tho Supreme Court regarding this class of offence, but in the present case the theft had been of a somewhat trivial nature. Accused had stolen, tinned meat and milk, valued at about seven shillings, and one would almost think that the case couldi have been dealt with in the Lower Court. The prisoner had been in gaol for twelve weeks, and had only been married twelve ! months before he committed the offence, j The wife had been compelled to go out working. It had to be admitted that the man had previously been on probation for twelve months on. a charge of theft, but since then he had made an attempt to rehabilitate himself. The only excuse which the prisoner had for the present offence was that he had been drinking. He (Mr. Skelton) would respectfully- request His Honour to extend leniency. j His Honour (with emphasis) : "Conneel must not come here and dictate to me. It is quite useless." Tho Judge then went on to remark that it had been publicly notified, not more than three or four months ago, that offences of this class would not be dealt with by means of probation. He had then stated, and he again stated, that it had become a scandalous disgrace to this country that these thefts were constantly being perpetrated on the wharves and in connection with shipping. It wa» absolutely necessary that those who were engaged in pursuitfc which gave th«m facilities to commit crimes of this sort should be taught that any conviction would be followed by puniehment. He deeply sympathised with, the unfortunate young woman who had married prisoner, but •were he to allow such consideration* to ■weigh with, him ho would have to 'set at liberty nine people out of ten who came before him. Prisoner would be sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labour. Another prisoner, Richard Waring, who was represented by Mr. J. It. Reed, came up for sentence on three charges of theft from a vessel. Mr. Reed pleaded that nothing -was previously known against accused. His Honour: He has only been in the Dominion nine months, bo he hasn't wasted much time. The Hon. J. A. Tole, Crown Prosecutor, remarked that prisoner, -who was a waterside worker, had stolen goods to the value of £30. His Honour caid that it must be distinctly understood that any person who was convicted on charges such as the present one could not hope to be set at liberty without undergoing a term of punishment. His Honour sentenced accused to eighteen months' imprisonment on. each, charge, the sentences to be mnctzrrent.