DESERTION OF SEAMEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 67, 18 March 1916, Page 9

DESERTION OF SEAMEN.

, (To the Editor.) ■ Sir, —I was. to put it mildly, surprised at the violent attack made on mc per-1 sonaUy by Mr. Malcolm McGregor in your issue of the 11th inst., on account of my letter concerning the illegal sentence of three weeks' imprisonment on a fireman by one of our local S.M.'s. As the official legal advocate for the Shipowners' Federation Mr. McGregor's intervention was not altogether unexpected, but, apart from the bad taste shown in his personalities towards mc, I would like to ask the Law Society whether it is within the bounds of pro : fessional etiquette for a solicitor and barrister practising before the local Bench to write a'column of fulsome eulogy of a stipendiary defending au utterly illegal sentence. Only a week or two ago Mr. Justice Stringer remarked in connection with a case at the Arbitration Court that "he was astonished that Mr. McGregor considered it necessary to come to the Court at all." I, too, am astoniefhed at the manner in which he has intervened now. In my fetter I mentioned no names and made no . imputations. I, j merely as a matter of public interest, and in justice to our members, called public attention to the fact that a fireman had been sentenced to three weeks' j hard latour, when the Bench had no legal right, power, warrant, or authority to gaol him for three minutes.

Mr. McGregor talks of my letter being "scurrilous." that I exposed my "stupid ignorance," that I attempted to obtain under false pretences a "cheap noto- j riety" out of the case. In fact, from start to finish the whole of his letter i is a venomous personal attack on mc. j which I can well leave alone. But Neill's case is very far-reaching. The plain facia aro that he and other firemen left the c.c. Victoria; three of them accomplished the not very difficult feat of eluding the Auckland police. Seill was caught after he had' done a" term of i I twenty-eight days by order of the I Marine Department. During this period I he was debarred from obtaining employi ment, and -when on his way to ship in j I line S-β. Talune, with a permit from the j j Marine Superintendent, he was sum-1 raarily arrested, and because he pleaded j guilty he wae not' given a chance to ring iup the union or its solicitors. The subi inspector (vide your renprt qf the case ! against Xeiil, 4/3/16) said 'lie had been J asked by the shipping company to put i before the Bench a request that someI thing should be done to impress strongly 'on defaulting eeamen the injury caused j Ito chipping companies and the commui nity generally by desertions." It is extraordinary that a shipping company should have the right to soole on the j sub-inspector conducting-*' case. I don't J know what would our union ! approached the police and asked them! j to make it light for an offender pleading i guHty. Anyhow, the S.M. gave the deI fendant three weeks' hard labour. That J was on the Saturday. On the Monday ; our solicitor applied for a re-hearing o"r ; the case, and pointed out! to the Bench ; Ohat the sentence was absolutely ultra I vim and illegal, and the S.XI. found him-1 self in the unenviable position of haying j to cancel the sentence or."face a writ o"i! (habeas corpus. Mr. McGregor says.l! have failed to shake the confidence of | the general public in one of our magis-j t/ates, but 1 doubt if the "general pub-1 J lie' , is worried much over a poor fireman I getting three weeks' hnrd labour where the maximum penalty was forfeiture of wages and effects, but even a fireman has certain rights, ami' it will probably be the General -Assembly, and not the "general puplfe?'. who will Zdecide what compensation will be made to Neill for his wrongful anct illegal'imprisonment. I must apologise " for the length of space I am asking you to allow mc, but the case is quite an exceptional | one, of which more inav be heard later j I must tbanTc Mr. .McGregor for the frea advice he has furnished us with through your columns. He agrees with the S.M. that the Shipping Act applies to tie e.B. Victoria respecting sanitary accommodation. The union has been advised tfiat Huddert-Parker's vessels aTe not subject to section 20 of the 1909 Shipping Act, and the late Hon. J. A. Millar, who piloted the measure through Parliament, was of the same opinion However, if Mr. McGregor still holds to he opinion the Seam«n'e Union will be onry too pleased to hand him a brief for a test caee next time a complaint is made about the sanitary arrangements on these vessels, and, on t-he sportin" nsk of no win no pay, we win authorise* him to fight it through to the bitter end. Meantime, Neill wae illegally and wrongfully sentenced to 21 dave hard labour, with the addition of a nauseous decouree from the Bench ■' and subinspector ac an extra punishment. The sentence, perforce, had to be annulled, but co far there has been no apology. If Mr. McGregor .would explain or %>olojpse for this accident, it might satisfy the mind of the "general public" how the pecuhanty of our New Zealand W> protected a poor fireman from such dracome intention.—l am, etc., J. K. KNEEN, ' Secretary Seamen's Union.