STOLEN TWEED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 164, 13 July 1945, Page 6

STOLEN TWEED

SHIP'S FIREMEN FINED

CUSTOMS MAN'S DISCOVERY

"It is very fortunate for you men that the facts show you did not broach the cargo, otherwise you would all go to prison, but the fact remains you converted it to your own use," said Mr. J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Police Court this morning when dealing with six firemen from an overseas British ship wno pleaded euilty to stealing various numbers of yards of Harris / tweed - suiting belonging to the- Shaw, Savill and Albion Line. The value of the material stolen totalled £78. . - The accused were:—Francis Joseph Carey (19), Patrick Joseph Gaffney (21), Timothy Paul McCormick. (35>, Willianv Jones (29), Joseph Coughlm (21) and Charles Blackburn (41). .* Sub-Inspector Sparks said that, following the discovery by a Customs officer that one of the accused was leaving the wharf with a length of tweed in his possession, a search of the firemen's quarters on the vessel i revealed 12 pieces of tweed. Of 407 yards of tweed consigned to an Auckland manufacturing firm, 306 yards was found to be missing. "The story told by all accused was that the bale of tweed must have been pillaged by labourers loading the ship at a port in England." added Mr. Sparks. "They, say they found some of it .in an unlocked cupboard, Opposite",the; firemen's, quarters. The men's,.story that the 'tweed was broached at an English port is probably .correct,-as no one on the ship could have got rid of so much tweed between England and here."

The magistrate differentiated between the older and the , younger men, fining the former each £6 and the latter £4.