PRISONERS RUN RIOT.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12482, 19 April 1906, Page 7

PRISONERS RUN RIOT.

A curious story about kotoo prisoners is told by the Taranaki "Daily News' of .Monday. On Wednesday, it state.?, a batch of ten prisoners, some of them serving long sentenoes, who were bt?i"g transferred to the tree-planting •■picnic" plantations in the thermal di~trict, were'r'hippod on the Takapuna- at Wellington for Aucklaira, via New Plymouth. One warder was sent in charge of the consignment, who wore dressed in civilian clot hen. and aliowed (the paper alleges) their freedom 10 roam the nhip. Several of the prisoners wo.ro. well drowsed, and might have been ordinary Easter holiday-makers for all tht> uninitiated could tell to the contrary. It is stated that the solitary wariior font in charge was new to the men, a. mwt untinuat proceeding. The inevitable happened, of course. Tho pri«onom, it is stated, practically took charge of the ship, penetrating tho veii-el's hold, stewards' cabins,' and tiret saloon, everywhere leaving tomo evidence of their expertneas at burglary. Passengers' or officers' luggage was overhauled, and it its also stated that cargo was broached. So hot did it become, anyhow, that the captain of the vea=el, on arriving «t New 1 lymouth on Thursday, ab-olutely re hired to take the prisoners any funher. They weie accordingly landed and accommodation was found for them in New Plymouth gaol. It was decided to forward them oil by the narawa on Saturday nii'ht. and they woro pent to the breakivatcr on the mail train. The ringl.vuler on the trip up, however, was left behind in the local gaol. Arrived ■it tho steamer, the captain was only persundod. with difficulty, to undertake the responsibility of carrying f-uch pasosj>ocially as the ship was crowded with holiday-tripper*. It was impcwiblo to put them in the hold, where they would assuredly have run riot through the cargo. Eventually they were lodged in the fore-cabin., their mnnwcles were removed, and they were tree to roam tho ship. Despite the fact that there was trouble aboard the Takapuna, the sarao warder was sent, single-handed, to guard his Charcot* aboard the Rarawa. What happened on board the Rarawa has not been ascertained.