CARGO PILLAGING.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14098, 18 July 1911, Page 3

CARGO PILLAGING.

DCJNE IN LYTTEtTON. FACJTs'.ANiDrbnNIONS.' In riow of tho disclosures mf-do, last regarding'-the* extensive, pillaging °f in Auckland, a, reFreseiltative of Press made enquiries rc-giurd-ing.the ,stafce. of affairs in -Lyttelton. - One gentleman, -rrho said h« had-had 'Sft«?n experience in Lyttelton, d-finng which time he bad had dealings in oqnnection irith the cargo of alniost every ovensea ship, gav<? jt.as.'.hi» opinion that there was not" near.}*' «> much cargaepillaging in Lyiteltori a_ in an y ordihafy seaport. ' There were no goodssbeds in Lyttelton, where everything -was into trucks, and altogether the conditions of working th<s port mado* the* pillaging or pilfer-ihg-of - ships' cargoes a rather difficult matter, especially as were closely, watched- by the-Customs, the police, and the Harbour Board watoh- ' m«.n. Cargoes-of- general -merchandise from America suffered more from the hands .of the pillager- than. <•»*£-. others. "This was "particularly the case with Americ-in boots and shoes... Steamers from New York or Montreal discharged their, cargoes at six ports —Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Wvilington, Lyttelton*, arid "Dunedin—which, wa.s partly the cause of the extensive pillaging. A go©a.d_,al of cargo-pillaging was done in Australian ports, but he was convinced .tb-St. by far the greatest part of it was done in New York. It was done very neatly, and cleverly, ■ and to-be cleverly done required time. It'must be "done before even the ship loaded her cargo in New York. Cases of tobacco, or of boots and "shoes, haldbeen, piilagiDay -and .'closed' "Up• _o neatly and cleanly, -that only a" very practised eye , could, tell from their ontward appear- j ance . that , they , had beene tempered with.- For example: A case containing' tins of; cigarette tobacco, loaded' in New York, landeti in Lyttelton, where a .clean receipt was -given by. the railway, = was passed as intact by the consignee, ■„ who took delivery of it and placed it* in bond. iSomo time after tho consignee .took, delivery of the case, which had contained twonty7slb tins of ...tobacco. The top and sides of .the case i were intaot/but he found that a board I had been very, cleverly removed ; from I the. bottom, * five tins had. been - abstracted jind.. replaced by blocks of wood cut to the proper size, while other tins had -been cut.open and had their contents removed. Another - instance was ci-fced where* large case containing S o *^. 3 ..°f. high quality had; been badly -j pillag-d... The boards of the case -were \ all-dovetailed, but the-nails .had been ; driawn-and.oh. of the .boards .slid' out iof "place." The zinc linij*jg: hiad been cut, and a-large quantity of the -.coatcnte abstracted, birfc the pillage was not dis- ! covipred..until7the consignee.got to, the ■ bottom of tho case. ~ '• -•. '-.-• , i 7 Tliia seemed to point' to tho'fact that .Uie pillaging must Ixave been dono-Jby .Qxponenced Hands with/plenty of tiino j at, rtheir _ The reporter's ihi fqnhint' further stated •in sujpport "of his; fontcntion. that tho .pillaging was largely -carried out at the' pbrtrof, ship- ; "ment, t"hat.r in one: steamer fism •' New York, he had seen two-tiers of cases in the ,tween debkß broken out in the courte "of'/dischargiug, and h_td"*found pillaged cases', in.the third tfiet.,:which proved* -thait it was pfainly ,! impbssil.le r-for- it,,to. have been 'done during.; 'the •fpyageror at : any previous \port of disl chargje. .-"■=•..--vi •-. f-'-fs.. ;■■"--■-. .v. :■■'? ■•*■'... ,v Practically Tevery ship from oversea pfirta.had to meet claims! f6t pilk-vged i cargo,- arid "the amounts ©very jyear<ran»injfco"' several" thou-a»ds*•■• of poiinds. Quite recently qne ship*ihad to-' ; ineet-a.claim'of ':■£&?. for th--pillage of Americ-ih'" boots '«nd,_ho«S,'7and another .vessel, whicli -. -discharged 1300 tons ? bf_ •;gej_w»ral :;tmerchandiis_ - .fr<«n. 'America, • paid-i £45iildr ■-• claims if or* 'pillage;' • ■ The record small-amount pajifoy a steaimer "was afaii siispeirice for pillage,- after - .discharging »'9O0 v ; tons!-- of* cAt-jo .m7Dyttelto-t7' " : ' .-. v. Another rgeirtleman- w-%- has l>_en connected with thedisehargiiig of corroborated' ■' the foregoing statements. * Pilla_Srig* : wes ; mucli more e'xt_nsive in American cisrgc'es than in r th6se brought from 'Bngli&h; ports.. New Ybrk merchandise . was often stored on the wharves and- in sheds for some oonsideriablo time the * steamer arrived in port 'it, and this gave ample time for pillaging of Cases of goods: .Any pillaging or pilfering*'that might bo done in "Lyttelton could, only be of, a -petty nature. : Mr H.7R. .Voyce, secret-try of the Lyttelton Waterside Workers' Union, said that owing to the nature and conditions of. cargo discharging in Lyttelton, there* wore not the facilities for pillnccinst or broaching of cargo that: obtainod in other port*6 where merchandiso* w-_s .-unloaded into * sheds.'on the wl-'-irvcs, .All iCfirgoes jvererdischarged into railway {trucks in Lyttelton and sent through to Christchureb an hour or two later. During the past twelve ..years the only case of' cargo-stealing, in which a watbrside wolrker waa concerned, that 'he. could call to tnind, was one in which a man was charged ewith the theft of a sing!e'tin valued at about a slullwg, that had fallen out of a broken casb. ' He was of the opinion that, the greater part- of the cargobroachinjz discovered during discharg.j****)**- operations at- was done at the port of loadinc;. Being in direct toach7 with each and every waterside Vforkor in Lyttelton, he.was safe in sayihg that no isyStematic pilfering of i cargo was being done in .Lyttelton at jthe-present time.' ."'•-'■ -