TAHITI DELAYED.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19612, 7 May 1929, Page 6

TAHITI DELAYED.

STEWARD ARRESTED AT PAPEETE. [THE PEESB Special Service.] WELLINGTON, May ,C. "Rather an amusing incident occurred at Papeete, resulting in the Tahiti being delayed for a couple of hours or so," stated one of the passengers to a reporter this morning. The difficulty arose from the difference between French law and British law. We hold an arrested man innocent until he | is proved guilty, but under French law, and Tahiti, of course, is a French colony, the man is held guilty until he proves himself innocent. One of our stewards was arrested for the theft of two shirts, and the captain and the chief officer went up to the police station to bail him out, but oh account of the law the. authorities would not allow bail. "We were supposed to sail at 5 p.m., but could not do so on account of this man being in gaol, and all of the stewards went out on strike. On the Papeete wharf they tried to get a car to go to the gaol and get their mate out, but about twenty French gendarmes came down with loaded rifles and sur- i rounded the stewards, refusing to let them go into the city, while the stewards for their part refused to go aboard the steamer, and held the ship up for about two hours. Ultimately, however, someone proved the steward innocent. He was released, and so was the I Tahiti." j