Reporter's Diary

Press, 20 February 1979, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

Hindsight

CANON R. D. Froud, who lives in Bryndwr, reports that recently he was given an unusual insight into British ecclesiastical thought. He received a letter from the Rev. Timothy Raphael — once a vicar at St Michael’s Church in Christchurch, afterwards Dean of Dunedin, and now the vicar of St John’s Wood, London — commenting on the refusal of the Church of England to sanction either the remarriage of divorced persons or the ordination of women. “I thought his summing up of the situation was rather choice,” Canon Froud says. “His explanation was that ‘most of our senior clerics were rowing men and still think they can best make progress with their eyes firmly fixed on where they have come from’.” Test case TWO MEN accused of smuggling seven tons of cannabis into the United States by boat are dusting off a nineteenth century legal principle that might free them, get their cargo back, and establish a modern legal defence for drug smuggling. The two do not dispute that they were in possession of the cannabis, worth $5.5M — but they say that they entered American waters during an emergency, and are therefore able to claim immunity from prosecution under the safe-harbour principle. So far, they have obtained a Supreme Court ruling that they are allowed to claim safe-har-bour protection, and this may constitute a jurisdictional bar to prosecution. Under the Foreign Relations Law of the United States, foreign vessels forced into American

waters by a threat to the ship or to those on board are entirley immune from local jurisdiction. Photographs of the 20-metre yacht, taken as it was being towed into custody, showed that it had a juryrigged rudder, which would have been dangerous at sea. Moot point THE possibility of such a defence being used in New Zealand is not as unlikely as one might at first think. Although, so far, there has been no instance similar to the American case where the safe-har-bour principle could apply, there is provision in the New Zealand Statutes for such a law to be cited in defence. Whether it would be upheld by the court, however, would probably largely depend on the outcome of the Ameican test case. In the Customs Act, 1966, Section 36 states that “The master of any ship except a coastal ship, shall not, without the written permission of a Collector (of Customs) cause or permit his ship to enter any place in New Zealand other than a port of entry, unless driven there by stress of weather, want of provisions, or other necessity.” l Safe and sound ONYX Coberger, the much-loved mascot moggy of Arthur’s Pass, has returned home safe and sound, to the delight of his owner and many’ others. The large brown-and-white, part-Persian puss, whose loss was reported in the “Diary” last week, has sent a note to “The Press” thanking us for the nice report about his absence. "I was away for two weeks,” his note reads, "but I got lonely

and decided to return to three meals a day and a nice warm bed.” Scalped look THE Canterbury Children’s Theatre May holidays production of "Daniel Boone” will have Indians with seemingly shaven heads, except for a narrow strip of hair down the middle, known as a “scalplock.” However, the theatre is not expecting its Indians to shave their heads, in spite of the fame and attention brought by the bald pates of Yul Brynner and Telly Savalas. The producer of the play, Mr Peter Brown, has recently returned from London, where he sought out the shop specialising in theatre make-up which is the sole supplier of latex caps. Actors will wear these caps, which will have tufts of artificial hair on the crown, to achieve the half-scalped appearance of members of the Shawnee Indian tribe. The producer says he is still looking for men interested in being “walk-on” Indians in the play, and that those who are interested should turn up at the Malthouse on Friday at 7.30 p.m. Bridal shower THE SILLY season, traditionally associated with summer holidays, may be over, but a silly season of another sort is in full swing. Last Saturday, bridal parties poured into the more photogenic parks and reserves of Christ 1 ' church with photographers in hot pursuit. About 4 p.m., no fewer than eight bridal parties were spotted at one time in the confines of Millbrook Reserve. It was a case of first in, first photographed, and the later arrivals had to stand in line and wait their turn for the prime spots, while making whispered comparisons and criticisms of the other parties’ couture. —Felicity Price