RETURN TO PORT

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 308, 23 September 1932, Page 12

RETURN TO PORT

Five Stowaways on Home Liner MONTH IN PRISON Five men who stowed away on the liner Tairoa, which set out from Wellington on Wednesday for Southampton, caused the return of the vessel to port and the loss of 20 hours’ steaming time. The men appeared in the Police Court yesterday before Mr. E. Page, S.M., and were each sentenced to a month’s imprisonment with hard labour, the magistrate remarking that their offence had to be looked upon as serious. The men were Alan Carter, aged 21, Joseph Muldownie, aged 27, George Ernest Carter, aged 24, Charles Richard Griffith, aged 22, and Richard Knox, aged 22. All were labourers and natives of England. Senior-Sergeant Scott said that at 1 p.m. on Wednesday the Tairoa had left Wellington for Southampton direct, and at 10 p.m. accused gave themselves up to the captain and told hl mthat they had stowed away. When the vessel had been out to sea some 10 hours the captain sent a radio message to Wellington that he was returning to port and bringing the men back. It meant that about 20 hours elapsed from the time the vessel left port until it returned. The accused, George Carter, had worked his passage out to New Zealand four years ago. His brother Alan, had worked his passage out at the same time, and neither of the two had been convicted of any offences. Griffith had come out to New Zealand about 5} years ago under the Salvation Army immigration scheme. He was out of work for some time and had been convicted at Whakatane three years ago for vagrancy. Muldownie arrived in New Zealand in 1925 and had beeen convicted at Dunedin of breaking and entering. He had not been working for some time, and had come under the notice of the police at the time of the civil disturbances in May, when he was one of the leaders of the procession. Knox had arrived at Auckland on November 11, 1930. He had been I on relief works for some time and had twice been convicted of attempting to stow away at Auckland. Captain W. A. R. Kershaw, marine superintendent for the shipping company, was present in court, said the senior-sergeant, and would like to explain how heavy the expenses were when a vessel like the Tairoa put back. Expense Obvious. The Magistrate: Well, the expense is obvious, isn’t it? Senior-Sergeant Scott said that the shipping company wished him to mention to the court the considerable expenses that the company had incurred. There was just a chance that it would throw the vessel right out of its running, and it might mean a serious loss to the company and its service. Captain Kershaw said that stowing away was getting so frequent now that his company asked for the maximum penalty to be inflicted in order “to show these men that they cannot do these things with impunity.” There was also a grave danger of fire when men stowed themselves among inflammable material like wool or flax and began to emoke. Muldownie said that he and his companions realised the danger of smoking, and for their own safety, if nothing else, had refrained from doing so. The Magistrate: I agree with the remarks. off the prosecution that this must be looked upon as a serious offence under circumstances such as the present. It caused a large vessel 12 hours out from New Zealand shores to return to New Zealand; and the risk of fire that has been mentioned is, of course, not a negligible one. I propose to sentence each of them to one month’s imprisonment with hard labour.