SUCCESSFUL RAID

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 35, 10 August 1933, Page 4

SUCCESSFUL RAID

POLICE AT THE PARK

HEAVY -P. AND T. LOSS

FOOTBALL AND PUN

The arrest o£ a well-known Rugby football representative, F. Fuller, was but an early result of much activity by the Police yesterday afternoon. A big raiding party was out, and its operations were regarded as sufficiently important to attract the attention of officers of high rank in the Force as well as of the Minister of Justice (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe). Fuller was not alone iv getting into the law's strong clutches; there were other arrests, among ihem that of "Little Eric," well-known disturber of the peace at New Zealand's national game. But most prized of all the captures was a handsome cup, and, while those persons arrested were allowed their liberty (at a price), the trophy will remain in the safe keeping of the Police, for a year at least. On his own "admission, the Minister of Justice was an accomplice in the procuring of the article mentioned. His statement ran: "I said to the Commissioner, 'There are not going to be any promotions this year unless the team wins.' Whether the Commissioner made any signs I do not know, but there was a goal kicked just afterwards." POLICE TACTICS. The occasion was the annual Rugby match, Police v. Post and Telegraph, and football and fun were combined to make a most entertaining afternoon for a goodsized crowd at Athletic Park. P. and T. departmental interest and activity were, of course, just as great as that of the, Police, but part of their trouble was that they could not avoid telegraphing much of their intention, and with information leaking out that way the Police were hot on the trail. It mattered not what tactics the men in blue (yellow and black for this particular occasion) employed, for the law was in their hands. P. and X. faith had to be pinned on the referee, and this official could not do otherwise,.than be fair to both sides. If the Police chose to employ unfair tactics, that was nobody else's business. The preferring of a charge against them was only looking for trouble, but the referee (Mr. J. Gijcnrist) did on occasions have the temerity to inflict a penalty, just as a reminder that he actually was the man in charge, and his decisions were not disputed. It transpired at halftime that he had a sandbag secreted in his clothing, and no sooner had this been removed and hostilities resumed than, under cover of a scrummage, two sets of handcuffs were brought into use and applied to four members of the P. and T. pack. BAIL WANTED! Before the game actually commenced the Police sought to deprive their opponents of a valuable player by arresting Fuller. This duty was performed by. Constables Fletcher and Anderson, and Fuller was brought before Sergeant Paine at an enclosure more like a sheep-pen than the watch-house. A bottle was brandished as evidence. Two comrades, Messrs. Troy and Pinkerton, came to the arrested one's aid, but that was not enough. Substantial' bail was wanted, and this led to an earnest appeal to the onlookers. There was a ready response, and in this Police officers joined. A sum of £2 3s 9%d, a pakapoo ticket, and an "American cen^i" (which afterwards turned out to be a Turkish coin) were announced as sufficient for Fuller's release. Meanwhile, the game had begun, but there was a restart when Fuller took his place, the preliminary being ruled out of order through the use of a football bladder without a case. Iv tone with the proceedings was the ball boys' uniform, prominently marked with arrows. VARIED ENTERTAINMENT. ; ,i A big part in the afternoon's entertainment was played by Mr. G. Sutherland in impersonating • "Little Eric." He was full of advice to the referee, and at one time his arms were full of the big cup, a happening which led to bi6 arrest. His pleading that he wanted "to boi) a couple of eggs" was of no avail, Resigned to his fatfe, he farewelled the crowd with: "Oh, well, ta ta! If there is a good Judge I will be out in no time; if not, Lord help me!" The Judge was good. .....'" • In different vein and equally acceptable waa the pipe music by Senior-Ser-geant :D. Scott, Detective McPhee, Constable" Fletcher, and Messrs. A. Kirkpatrick and F. Thomson, as was the march of the players, led by the pipers (introduced by the principal barracker as the "Storm Troops"). During the interval a steeplechase was held over a six-lap course. This its humorous incidents,, with Cooke as the principal. The race resulted:—Cooke (scr), 1; McCdncuio (7sec), 2; Pederson (scr), 3; StevOns (2sec), 4. Among those present at the gathering, as a result of.which the Mayor's Relief Fund stands to benefit considerably, were: The Acting Prime Minister (the lU. Hori. J. G. Coates), the Minister of Justice (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe), the PostmasterGeneral (the Hon. A. Hamilton), the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. J. Bitchener), the Mayor (Mr. T. C. A. Hislop), the Commissioner of Police (Mr. W. G. Woblmann). Dr. P. F. McEvedy (president of the Wellington Kugby Union), and Messrs. G. McNamara (Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department). B. L. Dallard (Under-Secretary for Justice), A. Marshall (Comptroller of the Post Office Savings Bank), J. Robertson (First Assistant Secretary, Post and Telegraph Department), J. McDermptt (Superintending Engineer, Post and Telegraph Department), and W. P. Aldridge (Assist-ant-Postmaster), Inspector Lander and Sub-Inspector Martin. CUP CHANGES HANDS. The match was won by the Police by 28 points to : 13, and the win was well merited, considering that the Police had to rely practically on forwards, past and present, for the make-up of their team. At the conclusion of the contest the Clark and Morris Cup was presented to the captain of the winning-team (Cave) by the Minister of Justice, who congratulated the teams upon the fine game they had played. It was a live game, played in the right spirit, and the better team won, said the Minister. Last year the cup was won by the Post and Telegraph Department; this year the Police were going to take charge of jt. The cup was not the first thing they had taken charge of, and it w^ould be looked after in the right way. Cheers were given for winners and losers, for whom the captains replied, and the Minister finally paid tribute to the referee and the side-line .entertainer. TEAMS AND SCORERS. Both teams took the actual piny seriously, and they provided a keen and interesting game, in which the Police, with the advantage of the wind in the first spell, never loosened their grip on the match. The expected form of the P. and T. team did not materialise, and weakness on defence let the more solid force through time and again. The teams werc:-^Police: Pointon; Hnnsen, Clarke, Waite; Best, Cave (captain); Rush; Miles, Stevens, Bourke. Fell, Webby, George, Barry, Spence (Waujch replacing Waite late in the game). P.- and T.: Fuller; Caulton, Nees, Baldwin; McClelland, Evans; Hancock; Shepherd, Mclvor, Diekson, McLean, Henshaw. Mellraith (captain), Pringle> Murray (Teitjeus replacing Mclvor late in the game). In a fairly even first spell the Police led by. 11 points to 8. That looked favourable for P. and T., but the i¥>licemen, getting the ball and using their weight, played with even more vigour and dash in the second spell and won comfortably. For the Winners Spence .scored three tries, Best two, and Barry, Cave, and Fell one each, Clarke converting two. For the losers Caulton scored two tries and Neeß one, Fuller converting two. The final score was: Police 28, P. and T. 13.