DESERTED FROM SHIP

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11547, 26 January 1932, Page 3

DESERTED FROM SHIP

YOUNG MAN BEFORE COURT.

GAVE UP GOOD PROSPECTS

The rather unusual story of how a young man engaged aboard the C. and D. Motor.ship Port Alma, and .in line for a. very lucrative-appointment on the vessel’s arrival hack in the Old. Country deserted within 30 minutes prior to departure' "from "Wellington was related , .in the. : Police Court before .Afr. P. H. Harper, S.M., yesterday. It was on February 28, 1929, that the young man deserted from the vessel and 1 though a warranty was issued immediately after, aud he has since been working in different Sparts of the country under his own name, his arrest was effected only about a fortnight ago. Mr. J. Blair, for the owners of the, vessel* said that defendant left the Vessel only ]0 minutes before she pulled away from. the Wellington wharf. Tt was believed that defendant was taken away from Wellington iit a car by a man who had. previously deserted from the vessel. As a result of defendant’s action, the Pori Alma was compelled to wait in the stream for 71 hours until the vacancy could be fdled. and the immediate expenses of this delay were stated by the owners to be at leant £1132.

Mr. .1. ,S. Wauehop, in pleading guilty on behalf of defendant, said that circumstances arose which made it impossible for the young man to carry on in his position. He had been with the company for some "10 or 11 years, and was specially selected for the position on the Port Alma. Moreover lie wa;s a very highlylvalued servant of the company*.*-anti had been practically promised a very important post in the Old Country when the ship reached there at the end of the vovage then about to start. When defendant; was appointed to the vessel, lie was only 2-5 and several others were passed over. These others, all older men, made- defendant’s life aboard the Port Alma unbearable, and at the last moment lie felt be could not go on witlp tbings as they were. Acting bn a. sudden impulse he walked offWlic vessel in bis working clothes, leaving all his possenmn-s and AVagcs due behind him.. Ever since then he had been working in different, parts of the country, always under hrs own name, and without the slightest attempt at concealment. For the past IS months he had been employed at Cisborne aud herd was hold in tin* highest esteem by his employer. Since deserting lie had even been aboard the Port Alma, to see bis friends end had also visited practically all overseas vessels which put into Gisborne, therefore the company should not have had any difficulty in locating him had they wished to do so previous! v.

The magistrate commented that the offence of desertion was a serious one and the present instance had been aggravated by its occurring at the last moment before the ship sailed. While he did not consider that seamen realised the seriousness of desertion or the expense entailed by such an illegal action, he felt that there were several points all in favor of the defendant. Since liis desertion defendant had not attempted to hide liimself in, any way and had led an honest hardworking life, therefore he would he given another chance. Defendant would he convicted and ordered to come- up for sentence if called upon within 12 months, while an order for the forfeiture of all wages due to him from the Port Alma would also he made. On Mr. A\ auchop’s application, an order for suppression of defendant’s name was granted by the magistrate.