STEAMER ROBBERIES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 10111, 19 October 1917, Page 3

STEAMER ROBBERIES.

MARAUDER CAPTURED ON THE MAORI. A DESPERATE STRUGGLE. An exciting incident early on Tuesday moruing broko tho calm of the ferry steamer Maori's passage from Wellington to Lyttelioh. Passengers who were sleeping quietly worse aroused by noises of conflict, Hurrying out of their cabins, they found a number of men endeavouring to pin down an parly-morning prowler whoso actions had been suspicious. . , Robberies on ferry steamers have been reported from ti'mo 10 time, and so any furtive prowler about the decks : lays iiimsdlf open to very strong suspicions if lie happens to bo seen. Still, when a man wandered down into,tho engine-room of tho Maori at a very early hour on Tuesday he was taken to be only a sleepless passenger smitten with a. desire to see how the machinery worked. He was politely requested to leave, but ho had to be almost literally 'chased away. Incidentally, he nearly j became entangled in some of the machinery. A little httetf the same man was seen on deck. When two of the passengers noticed him throwing jewellery overboard, they remembered stories of ferry-boat robberies, and recalled the fact that between the hours of 1 and 3 a.m. it is not particularly difficult for a man to go in and out of some of tho cabins. So they decided upon action. One of them took up a strategic position behind tho curtain in the doorway of one of tho cabins. and when the prowler got near enough tripped him up in the curtain. Then began a violent struggle. The. chief officer, a couple of sailors, the steamer's nightwatchman and four or five sailors reached the scene of strife in a hurry, and piled themselves on tho lone-handed strugglor against odds. Alter a sharp contest, they got tho man pinned down. Handcuffed and ironed, he was then placed in the stewards' lavatory for sate keeping. However, the struggle on deck had not taken all the light out of him. Ironed as ho was, he managed to smash everything' breakable in. his place of confinement, including the glass-panel door, and to wrench off the brass fittings in the place. , When the Maori got inside bod ley Head, Captain Manning signalled lor the police. Tho vessel was hove-to, with an anchor down, a short distance from tho wharf, to await the arrival of the police officers. Senior-Sergeant Jackson and Constable I). Lloyd went off to the vessel, and after another struggle they got tho man ashore and up to the Lvtt'olton police station. He was a steerage passenger, but ho refused to give his name or to answer any questions. However, alter looking up some police records and photographs Detective Quartermain identified him as Victor Fanning! Eraser. He is a man of about sft 10m in Height, strongly built, and apparently, between 27 and 30 Years of age. Some ,iewelforv and other identified articles, said to'belong to seven or eight different people, were found in Ins possession. In consequence:of tho developments, a search was made in the engine-room of the Maori, and more jewellery was found hidden there. So far as could be gathered, about six saloon cabins and an canal number of steerage cabins had been'visited Burroptitipus.vLater in the morning, l'raser, who was in ft very dishevelled stale appeared before Captain Hatch well, J.I fn the I'obce Court at Lytteltou He "as charged with theft o a gold banr,l,. -i- gold chain and charm, and i: %)d brooch, of a tolal-value of £9, the. property of MaryHui.e. . He was sentenced to three months imprisonment.