YOUTHFUL STOWAWAYS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18078, 1 May 1922, Page 3

YOUTHFUL STOWAWAYS

CARDIFF TO WELLINGTON. PRIVATIONS IN ENGLAND. * s i B HOPELESS QUEST FOE, WORK. Jjj That something is awry with the -world , * at the present timo is the avowed convic- j t , tion of Harold Law and Richard Tracy, :♦] the two young stowaways who arrived in tl Wellington by the Matakana last week. . P The lads appeared before Mr. F. E~jtj Hunt, S.M., on Wednesday morning, and t ; were ordered to come up for sentence if j called upon within 12 months. h In conversation later, the youthful Eng- d Hshmen told the story of the trials and ' * tribulations they underwent in search of i work in England before they summoned up courage to stow away on th© Matakana at Cardiff on March 16 in order to reach a country where* there was a chance of ; honestly earning their a "I am 21 years of age," fciiid Harold j, Law, who acted as spokesman for the " ! pair, "and I served in the Great War in. t | Italy for 12 months, and afterward*; on j * | the Western front, finishing up at Cologne ; t I four months after the armistice. On my j j discharge from the army, I secured em- i I | ployment as a denial mechanic in Leeds, j j2 j but during the coal strike in 1921 business i ' fell off to such a,n extent that I lost my ! j position. I tried hard to get employment, _> ! but things were at a standstill,, and prac- } 'tically no business of any kind was doing. | c ! In order to buy feed, I was compelled to 1 pawn my clothes, and this went on until I had nothing left to pawn. 3 A Modern Gipsy. "Then, like thousands more at the time, I was forced to leave the city of Leeds, and take to the King's highway. This | . was at the end of July, in 1921. Though j T tried my hardest to get work, I was J1 eight months on the road, and in that j 1 time tiamped 1500 miles. We slept under ; hedges and haystacks, and lived as best : we could. '• "We were not the only pedestrians jog- 1 ging alona; the highway at that time," < proceeded the young Englishman. "Tlnnjss j were so bad in the country that thousands J of men, women, and- children were horie- 1 less, and were compelled to live a nomadio life'like gipsies, moving from place to place, and living from hand to mouth. They had to keep a strict lookout for the police, declared the young stowaway, las there was a common saying 10 Eng- j I land that if you were found tramping the country vou would be ghan tax months, whereas "if you stole a watch you would be let off. , ' _ ~ "It took me some timr before I could bring mvself to beg for food at the doors of house's, but 1 eventually was forced to it The poor-houses are not desirable places of abode in England. I and my vagabond companion were lodged in the : poor-house at Hereford, but we found conditions bo unsavoury that we escaped by scaling the walls, and sot out on tna road once more." Well Treated on Board. " How did you come to get aboard the " Matakana?" inquired the pressman. "' We met a coal trimmer, who was assisting to coal the Matakana," replied : Law, "and ho took pity on our sorry ■ plight. He smuggled us aboard, and: ■bowed us where to stow away safely.! We did so, and were not discovered until we were well out to sea." "Did you get the rope's end when yon were discovered?" . " No," said Law. " Captain Bosdet d treated us most kindly. We were nearly d starved to death, mod were in ill-health r. through vermin and privation, instead of l« upbraiding us Captain Bosdet gave us suitable clothing, and very kindly had ; : us placed under the care of the ships n doctor for a fortnight. Then he put us to work, but it was more like putting in ; time than working. We had Been look- : ing for work for eight months, and were only too glad to do anything. " Since our arrival in Wellington, Cap- £ tain Bosdet has been most kind to us," added Law, " and I would be very glad if you would thank him for us. He : has allowed us to stay on the steamer '• while we look for employment. The Salvation Army is trying to find us work, i and we hope they will succeed, as we are >! keen to tackle anything." n Law stated iaat he lost his people nine years ago, when 11 years of age,! -- and ever since had had to make his own a way in the world. " I determined," said , Law, " that I vould get a.-) much educa- j 5 tion' as I possibly could, and I do not i» think I have done badly for a boy who, has had no help."