UNRULY FIREMEN FINED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18389, 3 May 1923, Page 6

UNRULY FIREMEN FINED.

LINER'S SAILING 1 IMPEDED. SERIOUS LYTTELTON BRAWL - fBT TELEGRAPH.—rr.ESS ASSOCIATION.] CHRISTCHURCH. Wednesday-Twenty-one members of the stokehold crew of the liner Dorset were each fined £5 at the Lyttelton Magistrate's Court . to-day for combining to impede the progress of the voyage of the ship. Three of the men wcr<* also fined 6s 8(1, equal to one day's pay, with costs, for bring absent without leave. The men were arrested lest night after ■what was described as the wonst demonstration seen in Lyttelton for years. A , witness said the men, most of whom were drunk, were brawling and. singing.on the wharf. , Tho master of the vessel, Captain S. Sorners-Vine said the refusal of the men to undertake duty wit the result of * Bolshevik idea, induced by drunkennew. Ho also said the whole affair was of th« most serious nature, because he had to go round tho world in charge of many jives. The whole responsibility was his and if anything went wrong the men esm* first to him. Yet, when things were all well, they refused to obey a lawful order given by him. A number of men availed thence of an opportunity to question the captain, but most of the questions put were disallowed by the Bench because the}" were not wlmissable. The second engineer said th* men were riven every opportunity bo board the ship but, they refused. One of the men « aid load the captain used tact all would hav« been well.