THE ESCAPE FROM MOTUIHI

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17503, 20 December 1918, Page 8

THE ESCAPE FROM MOTUIHI

——_«» CLAIM AGAINST THE STATE. PETITION BY OWNERS OF SCOW MOA. (Pβ* Uhitkd Pbess Asbootattoh.) December 19. Tho owner's of tho scow Moa (tho Loyland O'Brien Timber Company) aro petitioning Parb'ament for relief for loss sustained through the forcible seizure of the vessel by Count von Luckner and other Gorman prisoners of war wlw escaped from Motuihi last December. Tho petition states that Lucknor and his men jettisoned a portion of the cargo of timber valued at £304 3s 10d>, a coil of wire rope valued at £53 2s srl, and 45 fathoms of cable valued at £59 10s 9cl. It is also claimed that upon inspection in Auckland, after recapture, it was ascertained that the vessel had been severely strained, to rectify which the owners had to expend £285 16s sd. A further sum of £405, it is claimed, was lost by the owners as the result of the dislocation of their business through the temporary loss of the Moa. The petitioners point out that the prisoners of war wore interned by the Government, and state that the comi mandant of the internment camp allowed them without reasonable excuse to escape.