A CAPTAIN’S PURCHASES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18951, 27 August 1923, Page 12

A CAPTAIN’S PURCHASES.

TAXIS. CIGARS, AND CHOCOLATES. / LEAVES THE BILLS BEHIND. Well-spoken, smartly dressed, of aristocratic bearing, and equipped_ with a wealth of credentials from influential people, including one purporting to be from thei Governor-General (Lord Jellicoe) himself. Those were the chief assets of a man, described as a sea captain, who selected New Plymouth as a temporary place of abode (says the Taranaki Daily News). Ho was a man anyone might be proud > to claim ns a friend, a man obviously of high social standing. Who could doubt his integrity? Many business people in New Plymouth certainly did not, but they have very serious misgivings to-day, and the sequel to the gentleman’s visit to that town is to be found recorded in the book of civil cases, kept at the Magistrate’s Court, where a number of. disillusioned creditors. have obtained judgment by default against the captain iii respect to certain debts _ incurred by him in the course of his shopping expeditions. It happened this way. The captain—ho is a real captain, retired from the sea—volunteered for service during the shipping trouble, joining a vessel at Lyttelton in order to complete the quota nece-ssarW before the ship was allowed to sail. I But, during the voyage to Now Plymouth, the captain became ill, and on arrival in port he was removed to hospital. Careful nursing restored the captain to a ■state of convalescence. Desirous of seeing the sights of New Plymouth, and incidentally making a few purchases, he chartered a taxi to take him from hospital to town. The captain made his purchases, securing a first footing by paying cash. Almost daily the captain embarked on further shopping expeditions, but, unfortunately, he had not the ready money. Such a slight hastier did not deter him. He was, according to his story to shopkeepers, under the charge of the Collector of Customs, and was expecting any day a draft from Timaru, his home town. Yes, ho had left a cheque for £l5O, drawn on the National Bank, with the Collector of Customs, who would settle all his little accounts. lhat would bo all right, woudn’t it? Credentials? Oh, yes! These were produced and came from such influential sources that the captain was readily granted credit. Generous to a degree, the captain thought of others besides himself. Prom confectionery and drapery shops he procured little presents for his nowly-mado friends at the hospital. His own fancy ran to cigars. He smoked about an inch, aristocratically flecked of! the ash, tossed the cigar down, and trod on it. Cigarettes ho bestowed upon friends by the packetful and chocolates ho supplied on a lavish scale. A born aristocrat, bo. kept bis taxi waiting outside- several shops in suce-ession as he methodically made his many purchases and courteously bade adieu. But one morning the captain left by the mail train, and his creditors are still bemoaning his departure. “A very fussy old gentleman, aged about 60,” was the description given to a Daily News reporter. He seemed a little eccentric, and because of this some creditors are not disposed to take legal action against him. A few have obtained judgment, and intend to make him pay. But what sea the captain is now sailing is pot clear.