DESERTING SEAMEN

Southland Times, Issue 19171, 15 February 1924, Page 5

DESERTING SEAMEN

APPEARANCE IN COURT. SEQUEL TO BLUFF INCIDENT. Before Mr J. R. Bartholemew, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court at Dunedin, yesterday, Evald Benhard Svensson and Erik Gustave Lyung, two Swedish seamen, were charged with deserting from the s.s. Svarten at Bluff on February 11. Svensson could not speak English, so the first mate acted as interpreter. Both pleaded not guilty. Mr Hanlon appeared for the captain of the ship, and prosecuted. The Magistrate questioned whether or not he had jurisdiction in the matter, as ships of some nationalities did not come under the Shipping and Seamen’s Act. The case was adjourned to allow the Magistrate and Mr Hanlon to look into the matter. On resuming, Mr Hanlon said that in the New Zealand Gazette of 1863 the ships of Sweden and Norway, Portugal and Denmark came under the Act. That was in the time before the dissolution between Norway and Sweden, so the question was whether that now held good. A legal authority had ruled that the union of Norway and Sweden was imperfect, as they had separate naval and commercial flags. He therefore contended that the New Zealand Gazette meant ships of either country. The Magistrate said that that seemed to be the case. The captain of the boat stated that Svensson had signed on till the boat got back to Sweden, and the other man for a trip to Europe. The men left the vessel between Saturday night and Monday morning. Neither of them had authority to leave. If the men did not return he was liable for the immigration tax of £lOO per head. He was willing to take Svensson back to the ship right away, but he did not trust Lyung, and would like him kept in custody until the vessel left Auckland. Detective Beer said that when he arrested the men Lyung said he would not work on the ship; he also called the captain names.

The Magistrate said that it had been clearly shown that the men deserted the ship. The captain was right in the attitude he had taken up if he did not trust Lyung, as there was a heavy penalty if the man did not leave New Zealand. Svensson would be convicted and discharged, and Lyung would be sentenced to one month’s imprisonment, to be placed on board the ship at her final port of departure.