CARGO PILLAGING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1535, 3 September 1912, Page 4

CARGO PILLAGING.

WHAT THE MINISTER FOR JUSTICE SAYS. .At its last meeting tho council of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce decided to write to the Minister for Justice, suggesting that'lho Commissioner of Police and magistrates should confer in cases of cargo pillaging, so' that in future the full penalty provided by the law should be inflicted upon offenders. . In Ms reply, the Minister for Justice (Hon. A. L. Herdman) said that ho had referred the matter to the Commissionerof Police for attention.

"I might state, however, for your chamber's information," wrote Mr. Herdman, "that the police have already devoted considerable time and trouble to various cases of this nature that have been reported to them, but for reasons of which you are- aware, great difficulty has been, experienced in detecting offenders, and unless some modification of the present system of handling and checking goods in transit is devised by those engaged in tho tjade, thero is very littlo prospect that the efforts of the police will meet with greater success than heretofore." It was suggested by Mr. A. S. Biss that the Minister had missed tho point, and that what the chamber wished to suggest was that the penalty should bo niado as severe a.s possiblo in Mich cases. The chairman mentioned thnt, as far as system was concerned, tho Wellington Harbour Bonrd's system was about as perfect as any that existed. It was decided to writo to the Minister, indicating the point the chamber wished to make—that referring to tho method of dealing with convicted offenders in the Court.