AFFAIR ON S.S. ATUA

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1542, 11 September 1912, Page 6

AFFAIR ON S.S. ATUA

_—-9 PUBLIC SERVANT APPREHENDED. (By Te!cßraph.-Prejj AbsooUUoh,) i Auckland, September 10. Prior to the departure of the steamer , Atua for Suva to-day Detectives Hammond and Quartcrmain arrested a man named , Charles Fish on a charge of absconding from bail at Wellington. He was brought before the Police Court later in tho day, and remanded to appear at Wellington next' Tuesday. Tho original charge upon whioh ho appeared at Wellington, when ho was remanded and allowed bail, was that of stealing from the Parliament Buildings, Wellington, a number of volumes of the Consolidated Statutes of a total value of about .£IOO. Fish was employed as library messenger for about 11 years, and it is alleged that when the statutes were consolidated in 1308 and new volumes were in general demand, he stole them at intervals and sold them to second-hand- book dealers, who in turn resold them to solicitors and those requiring them. A number of tho missing volumes have, been recovered, some of them being found in Auckland! Hamilton, and other places. Whon arrested, Fish had a ticket for Suva in his possession, in tho name of W. C. Watkins, and also a largo sum oi money.