CUSTOMS OFFICERS DEFIED.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1988, 19 February 1914, Page 4

CUSTOMS OFFICERS DEFIED.

EXCITING SCENE IN A SHOP. !2y I'aletpaph.—;Pj<iss Association,.) Auckland, February 18. . Joseph Wac.hiier was charged at t'hft Police Court this morning thit lie assaulted J. P. Hidings, Collector of Customs, and J. S. Higgmson, Customs officer, and obstructed them in tbo.oxocution ot their duty. The Customs Department stated that two officers of tho Customs Department went to search. AVaelmer's shop, because there was reason to believe thai lie was wjts. selling cigarettes to retail'' dealers on which divty had not been paid, Tlio officers ivore armed' with proper authority 1o search, but Waehncr, when he learnt their mission, flew into a great passion, called. ,t|iem. thieves, iind resisted tho search. , ' , Tho Collector of Customs was then sent for, and lie arrived with a "writ ofassistance," which waß an authority giving him very far-reaching powers. This was explain od to Wacliiißr., but be simply became infuriated, and called tlve men "expert thieves, 1 ; instructing his assistants to keep a eloso watch on their hands, und threatened to fight them, while lie assumed pugilistic attitudes. The burden of his complaint was that they must get a search-warrant if they wished tp search the premises, and ho refused to recognise any other authority. , :

The Collector of Customs then sen 6 for a constable, whoso appearance har! the. effect of quickly calming tho shopkeeper, and enabling the search to ha proceeded with. Xo uncustomed good's were found On the premises. The Customs Department could have proceeded under the Customs Act, in which ease the Magistrate wduld have-' no opi.ion but ta impose imprisonment of not less than six months, or more than nine months, but as 110 physical vijjlciice had been actually i}sed., the charge had not been laid under the Customs Act, but itv Hie ordinary way. < What the Denartment wanted to do was to warn Wacbher and other pcoplo of excitable temperament that the authorities of tho Customs officers rendered a search warrant unnecessary, and that such officers must not be obstructed or' insulted when thov were doing their duty. • Defendant was convicted, and ordered to pay £4_ 14s. 6.4, costs, it's the offence was not likely to bo repeated and as no uncustomed goods had been found in the place.