A MIDN GHT MYSTERY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 59, 4 December 1918, Page 4

A MIDN GHT MYSTERY

ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP A MINISTER. \ strange attempt was made to kidnap the Minister of Public Health at the rising of-the House of Representatives on Monday night. The person who made the attempt was a woman, who for some time past has been doing magnificent work in the fight with the epidemic, and as one of the emergency health inspector*.. All reports agree that the woman in question did truly magnificent work in fighting the. epidemic, and that her services were especially valuable because of her knowledge of the localities most in need of inspection. It appears that the Mayor of Wellington .was first to he got out of the House of Representatives on some pretext, and then his name was to be used to decoy the Minister. Mr. Luke received a message that his wife and daughter wero ill, and that he was , to return home at once. He disbelieved tho story, and hie disbelief and suspicions were aroused by an instruction given him at the time the message came to him—that on no account dwuld he answer that evening any tele, phone calls after he had returned home. Mr. Luke snicl that he would make no such agreement. He went home m course of time, but not in answer to this mysterious message, and he found that there was no truth in the news about his family being ill. Having got Mr. Luke away, the conspirator sent a message to Mr. Russell, this time to say that Mr. Luke had had a heart seizure at his home, that he had sent for Mr. Russell, and that Mr. Russell was to go to him in a motor that was waiting outside Parliament Buildings for the purpose. Mr. Russell suspected a hoax of some kind. He had seen Mr. Luke earlier, and Mr. Luke was well. Also if he had been unwell there did not seem to be a good reason why he should .summon the Minister of Publio Health to his bedside. So Mr. Russell used the telephone, nnd, contrary to his instructions from the unknown bringer of wrong news, Mr. Luke , replied to the call. He was quite well, of course. Mr. Russell wont with one or two other members to the taxi, and the police were sent The taxi-driver had been paid ill to stand by, but he did not know the fare tint he was to carry. Two people were found in the car, a man and the woman above refevre dto. Her statement to the police was that she had planned the whole adventure, and that her intention was to take the Minister to some of the "hell-holes" in a part of Wellington. . It is believed that the woman s conduct wns the result of overwork. It is stated that «he has worked'on occasion for twenty-two hours o\ end fighting the epidemic, and has attended --evere cases which no one could be foun. 4 .10 go near.