CARGO PILLAGING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 210, 31 May 1920, Page 5

CARGO PILLAGING

Sir,—The state of affairs de- j scribed •in your article under. this heading in The Dominion of May, .! 25 will undoubtedly give the general pub- ■ lie something to ponder over. • In justification, of the.largo numbers • '!• o,f workers on our waterfronts of New . ; Zealand, it must 4>e noted that tho cargo: ; pillager is an importation of recent times.',' He has brought his particular evil genius with him, and engages /or work amongst, those who either cannot know Mm or ; have no, choice in his companionship, : so long as he can worm himself into] j the union. All who labour on our water- 1 fronts would bo glad of any means that could rid them of this species of crirn-. inal, who by his practices brings dis-, : credit upon the large majority. Coming } from tho Old Country a few years ago, I . ;j was struck by tho , complete absence of; any restrictions against the approaches;, •, to ships or wharves in New Zealand, but ' \ thß absence I realised later was due to.. tho fact that the wharf thief was moo- ; tically unknown. At a few ports I liveil ! in, in tho United Kingdom, the docks; ! wero all within an enclosed area, and; occess to cither docks or ships was only, ] through! what are known as the dock] ? gates cither Customs officers' ; or dock police, or both, were on duty : night ana day. These officers searched: ; any person whatsoever, and because tho search was mad© without regard to appearances nobody ever objected, uven! -j women aro examined by women ; All arc treated alike and all must grin. ; and bear it. . „ , Xl '• If thieves are in our midst, then the , sooner wc get rid of them tho 'better for. ! all concerned. '■ , • ■ With the example of these larger ports , beforo us, could not some such method. , bo adopted in New Zealand, and surely. by tbo co-operation of harbour boards,tho Customs officers, and the ponce? 1. am ' etc " VERITAS.