CARGO PILLAGED ON THE CALM

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 2, 28 September 1920, Page 4

CARGO PILLAGED ON THE CALM

' WATBHSIDER GETS TITKEE MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT. A waterside worker named .Tames Berry (for whom Mr. A. B. Sievwneht appeared) was ohareed in the Maeistrfcte 8 Court yesterday, before Mr. •T. K. Hunt. S.M.. that on Seotomber 17 he utole three BJnirlets and a pair of underpants, valued at £3 10a.. the property of the Canterbury Shippine'Company. According to the evidence the s.s. Lalm was workine careo. and the accused \va» with others eneaeed in No. J hold; At 7 p.m. on September 17 the second officer (Mr. Sharp*) was lookine down .the hold, and noticed that the electric Jieht waß not shinine where it should be. and the officer lowered the lleht. On dome this he noticed that the accused had his overalls down to his knees, and his braces were off his shoulders. The officer .went, down the hold, and accused Berry of havine stolen troods. He noticed that Berry wrs bulky about his body, and eventually the sin»lets and pants were found wrapned around him. The next day/the officer examined the hold and found similar eoods at the bottom of it. There were still 18 carmenU miesine. Tho accused nractically admitted takinc the eoods when accosted by the stevedore IMr, Auchnr!. Tho accused, in his evidence, said that he had been workinjr on the wharf ror about a month. Ho understood that when wcrkine careo. and eoods were found. It was his duty to hand them to toe sailor in charec. or if ho were not there to brine tho eoods from the hold and hand them to some responsiblenoraon. He was workine in No. J hold of the B,s. Calm with six others. The work was heavy and he had.uartly uiiarcescd himself to rearranee his clothes. He pick«d up the eoods with the intention of handine them over to someone in authority, when the second officer came down. He denied that the eoods were found wrapped around his body. He had no intention of stealing the eoods. Another watersidcr, named , Edwin Charles Sadler, stated that the abused was rcarraneine his clothine when.the second officer saw him. He also said that IE wrs usual to nick up eoods that misht be- lyin" about and hand them to a sailor He saw Berry pick up the eoods. but lie did not sec him conceal them about iis body. ...,,. The Maeistrate said hd had no nosjtjltion in convictinE the man. Mr Hunt also said: "Co yon men never read a newspaper; do you never hear of cases like this, or nicotines of chambers of commerce where references are frenuentlv made to pilfering careo? You cannot eo alone the wharf without hearing of cases like this. Fines are no eood' imprisonment iß.the only thine to stop this thieving. The men know tho rißks they run: they steal with their.eyes ooen. A wator6lder eivme evidence lart week said that his wages were from £3 to £ti and £9 per week, and that he could keen his wife and family comfortably on his waecs. Thoro is no need for this thicvlne." , Berry was sentenced to three months imprisonment with hard labour, the Maeistrate nddine that if three months was not enoueh. the term would be nut up tcslx months. There wcro 'o he no more fines for careo nillagine.