A Heavy Fine.

Manawatu Herald, 13 May 1897, Page 2

A Heavy Fine.

A rather singular case was brought by the Railway Departmant at Auck land against the Hoc. D. McGartin Lee, a passenger by the train for Rotorua, who was charged with having unlawfully obstructed an officer employed on the line in the execution of his duty. Mr Devore, who appeared for the department, explained that Lse was a first-class passenger on April 24th, and that one of the porters, on going into the carriage where defendant and his wifewere sitting noticed defendant with a rather bulky package, too large to go under the seat, and too large to be carried in a passenger carriage. He told defendant that he must remove the package to the luggage* van. The defendant insisted upon having the package in the carriage, and when spoken to by tbe chief porter the defendant re* plied that he was a tourist, a direc* tor of an English railway company < 'and an English gentleman, and that offioiousness of the porter was spoil* ing his trip. He again declined to i

let the package go into the van. Finaiiy, __.- Grant, the stationmaster, entered the carriage and •"""dered the package to he removed. The porter got hold of one end of the package and the defendant immediately grab* bed the other end, and in the scuffle the handle broke. As soon as the package was on the floor again the defendant caught hold of his wife's legs and put them on it, and the porter then thought it was time to knock off, so the defendant went away with bis heart's desire attained. Mr Devore, who pressed for a heavy penalty, said they did not know where the defendant was now, but it would prove a lesson to others. Oases were becoming far too ccmmon of breaking the law in this way. The Bench fined the defendant £10 with costs, as they considered if he was a railway director he ought to have known better.