SAFEGUARDING STEAMERS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9793, 17 October 1917, Page 5

SAFEGUARDING STEAMERS

SETTING TIP OF A COMMISSION URGED. In the House of Representatives yesterday the member for Nelson (Mr T. A." H. Field) drew the attention of the Government to the following paragraph in the London “Times” of Jnly 12th, and asked the Government _ to set np a Commission to inquire into the whole matter of explosions on steamers and other marine disasters; this course being urged by the Merchant Service Guild at a recent meeting:—‘fTwo Bomb Plotters arrested in Norway.—Two Finns who were associated ' with Baron Rautonfels have been arrested at Kirkenaes, in Norway, near the Russian frontier. They have confessed that they bad bombs at Vardo and used theirs last winter against English and Russian ships. The arrest already reported of two Finns at Kirkenaes, in Norway, revealed some new facts of interest to the Norwegian and British public. The names of the arrested persons are given as John Sandvik and Allan Emil Sandstrom, but it is known that they were accustomed to use other names. Their examination by the police at Kirkenacs has proved their association with Rautonfels. It was also disclosed that they had been storing bombs at Christiania since December, 1916 known. At that time they visited Rautonfels at a private hotel hero, and ho supplied them with bombs having the appearance of bricks and containing acid and detonating apparatus. They were made to explode at the end of twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight and seventy-two hours. The Finns made frequent trips between Norway and Sweden, and Finland and Germany. A particularly interesting trip was one made to Berlin, when the German Admiralty supplied them with false certificates, representing that they were English sailors. The certificates boro fictitious names, and were to the last details similar te genuine certificates furnished by British Consulates and stamped with forgeries of British Consulate stamps.”