SEAMEN WANT DISCHARGE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10283, 19 May 1919, Page 5

SEAMEN WANT DISCHARGE

APPOINT POE THE SUPREME . COURT. ' , MUCH-DELAYED VOYAGE. Press Association. , ( . • AUCKLAND, May.dr. At the Supreme Court, before Mi Justice Cooper, application was made on behalf of the crew of the Canadian five-masted auxiliary schooner Laura Whalen that discharges he granted Jt> Auckland. The Laura Whalen lell Vancouver on April 25th of last year for Adelaide, and after experiencing frequent engine troubles pqt,,,iuU)> Auckland on her return voyage on January 2nd, with both crank-shafts broken. Tho,crew’s articles expired on April 3rd last. Tho vessel being still in port, and waiting completion of repairs, it- was urged on behalf of tho crew thafc'wtie'tU the second of the vessel’s two 'cn’giiic s’ broke down sho was much nearer to either Suva or Honolulu than to Auckland, and the master’s proper course was to have gone to one or other of those ports under sail, and unshipped flic propellers with The help of divers, and proceed to Vancouver. It was also .submitted that the crow wore suffering loss by being detained under the old articles, because seamen’s wages in Canada bad risen considerably since lb oy signed on last year. If discharged hero tho men are entitled to bo sent back to Vancouver. The question lor the court was whether the men wore entitled to discharge on April 3rd last, or whether they wore bound to work on the ship back to Vancouver after repairs are effected.