WAS HARRY SHANGHIED?

NZ Truth, Issue 1196, 1 November 1928, Page 8

WAS HARRY SHANGHIED?

A Sea Trip For Which He Did Not Arrange A Passage

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative.)

Early morning : Harry Field ... resident of Sydney ... man about town .-.;■ . a job m a government department ... a wife and home m Bondi. Early afternoon: Harry James Edwards Field ."•.. . stowaway aboard the NIAGARA outward bound for New Zealand, two hours' sail from the Australian coast. '.'■'"' x

TTHINGS happened suddenly m the 1, young-life of this city clerk, for it

is doubtful if he could have been removed any' faster from the humdrum life m a city office to the romantic position of stowaway on. board a vessel bound for strange shores if he had been carried on. the magic carpet.

All the settings for the tale of romance were there, too . . .An awakening m the heat of the Sydney 'morning . . . the usual ride to the city . . . the meeting with a few friends 'Then, hey presto! Another awakening . . . the swish, swish, of the sea against the sides of the steamer . . . blue sky and the smell of the salt m the wind. All m the matter of a few hours. If ; Field's- story is true, and he had no intention of leaving his native country, then there would be . nothing unusual m the leave-tak-ing between He and his wife. No fond farewell as he turned his back oh his home— perhaps forever;, no last look at his little abpde as, with thoughts of adven- _ • ' ture m another country, he left the comfort of. his house for the rough and uncertain life as a tramp, stealing his way on board the vessel lying at the wharf m Sydney harbor. If, as he states,, he left his home m Bondi that morning intending to do nothing that would break the routine of' his life as a city clerk, with his boundaries m the city and the suburb, then to suddenly, find himself ploughing through the ocean on board a vessel taking him swiftly far away from all he had m life,, and with every throb of the engine widening the gap .between himself and his home, must have occasioned the biggest surprise he' had eyeiv experienced^ • . . . , What Happened to this clerk when tie reached the; city and met his friends? It is a question that may be easily explained if his trip to New Zealand is the outcome of a practical .-' joKe. 'it may also be 'explained by overindulgence'in liquor— for he states that he visited several hotels with his friends-rand, further, there -is the pos-,' sibJMty of temporary loss of memory.; Whatever. the answer is, it is not yet known by Field himself, he says., but I no doubt/ some light will be thrown oh

A Sober Mystery

the mystery when lie returns to Sydney. Anyway, there is little doubt that he will do his best to find out: His story m court when he appeared before Magistrate Hunt charged with stowing away indicated' that he. possibly took too much liquor prior to the sailing of the boat. . .

If his presence on board was the result of a joke on the part of his friends, then it would seem that it was carried a little too far, for it may proye expensive for Field. . If intoxication solves the mystery, then his friends m Sydney must have done some rapid think-\ ing m their more sober moments, for his wife, not being m the joke, would surely become agitated at her husband's failure to return from the city. It is easy to imagine the discomfiture of her husband's friends if they fried to explain the episode away as a joke. No doubt it would be very enjoyable at the time of the embarkation, but the joke now is certainly on. Field and his wife. ■ Field told the court that he first realized that' some - I thing was wrong when he was shaken from his slumber on the deck of the yea- . sel by a steward who announced that dinner was served. "But I should not be here" was his first remark, and then he asked who he should report himself to, he told the court. '" ' . He did not want to leave Australia, he said; and had no knowledge of boarding the vessel. ' Yes, he had had some drinks with f rientls on the day the boat left 'Sydney, but from the time he was with them until he awoke on board the "Niagara" he did not know what had happened. His job m Sydney was a good one a.nd he did not want to lose it. Neither did he want to leave his wife and' home m Bondi- — it was ; all a mystery, to him. ;. ' "He seems ,to be a stranger m a strange land," said Sub-inspector McCarthy.'; : ..\. .S.M. Hunt: /Well, he can't, have free trips like that. I'll remand him to see if he .can make some arrangements •with the steamship company. "I'll give you bail if you report -yourself to the police every day," said the 'S.M;. to defendant. "Tell the police all about yourself.. Don't tell me now to advertise. yourself ." , ' Defendant: Yes, sir.