LOOTERES AND SANDBAGGERS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3330, 7 November 1919, Page 3

LOOTERES AND SANDBAGGERS.

SOLDIERS’ TAKE ACTION‘

I‘]XCI’I‘I*JME\IT ON TRANSPORT.

MELBOURNE, Oct. 27.

A remarkable story was l)I'O11i:‘,h“ by Soldiers who arrived on the tl'an:~‘l) Irt 1-llassy on Saturday. During ‘the voyage between Lomleni and Colombo 11, series of robberies tonk place. Kits were rifled, Others ‘st-ainn and jewellery and other valuable;_belonging to nursing sisters were T':l'_{(':l from their cabins. At. Colombo bl-in-k(:‘€s and lianlnioeks, valued at .£lss, which had been illegally sold to the natives, were recovered before the V'CSsel departed. One soldier stated that two \-’ietor~ ians were sml<lbagged and robbecluin France b); men in Australian unifunns, _'ill<l‘one ‘of these boarded the Pl:l.°.sy in London. At Colombo :1 Salvation Army girl was assaurlted by soldi.-31's robbed of the few pence in her collection box, and a number of -men on board were attacked and samlbagged. While at Colombo one man narrowly escaped being kicked to dentli. 'l.‘hese things incensed the soldiers on the trzmsport, and they decided to take action. After four men who, it was alleged, had been serving long sentences ant Lewes :Ind‘“Dia-1"tn1o01‘, were arresting on retuxning from shore leave, a, eourt~m:lrtial was oriiered. The Diggers gathered about the cells and tlirelatenml to break in the doors_ ‘When the first man came from the court}n_al'tial he was threshed and thrown oveiboarcl, but his foot. caught in a railing, and an ofiicer rushing up prevented the soldiers’ intentions from being e:lz'riel] out.

.\ seuond man appeared Ihil'l'_y minutes later Hewas beaten sv\'e:'o]y and then 11ur1ed ovel'boal'«l. A 1111--buoy was thrown after him. but before the vessel tumed he was miles astern. In the loxvcring of a ‘lifeboat the rope carried away I>:rfol'e the boat I'o2ie}le:l the \\'al*<_'r, and an ofiicer and a 'Lascal' crexv wm'e pl'ocipils;l-ted into :1 heavy sea. .»\nothm' boat was launched and the fi<~l:x~.<lel-illg <:l'e\\' wescued with difficul‘r_\'. The suspect was some distance ofl’, kieking dv:_«'pel‘:ltel_y to f'l'i‘ghten gha-.1-:5, wllieh \vero about. He was an hour in the \\’:lt'(“'.', and was y-xh~.lu“st‘ed when rescued, 5:.-.9

At a <:oul~tlnar’ri:ll held mlbsuqucntly the man thrown overbpo=al-d was sentenced, with two others, to one yeal"s imprisonment. and the foux-{II nl-an recoivvd nine L months’ imprisonnnent.

Briga'(licl'—4General C. H. Bralld, Victuriull Comnlandant, stated that. no ofiicial inquir_\,' was to be held as far

he was a\\’iU‘o, as the sentence given by the c.olll'tmal'tial on board wzis con-sitlr-rnd sufiicient.