The Detection of a Cargo Thief
| Published date | 01 April 1949 |
| Author | W. H. Simmons |
| Date | 01 April 1949 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X4902200207 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
THE
DETECTION
OF
ACARGO
THIEF
117
destroying of ships of. war, afloat or in construction, H.l\1. arsenals,
dockyards, victualling offices and ammunition, and the like, is felony
and punishable by death. By the Naval Disciplinary Act, 1866, section
34, every person subject to the Act who is guilty of the offences named
in the preceding statute (not being the property of an enemy, pirate,
or rebel I) shall suffer death.
When Parliament deliberated so protractedly not long ago over
the suspension of the death penalty for murder, was it, one wonders,
through lapse of memory that the few other offences punishable by
death were overlooked ?
Clayton-Wright appealed on October 15th, 1948, in the Court
of Criminal Appeal, against his conviction. His Counsel
put
forward
the objection, inter alia, that the joining of the charge relating to the
mink coat was wrong. Counsel for respondents referred to Rule 3
of the Indictments Act, 1915, which reads
:-
" Charges for any offences, whether felonies or misdemean-
ours, may be joined in the same indictment if those charges are
founded on the same facts or form or are a
part
of a series of
offences of the same or a similar character."
After further argument the Court intimated that the appeal would
be dismissed.
The
provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, .1948, now
operative, appear to prescribe that when an appeal is lodged the original
sentence, if sustained, will commence six weeks after the date on which
notice of appeal is given, if appellant is in custody.
So ends the saga of the Barcarolle.
The
Detection of a Cargo Thief
By W. H.
SIMMONS,
M.B.E.,
Chief
Police Officer,
Port
of
London
Authority
ONFriday,
June
4th, 1948, at 1.15 a.m., Thomas Riley, a ship's
nightwatchman on board the s.s. Artisan, lying at South-West India
Dock, returned to the deck of the ship after having been to the galley
for some refreshment.
He decided to have a look round the hatches in order to make
sure that everything was secure. He made the round of the decks and
on reaching
NO.5
hold saw that the hatch-locking bar (which was
of the '
hook'
type) had been slid along clear of the hatch-boards and
that two of the hatch-boards had been taken off.
On looking down the hold he saw the flash of a torch, as though
someone was moving about with a torch in his hand.
The
watchman
ran to the Chief Officer's cabin, roused Mr. Daly, and together they
went back to the hold. Arriving there they saw George More-an,
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