Scene at the storming of Messrs. Stevenson and Sons’ Warehouse.

Scarce colonial engraving of Stevensons and Sons warehouse, Flinders Lane, Melbourne who were accused of falsifying import invoices by Australian Customs.

From the original edition of The Australasian Sketcher.

Collections:
State Library Victoria: Accession no: A/S 15/04/76/1

THE CASE OF MESSRS. L. STEVENSON AND SONS. FIGHT FOR POSSESSION OF THE PREMISES. The case in which Messrs L. Stevenson and Sons are charged with furnishing false invoices to the Customs, assumed a new and exciting phase on Saturday, which resulted in an appeal to force, and a breach of the peace. It was stated in The Argus of Saturday that the firm had refused to produce certain private memorandum received from their London firm, and that, in consequence of this, and the unsatisfactory nature of some of the evidence given, the Customs’ authorities had attached all the dutiable goods in the warehouse, and placed five Custom house officers in charge, pending investigation as to whether the full duty was paid of those goods. A letter was published in the same paper from Messrs. L. Stevenson and Sons, stating that after a rigid investigation, extending over three weeks the firm were asked to produce certain private memorandum received from their London firm, and that they refused on the grounds that these memorandum were sent solely for their guidance in fixing the selling price, with dis- counts, allowances, and expenses, which were of a private nature ; that they had nothing to do with the true value of the goods, which appeared in the invoices already produced, that the production of these memorandum would expose the minutia of the business to the trade, to the firm’s probable detriment, that the values in the invoices produced were proved by the Customs’ own experts to be correct, and that the firm understood this was proved to the satisfaction of Mr Guthrie. The letter further stated that every facility had been given to the officers by the firm. The five Custom house officers remained in charge of the warehouse which is a very large one, on the south side of Little Flinders street between Swanston and Elizabeth streets, until about noon on Saturday, when the employees of the firm assembled in force, and proceeded to turn out the officers, who found resistance useless against such numbers. The employees then barricaded every door with what appeared to be heavy cases or bales of goods which were piled high and deep against the doors. Mr. Guthrie, collector of Customs, then sent to the Russell street police barracks, and obtained a small squad of constables by virtue of a “writ of assistance,” which is a legal document authorising the officers of Customs to break into any store or warehouse in the execution of their duty, and to call for any assistance from the police and others which they may require. By this time a large crowd bad assembled, and Inspector Ryall, who had been informed of the affair, brought down another body of police, who were reinforced as quickly as possible by other small detachments, till there were about 30 constables present, who had enough to do to keep back the crowd from the front door of the ware- house, where the Custom-house officers were pausing before taking further action. The police had previously forcibly dislodged from the doorsteps a crowd of the lumpers who had been engaged to eject the officers from the building. The following notice had, after the ejection of the officers been placed on the wall outside the front door :— ” Take notice that we have been advised that the recent occupation of our ware- houses and the seizure and detention of our stock by persons acting under the instructions of Mr. H. M. Guthrie are illegal, and that we are justified in ejecting all such per- sons from our warehouses, and in forcibly resisting any further attempt by any person to enter and take possession of our ware- house, or of any of the goods therein, and also any attempt to interfere in any way with such goods, or the conduct or management of our business. And that, in consequence of such advice, we shall resist any such attempt, and shall hold any person making the same personally responsible, and shall take proceedings against him. And further take notice, that we have commenced an action in the Supreme Court; against Mr. Guthrie to recover damages for the recent illegal seizure and detention of the goods in our warehouse.