BEER PARTY ECHO

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 40, 19 January 1943, Page 5

BEER PARTY ECHO

YOUNG MAORI ACQUITTED

GIVEN BENEFIT OF DOUBT

An echo of a Maori beer party held) on the evening of May 16 last year when a group of young natives stole the liquor which had been intended for a pakeha social iand' consumed' it themselves was heard' in the prosecution of Gollan Waaka, aged 19 a third member of the guility celebrantsi who appeared before Messrs G. A. Brabant and J. G. Mulholland l , J.P.'s-, in the Whiakatane court last Friday. Waaka was charged with the theft of the beer but pleaded not guilty and denied all knowledge of its origin. Mr G. Otlcy, who defended, said that it was obvious that accused was but an innocent guest who had had no hand in 'the thc-ft.. The other Maoris, concerned gave evidence and admitted that they had not disclosed to defendant how they had procured the liquor. In the absence of any corroboration of the charge the bench decided to dismiss the evidence, stating that prisoner must be. given the benefit of the doubt, though it seemed fairly obvious that he must have known something of how the liquor came to be at the party.