RAGLAN INQUIRY NEARING ITS END

Chronicle (Levin), 3 May 1947, Page 5

RAGLAN INQUIRY NEARING ITS END

-Press AssOcidtiah

PROBLEM is PRESENTED BY YUGOSLAV

Bit Tel&cjfdph-

HAMILTON, Mrfy 2. Althotigli Its nraratliorr cpurfle is not yet fully run, the Electoral Court hearring Mr. Hallyburton Johnstone's petition to reverse the result of the General EleCtion in Raglan, had the end in sight when it adjourned today after three weeks of tedious hearing. Although respondent 's fe&sfe i.4 rfot qhitfe completed little except. formal evidencfe ffe'maifis t6 be lifeafd and co'ifiiselk ' aubmissions sliould coinmence during Monday's sitfrng. The evidence given before the.Chief Jiidicfe, Sir Humphrey O'Leary, and the Senior Puisne Judge, Sir Archibald Blair, now fexte'nds over some 270 tvpfewritten pages of foolscap or inore tiidn 100,000 words. Of this 179 pages wferfe rfecorded during fhfe preSentation of petitio'ner's case. A feattirfe of today 's proceedings was that thrfee felfeCto'rs who had been served vfrith subpoenas to attend as witnesseS; did not rfespOnd when thferr names were c'filled; One appeared later in tlie day but was not then required as alternat'rve fevidence li'ad then beeri heard.Another ofFferfett nO fexplariation in writihg or otherwisfe althotfgli he had bfefen ad vfertfse'd for in tJic persorial columns of a rievi'spap'ef, while a third who was waiti rig in Court yesterday sftferhoOii, had; accofdiiig to' a telegratn sfent to the Court by hfer employfer, suffered a brertkdowu irt Hamilton last mght arid was too ill to appear today. An unUSrial qnfestiOn posed to the COurt this aftfefhoon was whether an elector who had been in New Zfealand since 1925 but whose father, after being naturaliSed iri NfetV Zeiilarid undfer tlife 1908 statute; returned tfe his nativfe Yugoslavia whorfe thfe son wris borri; is now posse'ssfed of British nationality: The agreed statement of facts p'rfeitferit-" ed to the Gririrt by cOuhsfel AhOwed that. Ihe voter, Nedilko Mate Devcich; Was ffie SO'n of Marian Devcich; a riative of Yugoslavia who obtained Ietters patent of hffturalisafiOn" . iri New Zealand about 1908 under the Aliens Act of that year. In 1910 hfe feturned toi Yugoslaviri,- tharrying a hative of that eountry. The voter was born iri Yugoslavia in 1913 of that marriage; Later the fafher feturrifed to Nfew Zea: land and agairi wfent hack fo- Yugoslavia.. The vofer liad at no' tinie applied fOr naturalisatioh ih NfeW Zfealand . or elffewhere and liis f atlief at no time applied for a cerHhcate of naturf.lifeation uncler section 9 of the British Nationality and StatUs oi Aliens (in New Zealand) Act,. 1923, Oi nitdfer sectio'n 5 of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens (iri NoP Zfe'alrind) Act, 1928. Devfeifelt; givirig fevidfericfe, said he was farming at NgahinepOuri, nd. h'ac voted for Raglan. When he applied fot registffftioif d ffew yfe'arS dgcf he Struc.k out the de'c'lrif ation that Kfe vvas British by birth but did not delete the declaration that he tvaS BriiSh bj naturaiisatiori which he b'feiieved to b't . \

' / (iorrfect Tiefeause" of the status his fathfef. had 6'btJiiried uriclfef the 1908 Act.. He" was b'orn iri 1913 at Pod Gora ' in Yugoslavia. Hfe came fo New Zeu- ' land in 1925 with. a brother and their : fatner. All travelled on British passports; More recently his father again Wfent to Yugoslavia intc'nding to disI poSe o'f propfefty thfere • rind return fierriianfently to-'' NfeW Zealand but 1 fh'e War iritferverifed arid his . f at.lier Was • still in Yugoslavia. To Mr. R: E Tripe, for petifiorier, D'evcicK sriid Kfe alwriys belifevfed himi fifelf id he Hfitisfh. 'Hi§ Ifegal. adviSers had &upT6rffed that vife'W. He o'wned ; Risf fafm riC NghhirifepOuri arid whferi hfe ! iriridvfert^ritfy failed to register for military service he was fined in Hamilton. Latfer iie* was threfe tirnes called • up for miiitary service and tlirec tirnes. exfemptfed as a farmer. Gn. nc - occasion was he. excusfed as an alie.r and on no UCCasiori did hfe raise thal i defence. . He corisidere'd him'feelf r [ Bfjtish SUb'ject tfeda}-' b"ttt if, from- tho • pre'fTfent pVrifeeedirigri; it feriifergfed th'at he ; \vasf not, hfe wfecid cer'tainiy apply foi i feafurrilisatio'ri. i The Chief JuStifee feaid it would be t ' rriatffer ffef drf 'Ifegrit sifgiiiriferif fo' de )' tfefriiirife this Votfer^s stritusi