TAKI KAKA'S FATE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1166, 17 June 1911, Page 6

TAKI KAKA'S FATE.

PLEA FOR MERCY. * t VIEWS ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, j • 1 STATEMENT BY MR. CAKEOLL; ] — t Yesterday morning a largo deputation i interviewed tho Native Minister (the Hon. c James Carroll)—now Acting-Primo Minis- j ter-to plead that tho death sentence pro- ; nounced upon the Native Tahi Kaka he t commuted. Tho deputation consisted of t members of tho Trades and Labour Coun- \ cil, and a number of citizens, including j Mr. AY. H. Field, M.P., Dr. AVallace j Mackenzie, and Councillor John Smith , (Acting-Mayor). . ' Mr. D. M'Laren, who introduced the 5 deputation, said that the feeling of the 1 Trades and Labour Council was repre- ( sensitive of the whole of tho workers of [ tho Dominion. They recognised that jus- ] tico was the bulwark of the nation, but, as a people professing Christianity, they felt that justice must be tempered with mercy. The Trades and Labour Council felt that they must not only look to tho welfare of tho pakeha, but also to that of the Maori. They felt that society < had never afforded to the Maori youth ■, those opportunities that would have liestowed moral restraint, and averted tho 1 occurrence. In tho opinion of the deputation, the young Maori's act .had been , that of impulsiveness rather than of pre- 1 meditation. The deputation felt that the ; peoplo all over the country were desirous that the recommendation for mercy ot : the jury should be given consideration. The Prisoner's Youth. Mr. W. T. Young, president of the Trades and Labour Council, said that the trial went to show that the poor unfortunate boy had had no intention to commit murder when ho set out with Freeman. He thought the crime was the result of what passed between and the boy, and the efforts of the latter to defend himself. Mr. Young desired to impress upon tho Minister tho parly environments the boy, his upbringing, and the feeling that would exist among his relatives at the sad fate before him. The deputation did not believe in capital punishmentcommitting murder in extenuation of another. murder. (Hoar, hear.) It was better to take a citizen who committed a folonv away from his fellows and teach him how to become a clean member ot society. The jury, who had listened to every detail, had recommended him to mercv. They were bound by law to return** verdict of guilty. The deputation was present on tho grounds of the youth of tho murderer, and tho recommendation of the jury. If the recommendation wore set aside, tho temptation would be to return a verdict of not guilty in the future in capital offences, and tako tho matter out of tho hands of the Executive. The deputation appealed to the merciful feelings of tho Acting-Prime Minister. Mr. James Youlig (of Christchurch), secretary of the National Executive of the Trades and Labour Council, said it was impossiblo to believe tho murder had been premeditated. Ho also pointed out that if a reprieve were granted and imprisonment substituted, Kaka would stilt bo a comparatively young man when he left conflnement. The workers thought that capital punishment was a disgrace to the Stato and the sooner it was abolished the better. That its abolishment would bo an incentive to crime was not borne out by facts elsewhere. Tho Deputy-Mayor. Councillor Smith (Deputy-Mayor) claimed to have a close acquaintance with tho Maori race, from his early association with them. Personally ho thought the murder was not premeditated, and no one could have been moro sorry than tho lad when he found what had been done. When a murder was the result of long, cold-blooded premeditation, the case was different; but in this cose there were surely circumstances which would enable them to reconsider tho determination to have tho man put out of existence. Ho did not think there was any benefit in killing a man. Kaka could be taught a trade, and have the enormity of his act pointed out to him. Councillor Smith hoped tho Minister would bo able to influence tho Executivo sufficiently to get tho decision altered. Mr. W. M'Lcan (Wellington) recalled that two or three years ago, when ho had given lectures, a resolution had been passed that capital punishment was bad, and that a deputation should bring the matter beforo the Prime Minister. This had been done, and though a promiso had been made .to bring tho matter before Parliament, no such action had yet been taken. It had been shown that crime was as much a disease as smallpox. If they sent » man out of the world cursing his hangman, what would be the result? It had been proved that men who had gone out of the body like that camo back and influenced similar minds in another direction. It was a fact that death -lid not end a man's existence. Tho Government would bo taking great responsibilities if they sent this man out of tho world to come back and influence others. > Nine-tenths of tho people of tho country would bo with the commutation of the sentence. Dr. Wallace Mackenzie. Dr. Wallace Mackenzie said that most , of what could be said had been said. Ho 1 felt sure that the murder was not pret meditated. Lots of them when boys had used a similar expression: "Give me so , and so, or I will kill you." But that did . not mean that Kaka intended to kill I Freeman. Taking tho money subsequent- . ly, and his other acts were really the act tions of one uneducated in the law, whoso . only desire was self-preservation. He j could not understand how tho jury could . bring in a verdict of murder. Ho be- , lieved Kaka's act was one of self-defence. . Ho believed, also, that ninety-nine peoplo t out of one hundred felt as he did in this. 1 Tho Executive would be only carrying out tho washes of the people if they reconsidered their verdict.

Mr. W. H. Field, M.P., was quite satisfied it would be a wrong thing to send tho boy.-to eternity. There wore other cases where murders had been committed by Maori youths, and clemency had been extended. He could not find in the records a similar case where the recommendation of a jury bad boon ignored.' Tho boy's age ought to be sufficient to save him, even had the murder been coldblooded, and premeditated. There was also the fact of this being Coronation year, and.he felt that if the King could bo fully consulted his Majesty would bo the first to say: "Give the boy a chance." Allowance should bo made for the inherited tendencies of the youth. He did not think it could be said, as had been suggested by a paper, that in asking for a commutation they were arguing against capital punishment. Messrs. Pritchard and E. J. Carey also spoke, tho latter pointing out that the Maori race was only three generations removed from barbarism.

Mr. M. .7. Tfeardon stated it was said outside that the Native Minister, rather than risk the charge of having shown i favour to one of his race, would bo against the commutation of the sentence. Mr. Keardon, personally, (lid not believe that for this reason: the Acting-Prime Minister would allow a ' Maori boy to have less clemency shown him than a white boy. Mr. Carroll's Reply. The Minister said the matter was a very serious and grave one. He was sure they were all equally actuated by an impulse to save a life, even thoimh stained with murder. It was not for him to enter at that time into an argument as to the circumstances concerning the crime, and what were the palliative features, because the Executive had had the evidence before them, and had gone fully and carefully through it. They also had had the report of the .Twice. Manv of the reasons advanced by the deputation why clemency should Mm shown did not appear so 'to the Executive—not as strongly as voiced by the deputation. Perhaps the Executive had the advantage over the public in having the full evidence, and the Judge's remarks before them. There was this ground for their appeal, and no doubt it was the only , ground upon which the commutation of Hie sentence was recommended, by the jury., viz., the youth of the prisoner. Was it a right thing to hang one so young? The murder, according to the evidence, was no donlit a deliberate one.

"I havo received telegrams from all partof the Dominion," said the Minister, "mostly from the. north, and I am (ilinp them all so that they may bo submitted to the Executive when it meets to-night.'-

There wero also a number of petitions to be gone through carefully. It was due to those who had moved in the matter that the fullest consideration should be given to their plea. "I can assure you it is a painful position for anyone to be in, but we have a responsibility to discharge. We havo to see that the lawis properly administered. Jle felt it more because tho lad belonged to tho race with which ho had kinship. It was an additional responsibility. Not that that would in any way bias his judgment, or influence it in any extremo direction—because of a fear to face comment. He need not assure them that his mind would be free from prejudice on that score. "It j is a sad thing," said Mr. Carroll. "I am t only a human being like yourselves, though clothed with a certain responsibility. But I feel it repugnant to myself; £ it' is revolting to human nature to have i to assist in tho exit of anyone into s Eternity. Yet one has to be in a responsible position, and one has to be care- . fill that tho law is not overstrained. I can say no more than to assure you that ' all the points you havo submitted will be i carefully considered by tho Executive, to- t gether with all the communications and ; petitions." 1 EXECUTIVE MEETING POSTPONED. , TO MEET TO-DAY. ] His Excellency the Governor was pre- : sent at the Cabinet room yesterday after- i ■noon at 5 p.m., but the sitting of the Executivo was deferred. So many peti- ; tions and letters and telegrams have : been received from all over the Do- , minion, but particularly from Auckland, : that it was impossible to .have them listed and counted last evening. The Executive will sit at 10 o clock this . morning. ~ , , , , , The Hon. D. Buddo brought a largelysigned petition to Wellington yesterday from Auckland. . All members of the Cabinet, with the exception of the Hon. D. Buddo, who left last evening for Christchurch, will be in Wellington to-day. WANTED-NO DEATH PENALTY. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Masterton, June 16. At a largely-attended public meeting hold here to-night to hear an address by Professor Mills, of the United States, tho following resolution was unanimously carried:—"That this meeting m Masterton of citizens enter its protest against giving effect to the sentence o£ death passed on the young Maori, Tahi Kaka, of the Auckland district, and considers that the time has long since arrived when this so-called punishment should ba abolished." THE DEATH PENALTY. [To tho Editor.! Sir,—lt is with great regret that I read this morning your article encouraging the Cabinet to enforce the death penalty in the case of the Maori boy Tahi Kaka. ,1 think that there is no room tor doubt that before long it will bo generally held that tho death penalty is utterly inconsistent with the Christian creed. Few now maintain that this penalty can be justified on the old savage, vengeful principle of "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." More and more people aro beginning to realise that it is as useless as a deterrent as it proved to be in the last century in tho case of petty thefts, and other minor offences. But the great objection to tho death penalty is that it utterly takes away from a human being all chance of reform, and ntonement for his offenco by a lifelong, repentance. This is my opinion, though rcgrettablo in every case is especially reprehensible in the case of a mere lad. You aro right in saying that ministers may count on the sympathy of the' "vast majority of thinking men" in tho difficult situation in which they are placed; but I do not think yon are right in supposing that thinking men will applaud them for enforcing a law which must, before long, bo repealed by all Christian nations—l am, etc., GEORGE E. ANSON, M.D.