LAW REPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1494, 17 July 1912, Page 4

LAW REPORTS.

COURT OF APPEAL,

CASE OF SOLICITOR STEVENS.

MAORI WOMAN'S MONEY,

I'or the second day, tho Court of Appeal was occupied with n motion to make absolute, a rulo nisi tailing upon John (■wynetli OX'onor Stevens, of Otaki, ( 0 show cause why his name should not be removed from the roll of solicitors for alleged professional misconduct. Oil (lie licnch were tl.o Chief Justice (Sir llobert Stout), Sir Joshua Williams, Mr. Justice i.dwards. Mr. Justice Cooper, and Mr. Justice Chapman. »-ut-?' -V,V ray ,- a M )onrell for the Law So'AI, lllstnct oJ Wellington, and mm °- m' % m for J - G - °- Stevens. Hie allegations of professional misconduct against Stevens wore set out as follow :-lhat on October 2t, 1010, while acting ostensibly as solicitor for'a Native woman, named lianginpoa Waikari, but really in the interests of one Sydney Eobiohns Last, ; ho (Stevens) appiied to the 1 übho Trustee for a loan to Rangiapoa Waikan of ,£IOOO, on the security of ecrmi. ~l u n,ul tll!,t 110 wisely represented that the loan whs required for the purpose of improving certain other lands, whereas the money was (as Stevens well knew) required for the purchase from f-nst of a share in tho patent rights of nn invention. This invention was for indicating the position of sunken vessels, and was called "Tho Patent Automatic \V reck Recorder." Stevens, East, and ono John licntick. Jilaiue were the patentees. Uoth, prior to making the application for the loan and afterwards, Stevens persuaded the woman Kangiapoa Waikari to purchase tho share in the patent from East, and to mortgage lrer land for that purpose, well knowing that she had no independent, advice, and was not competent to act for herself in the matter. Bv reason of this persuasion, East obtained .£'Boo from her out of the proceeds of the loan. It appeared from the affidavits filed that the Public,Trustee'would not have granted tho loan if tho purpose for which tho money was to be used had been correctly stated in the application.

■ A Witness's Credibility. In addressing the Court on behalf of the solicitor Stevens, Jlr, Becro referred to the evidence of East, a clerk in the Native Land Court. The Chief Justice: I tell you frankly I don't believe East at all. Jlr. Beerc said that ho admitted that East's evidence was very far from satisfactory, and that it was contradictory. The Chief Justice: That is putting it in u very, mild way. Jlr. Becre urged that: Stevens could not lie blamed for any unreliability of East's. Apparently, East had kept his actions secret, from Stevens, cither because ho thought that Stevens might have nothing to do with the-transaction,'or because ha thought that Stevens might want a share of the money. There had been a trap, and Stevens had fallen into it, and any other solicitor might have- done likewise. Jlr. Justice Edwards: East's unreliability does not tell against Stevens, but you arc asking us to believe East in preference to witnesses whose evidence is .corroborated, and against whoso character there is no suggestion. On the subject of accounting for the money, the Chief Justice said that on East's own statement of the matter an amount of iJ275 was not accounted for. The Chief Justice said'that it had been the • duty of Stevens to protect . this yon'ng, i indifferently educated Maori woman, Vho .was liot acquainted with business affairs. That was Stevens's "high duty as'an. officer of the Court." , At. "the. conclusion of his address, Jlr. Bcerc remarked that he knew that he had not explained matters as the Court Would have wished. .The Chief Justice said that ho did not think that .any, counsel could have clone any better'thiin: Jlr. J3eero had dono iit" putting everything before, tho Cour*;. Jlr. Gray then replied in a short address, ■Tlio decision nf the Court was reserved.