Threatening the Premier.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1939, 22 November 1906, Page 3

Threatening the Premier.

In the course of the hearing of the | char"o against AVilliatn S. Aickin, Mr R. McVcagh appeared on Aickin’s behalf, and stated that the prisoner had asked him to express publicly his extreme regret for taking the wrong course he had tho letter which formed the subject of the charge against him. Tho

prisoner recently had boon giving sonic 6 consideration to the Maori land question j ; and legislation in connection therewith, j and came to the conclusion, rightly or 1 , wrongly, that a section oi the Act passed 1 , last year was an infringement of tho Treaty I of Waitangi- Ho felt that wrong had been 1 done to the Maori people.' His interest in 1 the question was purely academic- He had never had any transactions in native 1 lands, either directly or indirectly. Feel- 1 ing that it was necessary to draw tho 1 attention of the public to the wrongs of the native people, he took this means of 1 > doing so. He, however, really had no 1 personal ill-feeling against Sir Joseph 1 Ward, and acted, as lie thought, upon pub- 1 B lie grounds. llii Honor; I don't [Link you nro improving your caso very much, Mr Mo | r Voagh. . 3, Ur MoVeagh : I vast io emphasise — y H'S Honor; Willis do you miau—that ■s he is mad ? g Mr MoVoagh: lam not prepared to aay that,

His Honor: Ho is cithor mad or guilty. Mr MoVoagh: Thoro is this in his favor, that ho uovor mado any attompt to oarry bin throat into oxrootion, His Houor: He is not charged with attempting lo murdor, but with sending a lottor threatening to kill. Mr MoVoagh : Ho had never mado any attempt to kill. . His Honor : Hnv do I know ho will

not do sc Mr MoVoagh : Tho prisoner is a sharebroker, and holds a very high r pntaiion among bin fellow sharebroker:'. Ipr -poso to call three of them to give some oviJonoo as to his disposition. IPs llonrr : I don't want to know anything about his disposition. Tho law is that you shall not send letters threatening lo kill. ~ Mr MoVoagh : Theso witnesses will say that bo is steady, iudustnouJ, and uf un-

impeachable iuSegrity, His Honor: Ho is not chmgod witn being of impoaohable integrity, hut wiih sending rho letter. Mr MoVragh : Thai is so. llis Honor; Am you going to say that this highly respectable sharebroker, of uuimpo ich.ible iotogtUy, has the right tj soiul lotters threat- ning to kill ? Mr McVcagb : N ), lam not. flia Honor : Thu publio must bo pro teolod. His nation on tbo Maori land quosticn indicates —to use a oornmou expression—that bo has “ a boo iu his boonet.”

Mr MoVoagh said tho prisoner was 58 years of ago, and asked his Honor to aosomo a merciful atti.uic. If his Honor thought She etna eouhl ho mot by ordering prisoner to find bonds of good behaviour, she bonds con'd ho obtained. It had come

to prisoner's knowledge that Sir Joseph Ward had said that so far as ho was oouoernod ho would be sati-fiod if that eouisa vveto adopted.