APPEAL AGAINST ARREST

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4570, 30 May 1923, Page 3

APPEAL AGAINST ARREST

QUESTION OF PROCEDURE. RULE NISI DISCHARGED. The case of a man at present serving a sentence in Mount Eden gaol, who alleges that there was a flaw in the proceedings preceding the issue of the' warrant for his arrest, and that ,he was, therefore, improperly imprisoned* came before Mr Justice Stringer in .the Supreme Court, at Auckland on Monday. The prisoner concerned is Robert Whitten (Mr Hogg), who, on February 23 last, was convicted at Paeroa on a charge of sending offensive letters to George Buchanan (Mr A. Hanna), and was then ordered to find sureties for his future restraint from sending such letters. These were not forthcoming and seven days later he was arrested and taken to Mount Eden gaol. The alleged flaw in the proceedings was that no minute of l the conviction was served on him prior to his arrest. The case recently came before Mr Justice Herdman, who made a rule nisi calling upon the gaoler of the prison to show cause why. a rule absolute should not be made for the issue of a writ of habeas corpus. Mr y. R. Meredith appeared for the gaoler, and at the outset "Mr Hanna intimated that, incidentally,, he represented the justices of the peace Dy whom prisoner was convicted, as well as complainant. ' Mr Meredith admitted that no minute or copy of the order was served before the warrant was issued or before arrest, but he pointed out that the. man was in Court when the orde l was made. Mr Hogg edntended that under section 113 of the Justices of the Peace Act, 1908. a minute or copy of the conviction must be served on accused. His Honour :Why should a minute be necessary in casqs where a man is in Court. He may be removed straight away. Mr Hogg submitted that the reason was that in the hurried procedure a layman could, be expected vo grasp the interpretations of an order. He contended that prisoner had not waived the serving of the minute. Mr Hanna submitted that even if it were necessary for any minute cr memorandum to have been served Lire man concerned was present, and the order was pronounced in his hearing, and," therefore, there was no necessity for the minute to be served. Mr Meredith held y*at sections 113 and 114 of the Justices of the Peace Act did not covej; the present case. Further, those sections did not apply to any complaints for sureties of the peace. . His Honour discharged the rule nisi on the ground that, section 113, requiring a minute to be served before a warrant was issued, did not apply to the specific part of the Act dealing with sureties of the peace. He allowed £7 7s costs for the Crown. |

“Early in the ’9o’s 61b weight of wool per sheep was about the average. From about 1905 it has been 81h. The quality in the carcase of sheep torday -is not the same as in past days.” said Mr David Smith to the’ students of woolclassing at the Masterton Technical School.