Te Kooti's Appeal Case.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 25 February 1890, Page 2

Te Kooti's Appeal Case.

I The appeal of Te Kooti against >h* order of Mr Bush, B:M\,.at Opitiki, that he should find sureties to keep 'the peace, came, before Mr Justice Conolly at the Supreme Court. Mr.^apier appqarod for ph§. appellant, and Mr Bi^ttcn for the respondent. Inspector Goodall.- 1 The' grounds of the appeal were chiefly' that the order \ya3 u'i^ra. vires ; tWt. the Resident Magistrate had fio authority to issuo anc^,-. an--^order ; chat the order did not show on the : fac,e of is that Te Kooti h>d com-; _ mitted any $ffanj?.e : that the faots"did not warrant .the issue of such «n order,' aud the order did not affirm, that the offence was likely to be re peated. His Honour uphe'd the appeal. He said the case appeared to him to be this : Te Kooti had not been in Gisbbrne for twenty years, nnd at that time he committed 1 certain acts : but six or sev^.n ye^ra. ago h» received a fall pardon, and 'after that.he conticued-;to ctid a'peice'able manner. The question was, was h^ .entitled to go to (3-Jaborne ? Could tlie'rebe a shadow of a doubt that ho was p6rfeet!y.e'iit < ;treii to do =io? Ho ■would it appears, baye gone tq Gisbone, and that would have been at his personal rialc .There wa i ' nothing unusual in his starting with about a dozen pnnple. then. According to Maori custom, when a' person of notp was travelling his following greatly increased, ]i\v whether that wae by his wish or n^t did not 'appear. His intention was to go to Gisborne, and no doubt his arrest was a very wise measure, but the question for the •Court'tp, decide was. was it 'awful? Now'; looking at the order itself, he saw that the complaint; was laid by the Inspector of Police. The first part of the plaint alleged tha* Te ■Kooti never assembled the native! to disturb the public peace or to alarm her Majesty's subjects. He must have done some offensive a^t, ' and' Justices must be of opini >n that such' an act was likely to "be repea'terd before an order ' for BuretioV should be ntade. ' 'For these reasons he considered that the appeal ought' to be allowed. Then as to the form of tHe'ordw, the Auf w«« noi f »plinir,

.b'iitU.e"'w6uldojder'thafc i tie, &ppsal be alloiW^.- He bold. tha:t ike order was bad, and not jMj i |?ed : by the Aot, and he considerecttlia^whp.tever Was ctane with Te Kodfi,*lic!^eye,c. wise it r&iglii b.O; .was not jiistij&^d by law. Mr Napier, actihg thi be%lf <?f Te Kooti, intends immediately -.to 'iifitig an action against" 'the Government for false impr'isoninenfc. The dam-«gfl'a-will.probably be iaiJ aii.£2o,ooo. The veni(6' tit the .'case, may be changed to DunedFfi sir" WdKn^ion.