THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, May 10, 1849.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 10, 10 May 1849, Page 1

THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, May 10, 1849.

An examination of much interest, —one deeply affecting the native character. — took place at the Resident magistrate's Court, on Wednesday the 2nd instant. On that il.iv, a native chief, from Te Papa Taurangn, named Raniera. was plated as a prisoner before the Bench, upon a charge of felony, namely, that of tittering counterfeit coin. The evidence given, and the result of the examination, will appear below, and we would profit by the occasion, to call the attention of the natives to the consequences of passing bad money knowingly, and of cautioning ihem to examine carefully all coin tendered to them by Europeans, and to show them one means at least by which t'ley may avoid being imposed upon by copper pieces washed with silver. In England, at a period when paper money was in very general circulation, and when most of the commercial trans-

actions were completed by payment in notes issued by the Bank of England, it was a practice with bad men to imitate those notes, to write the names of the Officers of the Hank, and to copy the notes so closely ami so cleverly, that it was frequently extremely .difficult to tell the true note from the false. The makers of those notes were called forgers, and for a vast number of years the law against them was very severe—death by hanging being the pena'ty inflicted upon every one convicted of the offence. It is not much above twenty or thirty years since the law was modified to transportation, which is the punishment now enforced against all convicted offenders. Transportation is, likewise, the penalty imposed upon all detected in manufacturing, or in knowingly ami wilfully attempting to pass counteifeit coin. Our native friends wi'l thus perceive how mil' li it behoves them to be upon their guard, lest they should be made the instruments of wiclco I and unprincipled Europeans, and ignorautly led to attempt the commission of a crime a mean, cowa'diy, and sneaking crime—of which, iftliiM were aware, they would spurn all participation. It was fortunate for Raniera that his integrity was so well known, and that the llev. C. P. Davics should have been on the spot to testily to his worth. It might have happened that the coin might have been pa-sed to Mr. Douglas by a stranger who had no friend, like Mr. Davies, to speak to hi.s character. Under such an unfortunate predicament, the Magistrate wou-d have been greatiy pur/Jed l«ow to arrive at the truth ! To guard the Natives against such a painful position, wo recommend them to look carefully at all money paid to thein by Eiuopeaus —especially at the rim of the coin. By doing so. they will, in some measure, he able to prove whether it be true or false. The gold and silver coin of England is mil'ed, or notched round the edge. Tne copper coin, on the contrary, is smooth round the edge. Any coin not milled, (the threepenny and three half-penny bits excepted) no matter how silver-like it may seem to be, is a conn • terfeit, and the native who may be ollered such shou'd not only refuse it, but give information to the police- against the person who may tender it to him. IJy doing so he will avoid being placed in a like position to that of Raniera, an J cause a i heck to the nefarious efforts of a'l who may bo disposed to practice upon Native ignorance of European artifice. Ranikiia, an Aboriginal Native, charged with passing counterfeit coin. Thomas Douglas being sworn states —I am a baker liwng at Auckland. On Monday evening prisoner- came to my house at seven o'clock, and asked for two loaves, for which he tendered me a bad coin ins l cad of sixpence. The coin was a half-l'arthing coloured to imitate silver. 1 could not say that is the coin or any of the coins (coins produced in court), but it was the coin handed into court yesterday morning. Prisoner resisted "when I stopped him, and trie 1 to get away from me ; he had the loaves, but I took them from him when I discovered it was a bad coin. It was dark at the time of tin; oc eurrence. Prisoner did mil pin. base anything else. There was another native with him, but 1 could not identify him. Prisoner came twice into the sli p. Richard Cameron being sworn, states —I am a dealer living at Aiuklnml. On Saturday night I received a spin ions coin from a native, hut could not identify the native. The, coin was a half-farthing silvered over. John l'i:!.nr<\'-ou being '-•worn, states —

lam a dealer in Auckland. On Sa unlay evening a native came info my shop; lie n*k<> ' r. r a worth of tobacco, ii ii gave \iiiu, and he tendered me c--.ii si.\j"-n< e-. as I thought, one of which pr.veii to be a half-farthing, the other was a sixpence; the true sixpence was uppermost, the half-farthing was head uppermost under the sixpence. I discovered the all'air about half an hour afterwards. The farthing now produced is the half-farthing that was tendered. Several na!i>es came into my store both before and after the occurrence, but I dj not recollect any other tendering a lialffartliing. 1 cannot swear prisoner is the mill. ~ . Rev. Christopher Pearson Davies, of Tc Papa Tauranga, being sworn, states The prisoner came to me yesterday about two o'clock, and stated that the night before, after dark, he landed from his vessel with a pumpkin in his hand, and met an European, who asked him the price of it; he said a shilling ; the Kuroponn offered sixpence, which he took. It was then dark, and prisoner could not tell who the party was. The lamps were lighting in the shops at the time. Piisoner went into u baker's shop, and tendered the sixpence for two loaves, when lie was seized by the throat by the party to whom he offered the money, and handed to the police. I made particular enquiry if lie would know the European again should he meet him, and he said no, it was too dark. I have known the prisoner for four years and a half; he is a respectable chief of the " Papa," and I have had transactions in purchasing pigs, &c, from him, and always found him strictly hone3t, and exceedingly well conducted. He did not say if ho had any other money about him. Prisoner would hare been the very last native I should have thought would have offered counterfeit meney. Case dismissed;