LAW INTELLIGENCE.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 38, 9 December 1842, Page 2

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

Before His Honor E. S. llalsweli.. December 1,2, 1842. Wright v. Williams. —The defendant, in this action, a prisoner in the custody of the Sheriff for this district, obtained a rule, calling upon the plaintiff to show cause why he should not be discharged out of custody on Thursday last. The plaintiff is Mr. William Wright, who was, till recently, a merchant in Sydney. The defendant is well known here as having owned and sailed the schooner Jane between this place and Cloudy Bay. Cause was shown against the rule by Mr. Hanson. By the affidavits read in the matter, it. appeared that, by an agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant, the defendant undertook to procure oil, bone, flax, &c., for the plaintiff, upon the usual terms in whaling agreements ; and that the defendant was also put in possession of a station at Cloudy Bay, with the boats, whaling gear, &c.; that the plaintiff, in the beginning of 1840 supplied the defendant with goods to the amount of upwards of £ISOO, which, together with the value of the property upon the station taken possession of by the defendant in Cloudy Bay, amounted, in the whole, to more than £2000; that the plaintiff had never received from the defendant more than £165, or thereabouts ; and that upon a reference of the accounts to two arbitrators, made, as was alleged, without the consent of the plaintiff, an award was made, under which the plaintiff was only to receive ,£l7B, and certain goods were to be delivered up to him. It was stated that the award had never been sanctioned by the plaintiff, and that the defendant had not delivered up the articles, or complied with the terms of the award; and that upon both grounds the plaintiff was not bound by it. An action was commenced against the defendant, in May last, for £2156 13s. lid., and at the October sifting of the Supreme Court, the Jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for £2,000, subject to a reference to Mr. Murphy. A writ- of arrest was issued subsequently upon the affidavit of the plaintiff and one William Styles, which alleged that the defendant was about to leave the Colony, and executed upon the defendant at Nelson. Mr. Hanson was heard at length against the rule, and Mr. Ross in support. The documents and affidavits were very voluminous, and the arguments lasted nearly the whole of the first day. The Court sat again on the 2d for further references and affidavits. His Honor said, that it appeared by the consent to the verdict in the Supreme Court, the defendant had waived the arbitrament and award under Hay's power of attorney, it was now matter of record in that Court, in which the parties must move if they intended to : apply, to set aside the verdict. The question narrowed itself to this—was there any debt due to the plaintiff, and if so, was there sufficient ground to believe the defendant intended to quit the Colony ? He had given it his best attention, and, under all the circumstances, felt himself obliged to discharge the rule, but without costs, as he thought the defendant had good grounds for making the application.

(From the Nelson Examiner.) Nothing could possibly be more satisfactory in its progress and its conclusion than the successful endeavour, on the part of the Police Magistrate, with the assistance of the New Zealand Company’s Agent, to put an end to the squabbling and factious interference of the natives at Massacre Bay. Our readers are aware that for some little time a party of working men, who had combined their capital, have been resident at Massacre Bay, with the intention of sending coal, lime, and timber, to this place and elsewhere. It was most desirable that this intention should not be frustrated ; and, to prevent question as to their right, and at the same time to commence at once to develop, the resources (especially mineral) of the Massacre Bay district, without doing the shadow of an injury to holders of early rural land-orders, Captain Wakefield had so arranged that a duty or toll should be paid on all that was taken away, which should be paid over to the owner of the section as soon as it was selected. The Maories, however, would not let the party work. Various ingenious devices were adopted to interrupt and annoy without coming to blows, or, at all events, to the end that personal violence, if resorted to at all, should commence with the white men, that they might have the law on their side. The point selected on which to charge the Maories was the destruction of the lime-kiln, and some lime which was prepared and in casks ready for export. The party, as mentioned in our last, left this in the Company’s boat on Tuesday afternoon. They put in at a small bay, a little on this side of Taipo, the following morning and breakfasted, then proceeded to Tata, where they found the pah (so well described by our friend of the Massacre Bay trip) completely deserted. Accordingly they then sailed on to Motupipi, where the working party had located themselves, and where the coal seems to be more inmediately and abundantly available than in., other localities. They found hardly any maories there, and the white men employing themselves in preparing their lime-kiln and building barges for the future shipping of their produce, avoiding as much as possible, until the point should be in some way legally settled, the digging of coal and burning limestone, as these were the operations which the maories had principally insisted on their right to oppose. Here they slept, and on the following morning the lime-burners and coal-diggers recommenced their suspended operations. Three or four natives from Takaka arrived, with minds great for mischief, as the careful abstinence from aggression, or use of any force on the part of the white men, has encouraged them to go great lengths, even though few in number. However, the appearance of Mr. Thompson somewhat alarmed them, and their blankface exclamation of “ The Cawana !” (Governor) showed that they had not expected the interference of so important a person with their freaks. They professed great friendship, and condemned Ekkawa’s conduct. In the presence of these, an information was regularly laid by Charles Biggs (one of the coal party) against Ekkawa, for malicious destruction of the kiln andlime and casks; and the party proceeded to Takaka, where - was Ekkawa with about forty natives. Some were absent, having gone out with'the professed intention of stopping the surveyors in their work. At the

landing-place, about two miles and a half up the river, seats were placed, and the necessary arrangements made to give the lit formal character to the proceedings, and Ekkawa was sent for from his warrie—his message in reply being, “ that he would not come ; that he was not a eookey ; and that he would come at the beck and call of no man, be he who he might.” A warrant was immediately made out and entrusted to the constables ; but tlipy did not bring him, not perhaps thinking themselves authorised to use force in such a case without special instructions. It having become plain that force of some sort was necessary to carry the thing through successfully, and it being of all things important that there should be as much decorum and order about the I proceeding as possible, the magistrate then swore in as a special constable Mr. Tytler, and, to assist him, several of the boatmen. This party succeeded in bringing the refractory Maori from his warrie, and to within about forty yards of the place where the Police Magistrate and Captain Wakefield, J.P., were seated. Here a party of his friends being stationed, his pride returned, and he stopped, saying, that now Mr. Thompson might come to him ; and his friends came round him, hanging on him, and telling him not to go. However, there were loud orders from the bench to “ bring him,” and a pair of handcuffs produced the most vividly alarming effect. The friends shrunk back ; and, half yielding, half resisting, the prisoner was placed at the bar, arriving just in time to see a goodly assortment of most * rusty swords and cutlasses handed out of the boat, and laid on the bank. This was a settler —it was all over ; i there was too much appearance of being in earnest to make it at all pleasant: the countenance dropped; trembling and cowed, he awaited what might happen. Theevideneewas clear; theprisonerhadbeenseendestroying the kiln, the casks, the lime —who could doubt maliciously ? Now it is all translated to him, what has he to say ? Alas, poor Ekkawa! how are the mighty fallen ! It was all a mistake. He never intended any harm. It was the anger did it, not he. He was angry, because the white men dug the coal, and sent it to Waikato to sell, and when he and the Maories dug theirs the white men would uot buy it of them, and he could not send it any where to sell. He was very sorry ; he wished to be friendly with the white men, and would never do so any more. Nevertheless, Ekkawa, by the English law, which you must now obey, you must be responsible for “ the anger,” so that, if possible, you may be induced to keep it within bounds. After a little experience, you will probably find the advantage of so doing : for the present, in consideration of your supposed ignorance of the law, your professed sorrow for what is passed, and promised good conduct for the future, you shall be dealt with very leniently« You must pay to the Queen ten shillings, and the costs, which are ten shillings more ; and remember, that this is not given as utu to be let off, and that the next time it will be a far less easy affair, for you will have to be put in the gaol at Waikato, and to work there for two or three moons. After a vain attempt on his part to negociate an alteration of the fine from money into goods, pigs, or potatoes, his wife fetched the sovereign, and the crest-fallen no-cookey was released. When the business was concluded, Mr. Thompson (dropping the character of police magistrate) addressed the natives in that of Protector of Aborigines. He explained to them the nature of the proceedings that had been gone through ; assured them of the perfect impartiality with which any just complaint against the white men which they might have to make would be heard ; that their right to the portions of land allotted them would be cpiite as strictly maintained as that of the white men; and that on no occasion could they be permitted unpunished to interfere with the property of others, or disturb the peace by personal threats or attacks. Amid much profession of friendship, declarations that all anger had ceased, and promises of future goodwill, the affair ended—not, it is to be hoped, without impressing on their minds some idea of the importance of law, and the certainty with which they will find it to administered, at whatever tronble or expense, either for or against them. It will not do, if so fickle a people as the Maories, to prognosticate any lasting impression; but it may, we think, be counted on that this step, if followed up in the same spirit, will in a very short time make the natives around us cpiite as law-respecting a body as the respectable white settlers. “ On Tuesday afternoon, H. A. Thompson, Esq., P.M., and Captain Wakefield, J.P., accompanied by Mr. Tytler, started in the Deal boat for Massacre Bay. with a party in all of about five-and-twenty, sworn in as special constables, with the intention of putting an end, as early, and with as little disturbance as possible, to the interference and unruly conduct of the natives at Motupipi. There will be difficulty found, perhaps, in marking the precise line of action most advisable to pursue. Neither humanity nor the necessity for the decided measures must be forgotten. There is little fear, however, of the former being neglected, but through inattention to the latter. This disease of ill-will between the white men and the Maories must be put a stop to in its beginning. It is a disease certain to spread —frightful in its character —fatal in its result. Real humanity will heal the sore at once, even though by the use of the knife and the actual cautery. “ Saturday Morning. “ We have not time to say more at present, * than that the judicious expedition to Massacre Bay ended most satisfactorily, and that Mr. Thompson and Captain Wakefield returned yesterday afternoen with their officials.” Last night some of the principal inhabitants of Nelson met, with the intention of raising a subscription for the relief of the sufferers by the fire at. Wellington. Several gentlemen were requested to act as a collecting committee, and Mr. Macdonald was appointed treasurerbut we believe there was a subscription of one guinea each by all present at this hurriedly got up meeting. —Nelson Examiner. Nov. 19.