SUPREME COURT.
CIRCUIT SITTINGS. Tuesday, July 10. (Before his Honor the Chief Justice.) REGINA V. CAIMAN AND REGINA V. MORRISON. Prisoners were brought up for judgment, and Mr. Travers moved in arrest. The prisoners had been indicted for having committed wilful and corrupt perjury before a Court of Inquiry at the Chatham Islands, in respect of the Ocean Mail. Perjury was assigned in the cases on different statements, but in each case the form of the indictment was identical. In the first and second counts they were charged with perjury before two justices of the peace, and in the third and fourth counts with perjury before two justices of the peace and a resident magistrate. The fifth and sixth counts were for having taken a false oath. It appeared on some of the counts that the resident magistrate who sat with' the two justices also filled the position of chief officer of Customs at the OWW Islands. The Xu<jvdry into Wrecks Act provides that the principal officer of- Customs shall initiate all proceedings thereunder, and conduct the proceedings before the court of inquiry. Mr. Travers raised the following objections. That it appeared by the evidence that the oath administered to the prisoners had been .administered by a constable by the direction of the Resident Magistrate, whereas it should have been administered by the magistrate himself. [This point was overruled by the Judge as soon as raised.] Secondly, that the officer of Customs having sat on the Bench, had thereby virtually assumed the positions of prosecutor and Judge in the same case. Thirdly, that the Court had been improperly constituted, because the Act provided that there should be two justices summoned by the Collector of Customs to hold the inquiry, whereas in the present case, there were more than two justices on the Bench, and the chief officer of Customs had himself sat, and merely asked the others to sit with him. Eourthly, that all the necessary formalities had not been observed,, notably that of giving proper notice. Mr. Izard contended that the prisoners were properly convicted ; that the presence of an additional magistrate did not in any way vitiate the inquiry, or disqualify the Court; that the Resident Magistrate, though he was Collector of Customs, had a right to sit, not being interested in such a manner as to be biassed. To prevent a person taking a seat on the Bench, it must be shown that he was interested either pecuniarily, or that he was the person on whom the wrong had been inflicted. (The great Yarmouth case, 6 B. and C., 646 ; and Wild V. Russell, L. 8., 1, C.P. 777.) His Honor the Chief Justice in giving judgment said he had had the benefit of the opinion of his brother Richmond, whose opinion quite coincided with his own. He thought the statute had contemplated that the principal officer of Customs should perform special duties, not that of sitting on the Bench to adjudicate, but of superintending the proceedings before the Court. The Court must, therefore, uphold the contentions of Mr. Travers that the proceedings were invalidated by the incompetency of the Collector of Customs to bold the position be had assumed, and he (the Judge) must admit he should have directed the jury to acquit prisoners upon certain counts. As to the other counts, he should upon these discharge the prisoners, they entering into their own -recognizances to come up for judgment when called upon. In the meantime the Crown would no doubt take other proceedings or pardon the prisoners. Prisoners were therefore discharged.
The Court then adjourned till next morning,
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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5085, 11 July 1877, Page 2
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603SUPREME COURT. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5085, 11 July 1877, Page 2
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