THE INDEMNITY BILL.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1085, 10 June 1882, Page 2

THE INDEMNITY BILL.

A Bill intituled an Act to indemnify certain Persons for Acts done by them on the West Coast of tbo North Island of New Zealand. Whereas large numbers of aboriginal natives frequently assembled at Parihaka, in the Provincial District of Taranaki, and thereby produced undue excitement, breaches of the law, and disturbance of the public peace: And whereas, with the object of preventing such meetings and preserving the peace, certain measures were adopted by the Government of New Zealand, and carried out under their authority, some of which measures may have been in excess of legal powers, and it is expedient that the persons acting therein should be indemnified ; Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows : — 1. The short title of this . Act is “The Indemnity Act, 1882.” 2. Every person whomsoever who shall at any time before the passing of this Act have acted under the authority of the Government of New Zealand, given either before or after any act, matter, or thing done for the preservation of the peace or good order, or in or about the resisting, apprehending, detaining, confining, imprisoning, or committing to prison of any person doing or being concerned in, or suspected of doing or being concerned in, any of the acts, matters, or things following, that is to say, —- (I)- Destroying or damaging property, real or personal. (2). Committing anv of the offences specified in “ The West Coast Settlement (North Island) Act, 1880 ” (3). Assembling or holding meetings at Parihaka, in the Provincial district of Taranaki. (1). Attending any such meeting, and refusing or neglecting to disperse or depart therefrom when directed or required so to do by any person acting under the authority of the Government of Now Zealand. (5.) Making use of seditious or threatening language ; and any person who shall have damaged or destroyed any real or personal property, or searched for, seized, or taken possession of any arms or ammunition under or by virtue of such authority as aforesaid, shall be and is hereby freed, acquitted, released, indemnified, and discharged of, from, and against all actions, suits, complaints, informations, indictments, prosecutions, liabilities, and proceedings whatsoever. 3. In order to prevent any doubt as to whether any person has acted under the authority of the Government of New Zealand, it shall be lawful for the Governor, by writing under his hand, to declare any act, matter, or thing done to come within the provisions of this Act; and such declaration, of which all Courts, Judges, and Justices shall take judicial cognizance, shall bo conclusive evidence of the fact therein stated.

Tlie LeaisUtire Council of New Zealand musters 47 names, while the Lower House shows.;: roll of 92 members—Auckland returning 18 members, Taranaki 3, Hawke’s Bay 3, Wellington 11, Nelson 5, Marlborough 3, Canterbury 18, Westland 3, Otago 24, and 4 Maori members. We are indebted to the courtesy of the Ven. Archdeacon Williams for tlie following rain guage report for the past week : — Rainfall. Juno 4 0.77 inches „ 5 ... ... 0.77 „ „ 6 1.18 „ „ 7 1.02 „ „ 8 2.29 „ „ 9 1.92 „ A little boy once wanted a drum. His mother wishing to give him an impressive lesson, suggested that if he prayed for it he might receive one. So at night when ready for bed, he knelt down and prayed— Now I lay me down to sleep (I want a drum,) I pray the Lord my soul to keep, (I want a drum,) If I should die before I wake, (I want a drum,) I pray the Lord my soul to take, (I want a drum.) His father, who had been let into tlie secret, had meanwhile quietly placed a drum on the bed. As the youngster rose and his eyes fell on the drum, he exclaimed in an emphatic manner that banished all serious thought from the minds of his listeners : “ Where the devil did tiiat drum come from ?” The anticipated benefits from that lesson may be considered lost.