WARRING FACTIONS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 404, 13 December 1932, Page 6

WARRING FACTIONS

MAORI CASES TE KIRI FAMILIES FACE CHARGES. IN COURT WHO POINTED GUNS? Extrc-mely tangled cases in which rifles, shotguns, stray horses, taiahas, hlocked roads .and suggestions of eonspiracy were coming to the surface were heard before Mr. S. L. Paterson S.M., in the Rotorua Magistrate's Court yesterday. There was a direct conflict of evidence and as the two families were cousins and both bore the name of Te Kiri matters were a little complieated. The 'evidence' went to show that there had been a feud of lengthy standing between these hranches of the family and the poliee state d that the feud wras coming to a serious pass when firearms were introduced. Frank Heke (Mr. Potter) pleaded I not grrilty and Joseph Te Kiri (Mr. | Roe) similarly, to presenting a fire- | arm at each other. "Gerneral Rumpiis" "Senior-Sergeant Carroll said that | there had been trouble between the j two families culminating in this action. Bobbie Te Kiri gave evidence that he saw Joe Te Kiri coming up to his unele's house with a rifle calling* out to Hone Te Kiri, "Come out and I will shoot you." There had been a general riunpus between his uncle and Joe Te j Kiri for months. A slrot had been fired | from the rifle wlrich had been stolen I by Joe Te Kiri from his father's > house. Later the stock of the rifle was broken when Heke struclc Joe Te Kiri. Witners declared that he was quite truthful and did not invont storles to worry his father who was blind. To Mr. Roe. This incident happened at night. Witness saw Joe Te Kiri leave the house but no rifle could be found. He told everyono that Joe had sunen tne rifle, but had not reported I .v to tlv.: pol.ee. Witness declared that j Joe had first stolen the rille and then come and shown it to them. The shotgun was not at witness' house at all. Witness adniitted that he had naiied iip J(»e Te Kiri's aecess despite the x'aet that it had been ordered to be kcp-t open by Judge Bowler. Heke was a relation oi' witness and when iie cumo out oi' the Jiouse he had a "taiaha" in hK hanj not a shotgun. Nit Ilim With Fi.sts Joe Te Kiri had wanied to take Heke to the poiice station. Later witness' mother took the rifle from Joe. Frank Heke did hit Joe but with his iists. Heke tried to hit Te Kiri with the taiaha as he got ihvough the fence but missed him. Witness could not expiain why he waited two days h'-re rcporting the matter to ihe poiice. To Mr. Potter: Frank Heke did not have a gun. Toko Ahu who spoke through an mterproter, said that he saw Haka le Kiri alias Ilohepu Te Kiri, otherwise Joe Te Kiri, wiio came over and sang out to the blind man that he was going io shoot him. Witness' mother wrestled with Joe and took the gun from hira. Witness was inside and ii.-ard the old lady call out for help. iie ride Isad been stolen from the house on Getober 10 and Joe Te Kiri .ailed out that he intended to shoot Ahutaki and Heke Murray. He yelled chat he had three guns waiting for ilcKa Murruy. Someone hit Murray with the rifle behind the ear and broke vho stock. The gun was missing from •Jie house before witness came to dve there from Te x uke. To Mr. Roe: Ahutaki had told him a1:out the rifie and gun. He thought ioe Te Kiri had stolen the rifle. Witness detailed sonia of the trouble between Joe Te Kiri and witness' family. To Mr. Potter: The shot-gun was not in the house the night of the trouble, and Heke never pointed a gun at Te Iviri. Hit Behind Ear Hikapa Te Kiri, brother of the last witness, an aged Maori, heavily tattooed, gave her vernon of the incident and related how she toolc' the gun from Joe Te Kiri. The rifle was broke n when she had hold of the stock and Joe Te Kiri had hold of the -nu'i'el and wren'ched it from her and struek Heke behind the ear. Later ./ oe and Heke went away to have a fight. Witness desired to expiain all the circumstances which led up to the qaurrel between t'ce families but was checkod by the poiice. To Mr. Iloe, witness said that her children had told her that Joe Te Kii'i had stolen the rifle. Witness said that she had no knowledge of the existence of a road through her property and ii' there was one, would give instructions *to her sons that he be unmolested. One of her sons struek Joe with a taiaha. Joe was on his own but there were seven of her iamily there. Joe Caused Trouble To Mr. Potter, witntess :;aid that everything was peaeeful at her hom-.r until Joe Te Kiri came to live near hem. The trouble arose over some horses. f'he had called Heke out to sielp her take the rifle from Joe Te Kiri. Constable Brown gave evidence that he had made inquiri'es at Te Ngae. Joe Te Kiri denied pointing a gun at any one. He detailed further results of his inquiries. According to what the blind man had told him, the shot-gun was in his house at the iime of the trouble. There was continuous trouble amongst ihe t native s and contmuous compiaints, in fact the poiice usually cleared out from the station when they saw the Te Iiiris. In his opinion, the young Te Iviris were double-crossing the old man because he was blind. The feud had r ■achad a dangerous stage and he thought that it was fifty-fifty as to who wa3 in the wrong. To Mr. Roe: The result of his inquiries went to sh'ow that the shot gun, which Joe Te Kiri said was pointed at him, was aetually on the premises at the timo. To Mr. Potter: He did not ask Toko- Ahu details of the trouble sinee he thought that he was a recent arrival. Perjury Alleged - Mr. Roe said that there had been deliberate perjury and though' his client Joe Te Kiri did not bear a

him into serious trouble. Howard Roach, of the Native Land Court, produced the reeords of the court showing that Joe Te Kiri had right of access over the road in dispute. ' Jo"e Te Kiri stated that he had no firearm ' at ail with him and had never stolen it from the house. Passing the blind man's property that night he found the road blocked with wires. He was rrnable to water his horses. As he pnssed two boys came home and he asked Heke who gave him instruetion to block the road. Witness then asked him to come into town and see the Land Court. Heke told him to go to H and said "I'll shoot you." He ran into the house and came out with the shotgun. Ile was followed by Bobbie Te Kiri with a taiaha, a far more deadly weapon at close range. Then writness cloecd with them and a. man named Togo Clayton told him the gun was loaded. . Witness never saw the rifle he was alleged to have until he saw it , in the poiice siation. He got the gun from Heke and gave it to- Togo. Then Heke got the taiaha and struek witness on the neek. Later another boy had three smacks at him but witness grabbed him by the coat and pushed him over. The- boys ratber fancied themselves as boxers, "All the same as Tommy Burns." Trouble Over Horses To Mr. Potter: He had not had a firearm for two years and the statements of the other witnesses that he had, were deliberate lies. .His horses had not strayed but witness had put a fence up and Ahutaki had pulled it down. Consequently witness's horses were on the maize and were impounded. Thene was no reason why he shouhl use a gun on these people sinee if he wanted to give them a hiding he would have been quite. able to give- the whole lot of them a hiding. To Senior-Sergeant Carroll: His relatives knew he was on probation and were trying to get him into trouble. He had suggested taking the whole thing to the Land Court. The Senior-Sergeant: I wish you'd go . somewhere. Mr. Potter for Heke, said that his statement would be much the same as the evidence given previously. Heke dmied pointing a gun at Joe Te Kiri. The quarrel was fover a horse which he said Joe Te Kiri had taken from hi3 place without permission. The hulk of his 'evidence was much on the lines of that of the previous witnesses. To Senior-Sergeant Carroll: Bobbie Te Kiri was a truthful witness. The Bonch said that be was satisfied that Heke's people were the aggressor and therefore the case against Joe Te Kiri would he dismissed. He would order Heke to he bound over to keep the peace and also that tln.