SUPREME COURT. MONDAY S SITTING

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 272, 13 June 1888, Page 5

SUPREME COURT. MONDAY S SITTING

His Honor, addressing the Grand Jury, said that the calcndai on the pie&ent occasion seemed a .somewhat, large one, there being 30 pewons charged with 24 offence.-. When they came to deal with it, however, they would find that it \va* not a very serious one. Eight oi tlic»c charges arose out of one matter— the sale of .some native land, in which some sc\en Maoris and whitemen were concerntd. The nature of this transaction lw would ! question presently. There were unibrtu1 nately three ca<-es of indecent assault. In these cases the jury would understand that where the person assaulted was over the age of twelve yea is there must be icMbtanceou her part to pro\e that the o/lenre was com1 mitted against her will, in order to conI stitute an assault. In cases of children under twelve years the law did not consider them capable of consenting to [ anything of the «.ort. The jury would | consequently observe that distinction in dealing with these eases. The facts in the : other cases were \eiy simple. There weie some three charges of stealing, four cases oi forgery and uttering ; also a en>e of i setting lire to a hays-tack, and the usual cases of petty larceny and receiving stolen goods. On none of these did he require to give special dhections, because he trusted the jury knew sufficient of law to deal with them. The eight charges to which hu had previously referred arose in this way : A European married into a native tiibe, was "ippointed by the Government to purchase a certain block of land from that tribe, and he was to be paid tor the same £5 a head for each signature obtained to the deed of conveyance. The land having been pub through the Native Lands Court, the European proceeded to obtain the necessary signatures. The lmthcs interested numbered o\er seventy, and, unfortunately for him, a number of them weie dead. Some of their children were also dead, and it was alleged that their signatures were obtained by personation. Another chief of the tribe was concerned in the obtaining of these signatures along m ith the land purchaser, and the latter said that he knew nothing about the personation of tht^e native-? and their children. Out of that stile of facts arose some ei^ht charges of false pretences. Ib would be for the jury to say whether there was a prima faoie ca^e against the European and the others. Two of the parties, namely, the land purchase agent and the the chief, would probably be indicted for conspiracy, and id was ior the jury to say whether there was sufficient evidence to enable him to say that they ought to be tent for trial before the common jury. These were all the ca?e» that called for special attention. The grand jury then retired.