COURT OF APPEAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 25 July 1907, Page 2

COURT OF APPEAL.

- Per Preßß Association. Wellington, July 21. ) Continuing his argument in the Te Akau case, Air Moriaoii contended that section 26 of the Maori Land Claims and Laws Amendment Act, IUO6, had been passed on a wrong assumption of the law by the Legislature, and was therefore a dead letter, He claimed that the issue of a Crown grant for land had extinguished all tribal or hapu boundaries, and all native customary title, and that therefore, in referring the question of , tribal boundaries to the Native Appellate Court, the Legislature had wrongly assumed those boundaries still existed. Tn.it being so, it was the duty of the Apjjui.ute Court to decide that tribal - uuunuaries no longer existed! Tho .Appelate Court had decided that tribal boundaries were still in existence. This decision was in excess of the jurisdiction in respect of which the writ of prohibition was claimed. i Mr Earl then addressed the Court, contending thai after the taking of the Te Akau Dlock and the consequent extinguishment of the native customary title, there was no abandonment of the land, by the Crown under the "New Zealand - .Settlements Amendment and Continuance Act, 1805," and that, therefore, the block remained Crown land. The part of the block returned to the loyal natives was given us compensation, and was not an abandonment of the land. It might have been given out of any other block, and it was a coincident that it was a part of the same block. It wal ,' plainly Crown land that was given to tho ! loyal natives, and all tribal boundary lines lind-gone. After Mr Bell had replied, the Court' intimated that it would give judgment I on Friday morning.