A TOLL-GATE TROUBLE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 382, 6 May 1910, Page 7

A TOLL-GATE TROUBLE

MAORI ABUSES THE TOLL COLLECTOR. "NOT THE MOST TACTFUL." ''That's tact," sang a winsome lady upon the local stage not so long ago, and she gave some instances of the marvellous value of "tact." Instances where this very useful commodity is evidently in short"supply are constantly recurring. In the opinion of the justices presiding! at the Police Court yesterday morning they had' such a case before them. A young Maori named Te Ano was charged with having used indecent language on April 16. Sergeant Haddrell (prosecuted, and the whole of the evidence and cross-examination had to be conducted through an interpreter, always a tiresome performance, and in this case unusually so, the defendant at an early stage adopting an attitude as of sullen disapproval of the whole proceedings. George Taylor, tollgate Keeper at I'cniho" gave evidence that on the mor:iiug of April 10 the accused, accompanied by another native and a girl, drove through the gate towards Okato, the other Maori paying the toll. Later in the day the accused returned with the horse and trap, but without his companion of the morning. Witness went out into the middle of the road and stopped the vehicle, asking, "Where's your ticket?" The Maori, without any explanation, called him by an opprobrious name (the witness raised his voice very considerably in uttering the words). This was riot the first time that Ano had acted in this way, and he warned him to be careful, or he would write the words down. And said: "Do it; do it now; write it on my trap." His sole reason for laying the information was that this young man was the ringleader of a number of Maoris who «ave him a lot of trouble at the gate. | * After considerable trouble, the interpreter's efforts being seconded by those of Mr. Boon, who made no greater impression upon the defendant, the accused was induced to speak, and he said he had no questions to ask, but he denied Taylor's testimony, saying he had "spoken wrongly." In answer to the Bench, Taylor saidj that had he recognised defendant as he came up he would not have stopped him, for he was quite entitled to drive through the gate, having already paid. I He admitted .being "sharp" with this native, .because on a previous occasion he had defrauded him of a fee. Norman Taylor, a 12-year-old son of the previous witness, gave corroborative evidence, but the words used, according to him, were not the same as sworn to by his father. The defendant, after having been cautioned as to the nature of an oath, and the serious consequences of departing from the path of verity, to'.A his story j from the time he harnessed his horse; rjnht rap to the occasion of the use of the bad language. He alleged that when, he. and his companion passed through the gate in the morning, both asked Taylor for a ticket, and he said it was 'unnecessary, as he would know them on their return. In the evening Taylor demanded payment of the toll, and he rtplied, "How many times do 1 you want to be paid'; We asked you for a tictet, and you wouldn't give us one." Taylor persisted, and swore at him, calling him •< a black Maori." He retorted, '•You're a great big sneak." That was all.

Cross-examined, Ano said he remembered having-admitted to Constable B'iekman Unit lie ,had told Taylor to "go to h—." 13ut he had forgotten 10 mention it now. A Maori girl, thirteen years of age, who was riding with the defendant, said she remembered Ano asking Taylor how many times he wanted to be paid, and remembered Taylor calling him a Maori. He was the first to swear, »nd that was whv the Maori swore at him. Sergeant Haddrell remarked that even if Taylor had broken the law it was no excuse for the Maori to go and do the same thing. Recalled, Taylor said he never used bad language, knowingly. He despised it too much for that. Mr. Russell, remarked that evidently Taylor was not the most tactful person in the world. The exercise of ordinary tact would have prevented the'unfortunate occurrence. That, however, was only a slight mitigation of a very seri-i otis offence. Tliev had taken into con-, sideration the fact that defendant wasj a native, and therefore hardly able tOj urderstand the purport of the words he: had used. A line of £1 would be ra-i dieted, in default seven days' hard labor. The Bench admonished the defend- j ant that if lie came up again on a similar charge he would be more severely dealt with, and remarked that, the tollgate keeper must be -protected. ° The costs amounted in all to £1 10s, .but the Bench disallowed Taylor's expenses (coach fares for himself and his son and Cs for the day), Mr. Boon reirarkin". "A little tact goes a ~.ong way with Maoris." The fine and costs were paid.