NATIVE APPELLATE COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 August 1916, Page 7

NATIVE APPELLATE COURT.

A RAHOTU NATIVE'S WILL, A QUESTION OF INSANITY An interesting Native will case was heard before the Native Appellate Court, consisting of Chief Judge Palmer and Judge Rawson, at New Plymouth on Friday. This concerned the will of Tutu te Hihi, who wag found djad in a nude stale 011 the beach near Hahotu in Juno of last year. The facts as stated to the Court were: That the deceased was committed to the Porirua Mental Asylum in February, lfllo, sulfcring from what Dr. Gray Hasaall, the superintendent at Porirua, described as "'general paralysis of the insane." He was released, tincured. six weeks later at the request of his wife, who undertook to look after him. • About a fortnight later he made a will concerning his estate, -which was a considerable one, and a few weeks later was found dead as above described. It was sought on behalf of his sister, his next-of-kin, to upset the will on the ground that it was mado while he was insane.

At tlio first hearing, Dr. Gray Ilassall gave evidence that the deceased irr all •probability had suffered from the disease for some time before he was committed to the asylum, that a general paralytic in tlio condition of the deceased was always mentally defective; that the disease, being atrophy of the''brain tissue, was progressively downhill, and that it was quite impossible for the testator to have had a lucid mterval in which lie might make a will. To much the same cllect was the evidence of Dr. Fookes, of 'New Plymouth. On the other hand, Dr. Blackley, of New Plymouth, deposed to having talked with the deceased, after his return from the-asylum, and lie considered he was then quite.rational., The witnesses to the will also gave evidence that the testator possessed his faculties when signing the will.

( The Native Land Court judge in the Court below held that the testator had testamentary capacity at the time of making his will. It was from this dicision that an appeal to the Appellate Court was brought. At the hearing of the appeal, Mr. P. O'Dea appeared for .the appellant (the sister of the deceased), and Mr. J. E. Wilson for the respondents (the executors 01 the will). The case for the respondents was that l)i\ Gray Hassali had made an error in Ilia diagnosis, the disease not being general paralysis, and that whatever the mental disease was, the will had been executed in a lucid interval. Both sides quoted largely from medical woiks on montal disease, the appellant submitting that there had never been a known case of recovery from general paralysis, and that though there might be remissions in the earlier stages, such remissions did rot constitute lucid intervals. After hearing argument the Court re-1! served its decision. , 'I