A RUNAWAY MARRIAGE

; The ■• case( against ' &,. young . hatiX*, Hoera Ranginuj,. for the'alleged,.abduction of a Maori- girl, under- the -age of 16 yeaxs, Teiti Nepia, from Nuhaka, on February 8, was .proceeded wjth.-at- the Police Court, this morning, before* -Mr W. A. Barton, S.M. Mr T. Alston Coleban appeared for accused, and rDetdctive Mitchell conducted- *the prosecution. ! Charlie Smith,, farmer,, of- Nuhaka, stated his daughter was married *," m about 1886 to Tore Nepia, ■ and\ itliey •continued to live . at. Nuhaka. (They had fourteen children, . including ;<va daughter named Teite, whp.-»was thp •ninth child. She was born oni-Mayi'l2, ■1899, lie learned this from an entry m a Bible (produced) which he saw last Tuesday. . .. . ;> ■ His Worship, after perusing, the entries, ' remarked that it he on a in -question was writen m pencil, ■. and the others were m ink. There were also signs of something having. been: .scratched out opposite the girl's name. ■t- -■ ■.. Witness said the book was- like that when he saw it. Hisi daughter Tareti died six years ago, and , her children lived sometimes with witness and sometimes with their father. On January 21 last wTEhess went to. the Waifoa races;, also Teite and her i sister, and father. They returned to Nuhaka <>n January 23. Witness did not know .'accused then,, bmt saw him at Nuhaka >the following week, at Toro Nepia's place. On February b" accused returned .to Nuhaka and took Teite away, to Gisborne. When arrested accused shook hands and rubbed noses with witness and told him his grandchild was with his (accused^) mother." Witness did not authorise accused to take Teite a^ay.— To Mr Coleman : Apart from the Bible witness had nothing to fix the Teite. The < year of her . birth was not given, but from the previous entry; he reckoned Teite's birth to have been m 1899. — His Worship remarked, that the year opposite .Teite's name had been rubbed out. — Continuing., under ■•crossexamination, witness aeniedt that .he wanted to geti Teite. 'married, to oile of the • Whaanga boys. He was not trying to arrange a match >- . between, yoking Whaanga and Teite, as he- was -a, rich man, and had not taken the proceediflgß against accused out of spite because vlfte girl. did not marry Whanga. . -:',' Toro Nepia, the girl's father, gave evidence that Teite was' fourteen . years and some months old, but he could riot tell exactly, as he could not. read: or write. His daughter Mary Ann looked m the., book, and' told witness Teite's age. She left school ' lastr • winter. On the night' • of .'.February. 8 Witness', two daughters went • ■n-ith^aa* cused .to the pictures. ; Efe' ,:had.' |not seen Teite since-, until .to-day-',^Witn«!|S received a. telegram from Teltfe; frbm Gisborne, stating : . "I am . married <. .to my. , husband. . .We • are . . both) we11,. , and we. are living. .at his place." ; Th^asame day a wire came iroih. accused siatinc he* had married Teite; . Accused, dip not ask witness' consent to marry "t3ife girl. He did not tell him he was .taking her away, and she nfcver. saifl < fihfc was going. . . . . . . : , "'., Detective . Mitchell : Now you. . knoSy they aa^e married, whai , would ,yoii •' like to. do. m the matter ?-^-T would s like % do away. \vith the- marriage. , His 'Worship : You ■ ca'nnbtv do : that now. ':..' .'■ V .' > ' '. '

Mr Coleman : Now you. ;khow yoti cannot do away with th© " marriage are you prepared t<> agree t6 it? The Magistrate iriterposeclthai t'Kat would not affect the case at issub: "'

In reply to Mr Coleman- witness j&6nied that lie wanted Teite to m&rry scihebody eke. . ' ' .' ' v Mr Col em an : Did. nol 1 Teite Tiih away and marry accused because' she did' not want to* be, forced to tharry'A man. oh© did not , cai*e for? — Witness t Noi 'All this, said witness," was "hews to him. - I:-' ' ■ ■ ■" .'-"'"■'

Moses South, 'teacher at the 1 -^uHakii Native school, gave ■ e^ideric^ that Teite went to his school.' She-wa£-!eii-rolled on June 8, 1902, arid the da-te^ of her birthday was. given .as 1 May 12,' 1898. This entry was hia'de by ltfs knowlsdg-3 as to the girl's age. She left school on auly.ll, 1912. ' • -• , v,i Nepia's eight*y^r-old daughter gitve evidence as to coillg to-' the; pictured oh 8, arida4 t^'g^ing-lionitt'ih motor 'car. 'A" mart fteEembling ascused was also m the car. •'■' '. ■♦*, V^

Tli© Rev. E. Jennings gayo r evidencb «s to marrying the couple on February 9, accused having previously^ arranged for the wedding, t He remarked wtoe-n they came to be married that it w&s peculiar there were no parents :or groomsmen present. He asked .the age of the girl, and she replied iin English that she was 22. i • His Worship: Did she ' appear to • be anything . like that age? — Witness: The room was somewhat^dark, and I could net see properly, but I did not question it. ,

Detective Mitchell stated that when hs int-evvi-awed. . aroused , he produced a certificate,^ aaid said tliey .were married at Waerenga-a-hika. " Teite Nepia., the girl ih ., question, <vr&& called,,: when M-r ■ Colemaji object&d' to her giving evidence against- hej- husband^—The, objection was upheld, v. * Mr Coleman .shid, he did .not 'prdpofe© to : call evidence^ as he could only~;supplemeht thp. stor^ already . told i Thera was m>. secfecy m. the matter, and ifc M>as apparent thst it was , a . runaway ntarriags. CDixtinumgii .Mu ,[ . Goleman said there was a <3oubt . as ,t»; the age -of the girl. He referred to ; the e\*idwioa of the grandfather, and father, j-Avaa ba:>3d on \vhat tliey were tolS>'-aai<d> no year was, shown , hi the Bible. , Thfe school i-«cords did not throw any- j?u:<* t her light on .the subject. Tlve girltjib doubt exaggerated when . slie told -ithe clrrg^incn she was .22, biit , f rom -,her iippearanc-j' they w^ro, justified m drawing the inference that slie wns over 16 ye-ir- .Ho cont^anded that it was iiot'': a c^se; to £0 to a j.ury. ., : : ■'';.,-:.• •.;. His Worshipj said m such" cases it was necessary for the prbsecutibn to provebeyond all reasonable , doubt, that the girl ct t>j© time of tlie alleged offence was under '16 yena's .of a^e. This had not. been don©: to his saUsfactioh. -No rcaccn hzd b=eh , given a&' to * Mow ;or wily t..» year, m the Bibte held -beeh rubbed out. He had seen the girl, Wl she certainly looked, more t&ui Ift years old. The information would bb d{smissad. :'•'; ; "> •■■ ,\