THE NATIVE EJECIION CASE AT CAMBRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 3867, 6 January 1883, Page 4

THE NATIVE EJECIION CASE AT CAMBRIDGE.

This remarkable case, which is now oc. cupying the Resident Magistr&te's Court at Cambridge, and in which Messrs JE, B. Walker, Jno. (irice, W. H. Grace, A. B. Stubbing, and twenty-nine other Europeans are indicted, has, finca brought forward on the 12th December, been a subject of much interest amongst the Waikato public, particularly those engaged in native land transactions. In a w're which we published fromeur correspondent on Wednesday last, bearing on the case, our readers will have seen that great dissatisfaction was manifested by those engaged ia the case, both counsel and accused, as regards ihe machinery at the disposal of the Court there for dealing with native indictable cases. In the oase under notice, the charge against the accused Is one of forcible entry. Oq the 17th. November last the information charges them with having, under the leadership ot Mr E. B. Walker, forcibly entered on the Pnkeknra block, of which Mr Walker is the attorney for the lessse, and did then forcibly expel a number of natives therefrom.

In the course ot the examination of one of the witnesses, who stated she did not understand ihe interpreter's questionr, Mr Hesketh begged the Court U support him in the suggestion he was about to make. This, he said, was the fifth day of the Court's sitling,and half of the time had been lost in first obtaining one interpreter and then another. 'J here bad heen. no less than four or live interpreters employed on the case since the commencement instead of their being an interpreter attached to the Court, who could commence ! the case aud continue to the end. The i suggestion he bad to make, inconvenient aa it was to his clients a»d counsel engaged was this: " That the Court should refuse to to on with the homing of the case until the Government provided the proper macbi- : nery." To continue as they had been doing amounted to a denial of jasiice, and was j grossly uufair to both prosecution and prisonow, and would mean au enormous expense to the lutter. Therefore, if the ' machinery required for the proper hearing of native cases were not provided by the Government, he would ask the Court to refuse to proceed. He understood the administration of justice io. the colony was a source of profit, and there was no reason therefore, for not providing lie proper ma-chinery.-Mr Hay heie interposed that whether it was a source of proht or not the Government were bound to provide proper means for obtaining redress.- Hia Worship, referring to Mr Hesketh's invitation to refuse to poceed, asked how long did they think he thoald hold his appoint ment it f.e did so, ab they wete doubtless aware, the only time to get the Government to do anything was at election time when they wanted a vote.—Mr Hesketh trusted His Worship would not alow"1 himself to be influenced by any such consideration as that named, when- > tver the question was one of justice — The discussion resulted in the counsel engaged in the case and the accused wiring to the Minister of Justice asking that the i necessary interpreters should be provided I without delay, that the oads of justice might be met. The following morning the Acting-Secretary for Justice telegraphed j to the Magi-urats a most unsatisfactory ' reply. ;