SUPREME COURT.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 138, 11 June 1909, Page 5

SUPREME COURT.

.(Before/Mr. 'Justice W&W*T§§il ■ j j A SERIODS'CHARGE. • A -young man named iFrank Tate -was arraigned on five charges of hawing committed a criminal offence upon -a girl 'under -the 'age -"bf -sixteen years '"-between October and January 'last. The -Hon. J, A. Tole, -EC., conducted far i£be pro-ecu-! 'tion, and Mr. 'J. TR. QJu_aon defended. • According to Mr. Tole, the .offences 'had "been 'committed in J tbe N»wm_Tket •and 'Remuera districts, the ;grrl -in 'the case, who was in domestic -service atihe time ••the offences were alleged 4ro ;_ave • .been committed, "having- since -died. . The .depositions of the dead girl, which were read in 'Court, .'implicated ithe acreused and also several mother men. The •girl was fourteen years old;-at rthe time of her death. .Evidence was given -i>y "the ;fathor t,of the deceased girl, in addition -to medical and other evidence. . i Evidence was given ;t_is iiuorning by! the prisoner, who generally denied iany •knowledge that the gift's -years -wire ;»o ,-tender, maintaining \that she <_ad in their first meeting assured him that her age was approaching 17 years. In the course of his cross-examination •by the Crown Prosecutor, Tate remark--ed.that it grieved him that the girl was not in .Court, as he would "then have .-had a -better chance ,of defending him<_elf. His Honor: The unfortunate girl is -dead. -Do you /know -how she .met <her. death? 'Prisoner: 'Yes, -through ; poison. j "And what drove 'her to ipoifipn her--seifl"—"Because ?she was .frightened, J- ( : believe, and 'because ;she was <_x>rse-: -■whipped ?by '-her "-father," -answered !thej -man. i

In summing-up, his Honor ''commented caustically upon the length to the case had been protracted, .both 'in •the Lower and Supreme ; Gotu*fcs. The] whole matter should have -occupied! about two hours," said' his Honor, '"andj the unhappy girl herself, her -sister, and' •her parents might have been taved the; .degradation to which they -have quitej -unnecessarily been :put. The whole' ■question was whether ..the man believed! •*he -was ior was not under the age bfj' ssixteen years. 'It is not enough ."for "a! .-man to ask a girl her age, rand to. rest his own safety from possible conssequehces tupon her -answer, probably receiving ;a falsehood. i?or it is a com--*mpn form for an -unscrvipßlous man who sets *about to -ruin a .girl, ?to -ask her what age she is, and be quite satisfied if the girl declares ierself to be .16 years or over, 'although it -may 'he 'clear .to "him that he 'is -quite possibly getting ■the lie." His Honor went <m >to 6<vy. .it was not sufficient -for _ man -to -a-sk a her age, but he must have reasonable grounds for 'believing -she 'is 7 ever 16 years.

If he had his way in "such cases, •said the Judge, he -would make it obligatory on the -part of a man under <euch -circumstances to able *to : pr"ove that he had <gone -to the registrar, paid 3/6, and obtained a copy of the register to satisfy himself. However, that was -not the law, and all that a man had to -prove was that he reasonably believed the girl to toe 16 year* or over.

'The 'jury retired. Ao -noneider. .->their--verdict «t 3wilf-past .twelve. After a retirement "of "'Si,' little -over; ftalf-ahihour, the jury *etufned With a -verdict oi "Guilty," raiid Tate Was --remanded to appear for Ben-tehee on Moni day morning "'at -ten o'clock, 'When a ; number of other "law-breakers will also "be "brought "before the Judge foir settle-! ment. A MAOM ©RANDFAIiHEK. An -ged Maori of substantial .physique, ■named iPaora t _iunga,| defended by _»r. Ramiord,appealed on accusation oi hay- j ing, in February last, at the Thames, per-1 sonated another native with .the .intent | of .defrauding Robert A. Patterson, of -.the .Native Lands Department, of the sum of | £27. He was -also charged with procuring another -man .to personate with .-having attempted to .obtain the £27 by false pretences, -and with having Aided and abetted another Maori to obtain money by -fal-je pretences.

dii outlining the case, the Hon. J. A. -Tole, KiC, 'explained -that the Government bad arranged with certain .native -owners, two -daughters and -a grandson of the prisoner, to acquire a little block 6'f 'dative land called -the Waipapa blockj -the -Women -each having one share and cth'e .two-shares, for,•which.-he was to receive -iE'27-. And Mr. Patterson, who was in--the Thames district attending to .departmental matters, .was to •pay <o-ver the -trfoUey. 'tba. .the -day in question, "February \lQVh t .the .. prisoner arranged to bring-albngCthe part-owneiSj sand appeared accordingly' with rfche -two women and a 'young man, whom, ne represented -as 'the third Owiier, .his grandson. Mr. PattersOn, "having certain -misgivings about the Identity .of the "young man, asked "him his ■•■name, whereupon the prisoner artswered "OhiiTS .behalf, representing Siiiii -as 'the .tight .man, and replying himself to other t-uestions put to the s-h'aiii Owner. 'PatteTSSh's suspicions .were still further arousel, and he challenged Tiiinga "to "bring TurEhef pr"o"6f. failing which he declined to pay over the money; Tire dishonesty in -question, said Mr. Tole, was a kind "which opened the waV t6g'rb¥s-'abVse*9,.¥9tpecially where old natives a*ha *ho had little knowledge of the law A and 'English were •ionderhed, afcd it -Wki tsSehtial that any tendency to. Such practice's 'should be promptly discbunten'ahcea, Robert Amyas Patterson,gave eviaence relating to the interviews; between -Kimself and the prisoner. In the ..course of .his endeavour to disentangle the skeihs respecting the true identity of the young man -vPTro had been foisted upon him -as the male owner, thfe prisoner had admitted, at one of the interviews, that he w&s very hard -up, Snd had a. judgment -stuninons Sgainst hlih for -some debt. (Proceeding.)