A GOLDEN SMILE

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 158, 4 July 1916, Page 4

A GOLDEN SMILE

1 MAORI OF MANT NAMES, CAUSES MERRIMENT AT ffl | SUPREME COURT. I ■- I An elderly Maori of heavy feature, which occasionally relaxed into a sal] of elastic dimensions, caused a good deal of merriment into the course of his evidence at the trial of Rua. Pinohi ej! tered the Court with a stride of deter! mination, and throughout hi 3 examine tion-in-chief he testified convincingly j. Maori. * | Under cross-examination, the Crown [' Prosecutor tempted him, somewhat against his will, to converse i n English. Pinohi had a medal on his expansive chest, which he declared had beerigivea by Governor Ranfurly to hi s father '{« recognition of loyal support of the Gov- j ernment of the day. % "Was not that medal given by Lord Ranfurly to the whole of the tribe is memory of the great gathering at Ruatoki, in 1905?" For quite a while Pinohi's face was a blank, as he struggled to comprehend the meaning. Like the fabled Scotch. man, it came to him suddenly, and Mr Tola's repetition of the question was suddenly interrupted with a good sample of English in the vernacular.. "No fear," he exclaimed, with excitement, "for one, not for all." It should be stated that the witness boasts a very lengthy official name.' but for purposes of evidence he answered to "Pinohi." Mr. Tole was testing the accuracy of his statement to the effect i that while the remainder of the natives were half a chain away from Rua when he is alleged to have made seditioni statements to the police at Wai-iti/he (the witness) remained within five yards' distance in order to hear what was Baii The police and not Rua desired that the natives should not hear. . . "But," said Mr. Tole. "Mrs. Rua (mentioning the name of one of Rua's wives) has sworn that Te Oti was the native who was five yards from Rua." The witness did not seem to know anything at all about such a Maori, and Mr. Tole seemed to labour excessively in trying to make him understand. "Perhaps he is Te Oti," someone suggested, and Mr. Tole passed the question on. The witness convulsed the Court by quietly admitting that he was.-and adding that he had been knpiv-n-by tie alternative names since he was quite young. Pinohi expressed sympathy with Rua in connection with the treatment to which he had been subjected followingon his original sentence on a charge of sly grog-selling. He strongly protested against the differential treatment. of Maoris as compared with that meted out to pakehas, declaring that there should be one law for both, and that Maoris should be able to procurelieehses to sell liquor. "But why do the Maoris want tor be - able to get liquor?" asked his Honor. '"Well," replied the "tie pakeha has brought it into the country and taught us to like it, and now we can't get it." (Laughter.)