SUPREME COURT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 121, 22 May 1917, Page 6

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SESSIONS OPEN. 26 PERSONS FOR TRIAL.

KAITAIA MURDER CHARGES. The criminal sessiors of the Supreme Court were commenced this morning before hie Honor Mr. Justice Stringer, the list of prisoners consisting of 26 persons, including eight Maoris charged with the murder or manslaughter of a native ■youth at Kaitaia some time ago. The following Grand Jury was empanelled: Messrs. A. J. Entrican (foreman), H. R. Bloomiield.. H. Buekleton, IP. R. Colebrook, Geo. Court, J. C. Holland, E. Horton, E. V. Miller. J. E. Montague, J. A. Moody, H. O. Nolan, A. H. I). Peel, S. Rawnsley, F. VV. Suckling, W. A. Thompson, H. E. Vaile, H. J. Whitley.

THE JUDGE'S CHARGE.

In hie charge to the Grand Jury, Ms Honor remarked that the calendar consisted of about 17 charges, including three of sexual offences, three of assault, two of perjury, five of offences involving dishonesty, one of bigamy, one of making a false declaration, one of supplying a noxious drug with intent to procure abortion, and one of murder or manelaughter. He did not think that the charges, with one or two exceptions, would present any difficulty to the iGrand Jury. Hie Honor went on to review the evidence in the various cases. Renurding the charge against the two Spanish firemen, Domingo Carlos and Enrique Varela, of wounding several other firemen with a razor, his Honor remarked that the only evidence against Varela \va s that of a constable, who stated that he heard him say that he had used a razor. The fact that Carlos did so was clear enough, but the direct evidence against Varela was to the effect that he merely used his fists. That being so, the bill against him might properly be thrown out, unless the jury preferred to let him justify his conduct in open Court.

Dealing with a charge of stealing two cows, laid against two men named Garmonsway and Mardon. the first of whom ■was manager of a returned soldier's faTin, and the other a neighbour, his Honor remarked on the quantity of irrelevant matter in the depositions before him, and on the complexity of the case against Mardon, owing to the largs number of hands through which one of the cows which were stated to be the property of the soldier had passed.

There was very little, said his Honor, in the charge again6t a woman named Roberts, of making a false declaration as to her maiden name in registering the birth of a child. It appeared that the matter was a minor one, and did not affect the registration materially. The accused also had nothing to gain by it, and the only real evidence against her ■was a statement obtained from her by the police. MURDER NOT ESTABLISHED. In outlining the evidence in the Kaitaia murder charges, his Honor saW that according to the admissions of the eight accused the death of the young man ■Maitai (son of one of them) was caused some time ago under peculiar errcumstances. A number of natives were sleeping in a mhsse after a tangi, when the father of the young man awoke to find him standing up. He awakened the other natives, and together they got the youth down upon the floor and sat orf him, and -when at length they desisted they found him to be dead. Afttir saying some incantations, they hid the body in the scrub, and later buried it in a coffin, in which the bones were afterwards found. He felt bound to say that there was no element of murder in the case, the necessary intention, or "malice aforethought," icing entirely absent. He did not know what the defence was, but he supposed, from the depositions, that the accused 'believed that the youth might exercise some evil or malign influence over some children who were sleeping in the hut. It -was only fair to say that one woman present (no-ir dead) was by way of being a tohunga, and that superstition apparently had a good deal to do with the matter. He would direct the jury to reject the I bill for murder, and to bring in a true I 'bill for manslaughter. SPANIARDS AND A RAZOR. In the case against Domingo Carlos and Enrique Va.rela, two Spanish firemen on an oversea steamer, who were charged I ■with injuring several British members of the crew by slashing at them with a. razor, the Grand Jury returned a true bill against Carlos for aggravated assault, and for common assault only against Varela. Both men, for whom Mr. W. E. Hackett appeared, were then charged and pleaded guilty. I Mr. Hackett. addressing his Honor, said that according to the accused the other men in the crew's quarters were rather drunk, as was Carlos, though Varela was sober. They objected to the noise the other men were making, as they had to go on duty early, and this led to a stand-up fight between Carlos and another man. Several of the Britishers interfered, and Carlos drew a razor in order to frighten purpose in wluk-h he succeeded. Then, he alleged, he was struck on the head with a bar. and in his half-dazed condition lashed out wildly in all directions with the razor. The use of such a weapon, counsel remarked, was repulsive to British minds, but he would nsk his Honor to consider the fact that the men were Spaniards, with rather different ideas on the subject. His Honor remarked that the accused's story was not entirely borne out by the other men's depositions, but it was very difficult to decide on the facts" amongst a lot of drunken firemen. Tho use of a razor as a weapon S \ ™V r °P er Preceding, and in this case had caused severe injuries ' t ... was 1 a serious offence under British taw. and hte felt th «« exercising a fair degree of leniency £ sentencing Carlos to six months' imprisonment, and Varela. who had played a mmor part, to one month. P "