AN INTERESTING CASE.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13743, 26 May 1910, Page 4

AN INTERESTING CASE.

(SPECIAL TO "THE I'RF.SS.") AUCKLAND, May 25. . A peculiar and interesting law case is I said to be likely to eventuate shortly in connection with' the recent death, at j Xguruawhia, of a native chief of file ' Tainui tribe. j According to the story related by a number of the tribe named, a chief n»med Honana died at Ngaruauhia on April 26th last. A tangi was duly held, which camo to a conclusion on the 2 ( Jih, a Friday. Now Kamana Nutana, tno leading chief of the Tainuis, desired that the dead Honana should be buried at Raglan, where ho had been born arid where his parents -were interred, while i "King" Mahuta ordered that the re- ! mains be interred in tho'Royal burying ground on Tauniri mountain. The mana of Mahuta was upheld by the burial of tho late chief at Tauniri, but Uainana Nutana was not satisfied. He is said to have telegraphed to three oi his people at Raglan to join him ntTaupiri. They duly "responded to the can, a-ici meeting Ramana Hutana, who meantime had armed himself with a •shovel, the four repaired in a buggy in tl»» dead of night on the Friday to the place of burial at Tnupiri. On arriving at the graveyard, the four natives up their late chief, arid placing tho coffin in the buggy proceeded to transf'or it to Raglan. En Ramana , Nutana is said to huve called at his own house at Ngaruawhia at o a.m. on the Saturday, and to have told his wife to inform Mahuta that he had secured the cor; se. Nutana reached Raglan at 10 a.m. on the Saturday, and a little later fjie constable at that place is stated to have received a telegram from Mahuta ns!:ing him to bring back to Ngaruawhia the living chief and the dead one. It is stated that the police officer. Ik)wc_T!', could not discover any lav under tap provisions of which lie could hoUl either Ramana Nutana or his resurrected friend. The benefit ot th»- constable's doubt went to the credit of Ramana Nutana, who on the Sunday afternoon, unobstructed by the Tiewildored guardian of the law, and supported by his tril>esmen. re-buried the much-travelled body of Honana alongside his parents' grave. The sequel to this interesting story consists in tlie statement that Ramana Nutana yestefdav received word in Auckland" that he and his three companions in the midnight trip to the Taupiri graveyard arc to be .served with summor.ses, issued at the instance ot Mahuta.