A QUESTION OF SUPREMACY?

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 37, 12 August 1905, Page 2

A QUESTION OF SUPREMACY?

SUPREME COURT v. NATIVE COURT. ' Argument was' heard yesterday afternoon by His Honour the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Cooper, on an application for prohibition against the Native Appellate Court, which opened the matter of that Court's jurisdiction. Mr. Skerrett, who made the application, contended that the supreme jurisdiction given to the Native Appellate Court was really only of circumscribed aplication, and that the Court was only independent of the Supreme Court insofar as it existed as an Appeal Court for the Native Land Court. It had full power to control the Native Land Court, but it was (counsel contended) to be controlled by the Supreme Court' if it went outside its statutory jurisdiction. Mr. Bell controverted this argumen*-, maintaining that tho several Acts affecting the Native Courts (as they affect people of native blood or descent) make the Appellate Court absolutely independent of control. That was provided by sections 68 and 59 of the Act of 1895, which, in as plain terms as possibly could be, specified that -the Native Land Court should be independent' of the Supreme Court. Then it was further provided that the Appellate Court wag to have supreme control, which surely meant that the- Supreme Court was to no . longer have control of aGairs a& between native and native. The L-giskture had in effect said that once ib waa established that a. matter was (She between native and native the Supreme Court was ousted. It would, Mr. Bell argued, need a> most ingenious interpretation of the words of the Statute to give them any other effect, for j here the Legislature had veritably dotted its i's and crossed its t's. Mr. Skerrett's application really asked the Judges to deal with the matter as .tho Courts of Equity dealt with the statutes of uses. \ The final remedy was by right of petition to the King to appeal to the Privy Council — a right existing in respect of every court. -- Itr was resolved that the Judges consider the points thus raised before considering the case on its merits. The case upon which the matter arose was that of Hakopa tes^hunga against the Chief Judge of the Native Appellate Court and others, and Wellwood and, Blake. It was shown that the Appellate Court had decided that the plaintiff in the case was next-of-kin and was entitled co succeed. Judgment was delivered to this effect ; but before it was sealed, on representation that the alleged adopted children of the deceased could call furthek" evidence, the Court granted a rehearing of tho appeal. Against this rehearing the appeal to the Supreme Court was made.

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