UNIQUE CASE.

Grey River Argus, 11 February 1929, Page 5

UNIQUE CASE.

SAMOAN CHIEF. Habeas Corpus Action. B Y TAMASESE AT AUCKLAND. (Per Press Association). AUCKLAND, February 9. Tamasese, the Samoan Chief, came before the Supreme Court here this morning, under a writ of habeas corpus served on the goaler at Auckland. Tamasese had already served part of a sentence of six months’ imprisonment for failure to pay taxes. Mr Hall Skelton (Auckland) supported the Chief’s application. M r Meredith (Crown Prosecutor) and Mr Hubble opposed the application. | All the morning was taken up with points of law. Mr Justice Blair said that he was a ked to adjudicate on certain documents, none of which he had seen. There were various points of view. Ther e was really no material before the Court, and such as had been presented was of such a scrappy nature that he was faced with considerable difficulty. ( Mr Hall Skelton said that this case was unique in the constitutional procedure of the British Empire. He questioned whether the N.Z. Legislature had power to act at all.

“We think.” he added, “that Tamasese has been sent to this country to give him an extra dose of punishment, among strange people and strange surroundings.” Mr Meredith endeavoured to establish that the New Zealand Government had full and complete powers to establish in Samoa any law they liked. He contended that Samoa was really a part of New Zealand, and that, consequently, the Chief Tamasese Was not actually deported overseas when he was sent tb New Zealand. The mandate, he said, gave New Zealand full powers to carry out or make any laws they liked. The Judge reserved his decision till Tuesday.- ' ■ r -