THE SHELVED NATIVE OFFENDERS BILL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 4, Issue 163, 3 November 1860, Page 1

THE SHELVED NATIVE OFFENDERS BILL.

A Sill to enable the Governor in certain cases to prevent Dealings and Communications with

Aboriginal Natives offending against the Law.

1 Whereas aboriginal natives, after committing offences against the law, occasionally escape to remote districts, and are there harbored by chiefs and tribes who refuse to deliver them up to justice : And whereas also combinations are occasionally formed amongst aboriginal natives for the purpose of resisting the execution of the law, and for other unlawful purposes : And whereas it is expedient, in order to enforce obedience to the law in the cases aforesaid without the employment of military interference, that the Governor should be enabled to prevent dealings and communications with the aboriginal natives offending as aforesaid: Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of New .Zealand, in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : —

I. The short title of this act Bhall be '' The Native Offenders Act, 1860."

11. It shall be lawful for the G-overnor from time to time, by proclamation in the New Zealand Gazette, to declare that from and after a day to be named in such proclamation, any district, to bo •described by such apt and convenient terms as may sufficiently define the same for general information, shall become subject to the provisions of this act, or to any of them j and also by proclamation^- to be published as aforesaid, to revoke the whole of any part of any proclamation issued under this act as to the whole or any part of the district named therein.

111. Whenever any district shall, by virtue of any such proclamation, have been declared and be subject to the provisions of this act, every person •who, without the written permission of the Governor first obtained for such purpose, shall do any of the acts next hereinafter specified, shall be deemed to be guilty of an offence against the provisions of this act, and shall be punishable accordingly, as hereinafter provided, — namely every person 1. Who shall wilfully visit any part of such district, either by land or wator, "or, not being a resident thereof shall remain therein after having become cognisant that the same is subject to the provisions of this act. 2. Or who shall knowingly purchase, or carry by land or water, or receive any goods or chattels whatever, the produce of such district,-'* or the property of any aboriginal inhabitant thereof. 3. Or who shall purchase or otherwise obtain any goods or chattels for the use -or benefit of any aboriginal inhabitant of any such district. 4. Or who shall knowingly sell any goods or chattels whatever to any aboriginal inhabitant of any such district j or to any person with intent that the same may be applied or disposed of for the use or benefit of the aboriginal inhabitants of such district, or any of them, or who shall other-, wise carry on trade or commerce with such inhabitants or any of them.

5. Or who shall knowingly and wilfully hold

any communication or correspondence whatever, directly or indirectly, with any aboriginal inhabitant of any such district. 6. Or who shah 1 by counsel or otherwise assist, invite, or encourage the inhabitants of any such district to offer or continue to offer resistance to the execution of the law, or shall publish or utter in writing or by word of mouth, any language calculated to invite or encourage such resistance with intent to produce such effect.

7. Or who shall refuse or wilfully neglect to depart from or leave any such .district within a time to be fixed by the Governor by any writing under his hand, after havjng been personally served with a copy of such writing, or otherwise made aware of the contents thereof.

$. -Or who shall' aid, assist, or abet any person in the .commission of the above named acts or any of them, or ahgli knowingly excite, encourage, Jsolicit, ask, require, or induce any person or .pereous to commit, or aid, assist, abet, or join in the commission of any of the above named acts. IV. It shall also be lawful for the Governor, whenever he shall deem it expedient, to declare by proclamation, which shall be published' and which may be revoked as aforesaid, that any tribe or tribes of aboriginal natives to be described in such proclamation, or any aboriginal native or natives to be named therein, shall be subject to the provisions of this act'; and every act which is hereinbefore declared to [be, described as, or made an offence, if done in respect of any aboriginal inhabitant of any district subject to the provisions of this act, shall be deemed an offence if done in re-

spcct of any tribe 1 or tribes, 1 or of any aboriginal .native or natives .to be described or named in such proclamation to be issued by virtue or under the , authority of this seotion. V. Every" person: who shall be convicted in "a summary way befqre^twd Justices of the Peace of , aiiy'offence under this act ? shall for the' first offence forfeit and pay "any ;ium hot. exceeding the sum of «6100,' as" td the' said Justices shall 'seem meet j and if any. person so' convicted shall afterward^.;be'; guilty 'of. any of tbe'said'offeiices, and" shall jbe* ."••; convicted^ thereof "in a^summar^y'.way before any two. Jtwtices of the'Pe^be, every^ euch -offender sTiail* for Buch'!seipnd;offenco h be}cqmnw ' ' inott'gaol 6r|liou6W of.cdrrecMon^ '£He^p^^e^k«pfc' > tbTi&*d'iabptf' J fpr "^ucK' term not' exceedixig twelve, ' calendar months,' or less than" six calendar ; monthej sb tKe convibting.irußtices' shall^^ think: 'fit ; .^nd'/if ' i. any '^efson 'fid^wiee."' convicted '."anlll j^fterwarcli}''

commit any of the said offences, such offender I shall be deemed guilty of felony, and, being convicted thereof before a Court of competent juris-., diction, shall be liable to be punished by penal) servitude for any term not less than three years,) and not exceeding six years, ■ as such. Court shallthink fit. . ' , i

VI. Provided always, that it shall be lawful for the Goyernor to commute the punishment to be awarded on second or third conviction, for any of the said offences, to banishment from the colony of New Zealand for such term as lie shall think fit, and to order and cause such person to be removed from the said colony accordingly, to such place to be approved of by the Governor as the person so fco be banished shall choose ; and in default, of his making such choice, on being called upon or required by the Governor so to do, then to such place in her Majesty's dominions as the Governor shall direct or appoint.

VII. If any person who shall have been so banished and removed as aforesaid shall be at large in any part of the colony of New Zealand,' without lawful cause, before the expiration of the term for which such person shall have been banished, every such person, being therefore lawfully convicted, shall be liable to penal servitude for any term not less than four years, and not exceeding ten years.

VII 1. All goods and chattels personal, of whatsoever kiud, or wheresover found, of any aboriginal inhabitants of -any district, or of any tribe of aboriginal inhabitants, or of any aboriginal native respectively, subject to the provisions of this act, may be seized by any person authorised by the Governor to make such seizures, and when seized shall be delivered into the care of some person to be appointed by the G-overnor in that behalf.

IX. All ships, vessels, boats, barges, punts, and canoes, and all vehicles, employed or used, and all goods and chattels personal, dealt with in any manner in contravention of the provisions of this act, to whomsoever the said ships, vessels, boats, barges, punts, canoes, vehicles, goods, or chattels may belong, may be seized by any person authorized as aforesaid, and when seized shall be delivered into such care as aforesaid.

K. Whenever any goods, or chattels, or ships, vessels, boats, barges, punfo, canoes, and vehicles shall have been so seized and delivered as aforesaid, the person into whose care the same., shall have been delivered shall forthwith cause niotice, giving full particulars of such seizure, to be published in all the newspapers published in the capital town of the province in which the seizure shall be made, and if there be no such newspaper, then in such other way as may be calculated to give full publicity to the same, and shall by such notice warn all persons haying any claim in respect of such .seizure to prefer the same to the Kesident Magistrate of such capital town within twentyeigLfc days after the day of the first; publication of such notice.

XI. On such claim being made, the said Resident Magistrate shall fix a day for the purpose of hearing the same, and shall, at the request of the claimant, issue a summons calling upon the person in charge of the property seized to appear. On proof ot tho due service of such summons, it shall be the duty of the .Resident Magistrate to examine the claim, whether the person so summoned be present or not, and to condemn the said property as liable to seizure under this act, or order the same to be given up to the said claimant, as to such. Sesident Magistrate may seem just. XII. If no claim shall be made in respect of any seizure within the time fixed for claiming the same, or, if made, it shall not be duly prosecuted, or if the property seized shall have been condemned, in any such case the seized may be sold in such a manner as the person in charge of the same shall thmk fit, and the proceeds arising from such a sale shall be disposed of in such a manner as the Governor shall direct.

XIII. Every person acting under the authority of the Governor, given in pursuance of the provisions of thia act, shall be entitled in all respectfs to the like notices^ privileges, and protection, as are afforded and given by law to v constable acting under the authority of a warrant duly granted by a Justice of the Peace.

XIV. No information or complaint, prosecution or indictment, shall be commenced, preferred, or carried on for any of the said offences created by this. Act, nor shall any seizure be made under -the authority thereof, unless the Governor shall have duly authorised the same to be commenced, preferred, carried on, or made, and the production of written" authority, either general or special, and either previous or subsequent to the act done for any such purpose, purporting to be signed by the Governor, shall be prima facie evidence of such authority having been given.