A MAORI'S WILL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVI, Issue LVI, 21 July 1909, Page 5

A MAORI'S WILL.

THE WI MATUA CASE. MOTION FOR RE-TRIAL REFUSED. IPRESB ASSOCIATION .I WELLINGTON, July 21. The Native, Appellate Court (Judges Jones and Rawson) gave judgment-yes-terday in the case heard recently, regarding Wi Matua's will,' for which probate was refused. The Court held that on proper cause being shown, It wo.uld endeavor to secure a new trial of a case where the verdict was obtained by fraud or malpractice." After reviewing the facts connected with "Wi Matua's will and the findings of the previous courts that the will was open to Suspicion from the fact that it had been prepared, or caused to [ be prepared, at the instance of a European beneficiary, the Court considered that the allegations of conspiracy and miscondudt of witnesses, even if proved, could not have affected the Court's judgment on the main point at issue, which was the removal of suspicion of the transaction caused by the -peculiar circumstances under which the will was prejiared, the onus of which and the showing of the righteousness of the transaction were cast upon the propounders of the will. As to the new evidence, the Court pointed out that most of it could with reasonable diligence have been discovered before the trial, and that it would at best only corroborate or contradict the evidence given at the trial, and that none of the proposed new evidence would, in the opinion of the' Court, make it practically certain that the verdict would have been otherwise, as tb? authorities required such new evidence to be. The Court held that it would have to grant the new trial as to the whole matter or not at all. Therefore it could not distinguish in favor of the beneficiaries who claimed they were not affected by the suspicions attaching to the circumstances surrounding the execution of the will. THe motion for a new trial was therefore refused.