MAORI WOMEN FIGHT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22469, 13 July 1936, Page 12

MAORI WOMEN FIGHT

TROUBLE OVER A CHILD MAGISTRATE FINES BOTH [from our own correspondent] , WHAKATANE, Saturday As a sequel to a dispute over a Maori child, two Maori women appeared before Mr. E. L. Walton, S.M., charged with fighting in a public place. The defendants were Hauraki Horopapera and Urn Paoa. Mr. E. Armstrong, who appeared for the defendant, Urn Paoa, explained that tho infant was the illegitimate child of Urn Paoa, and its father thc > foster son of Hauraki Horopapcra, and asserting her privilege as a foster grandmother she went to tho home of Urn Paoa, and took tho child away to live with lier. On the Saturday afternoon in question the mother saw tho child in tho Strand and went up to kiss it, but the foster grandmother would not allow this, and struck tho young woman, and the fight started. Mr. Armstrong wanted to know what right Mrs. Horopapern had to the child. In reply to Mr. Armstrong the defendant said she held the child because its father was her adopted son. She had not taken tho child away from spite. Mr. Armstrong pointed out to the Court that there would have been no trouble caused by his client if tho child had not been flaunted in hor face. If she had been allowed to kiss it tlw matter would have ended there. Tho magistrate ' fined each of the accused 10s and costs ss, and in tho case of Hauraki Horopapera, 9s 6d for an interpreter. The riddle of parental rights was nob solved.