BREACH OF THE ARMS ACT

NZ Truth, Issue 999, 17 January 1925, Page 6

BREACH OF THE ARMS ACT

A Shortened .22

Also the Eternal Triangle,

In some of the North Auckland settlements marriage laws are not very strict, and change of partners sometimes causes trouble. An affair of this sort is.said'to be at the bottom of the appearance before the Whangarei Magistrate's Court, of Frederick Henry Gardiner, who confronted. Magistrate, Tate on the. innocent looking charge of having committed a breach of the Arms Act. It was stated that accused had a Maori wife, but she transferred her affections to one named Moon, who was a work mate of Gardiner. Apparently realising that all was fair m love as m war, Gardiner said he bore ?io grudge towards his rival and shook hands on the strength of it. v Nevertheless, when Gardiner- was at Auckland during the Christmas holidays he purchased for himself a, rifle of the .22 high velocity, heavy-charge calibre, and with this returned to the far north Mokau. He whittled the blunderbuss down till he had converted it into a formidable, repeating pistol which he stowed away .m his pocket. He then sought out his concubine and her new love, Moon, m a whare m the depth of the lonely bush. When the three, parties were met face to face a terrific struggle followed, of which there were different accounts. Gardiner said that he approached very close to the couple ere he made any exclamation, and thereupon Moon rushed at him, and m the struggle Moon was. assisted by his lady love. Together they wrested the shooter from the intruder. Gardiner said to the Court, that he had married the woman after the fashion of the community, which union had. been ratified by a clergyman though it was not registered. : His wife, he said, had threatened to shoot him and the reason he carried a rifle was self defence. He had nothing against Moon,, with whom he still worked. But the prosecution asked for a heavy penalty, stating that had the accused been heard to mutter a threat, the charge must have been one of attempted murder. The S.M. was disposed to take a serious view of the occurrence, and inflicted a fine' of £25 with costs £6 Is,' also ordering the confiscation of the rifle which cost -Gardiner £12 15s.