MAORI CHILD ADOPTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2856, 9 December 1908, Page 3

MAORI CHILD ADOPTION.

AN INTERESTING CASE.

NEW PLYMOUTH, Dec-ember 4. An important case on the subject of Maori adoption commenced before Judge Johnson to-day. It affects the succession! to the estate of the late Teiti Hoera, chief of the Ngatirahiri hapu, of the Atiawa tribe, as if the registration of the adoption of Rori "Watene is upheld he will probably be declaied heir to th«c whole estate. In his time Teiti was aw ardent follower of Te Whiti, whose funds he largely augmented from time to tinier Deceased applied to have the boy regis-tered-as his child j tut the registration was not completed until after bus death, anil then at the instance of- the boy's agent. The *>oint now arises for the first "time whether . undex such circumstances the registration holds good. The case is ex-, pected to occupy some days. The officials of the Wellington finger* print department stated recently that they, foa-d about 100,000 print.s in theu- collect ion. and th© eh awes of 17 points of tc-cinblance being found W«orn any two cf them \>ero pioLabJy a tulhon to Oii<j.