SUPREME COURT.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 18, 26 February 1914, Page 5

SUPREME COURT.

IN BANCO. APPEAL IN AFFILIATION CASE. His Honour Mr Justice Denniston presided at a sitting of the Supreme Court in Banco this morning. He heard an appeal against the decision of Mr T-. A. B. Bailey, S.M., in the case of William Hoxman v. Dorothy Barnden. ■Mr Donnelly appeared for the appellant, and Mr Cassidy for the respondent. The appellant had been adjudged: the putative father of the respondent's illegitimate child, and it was against this decision that he appealed. ' At the outset, Mr Cassidy contended that the Destitute Persons Act of 1910 had. altered the law with regard tocorroboration of the evidence of the mother of the child. The Act of 190S stated that "the Court" must be satisfied that her evidence has been corroborated, whereas in the Act of 1910 it was provided that "the Magistrate" must be satisfied. His Honour: Then an appeal can be only on a point of law? Mr Cassidy: That is so. His Honour: The appeal is no longer a re-trial —is that your argument? Mr Cassidy: res. Counsel quoted a number of authorities which he claimed to support his argument that the - Appellate Court was not to hear the evidence over again. His Honour said that he was not prepared to give his decision on the point forthwith, but he would take a note of Mr Cassidy's contention, and deliver judgment on it later. Dealing then with the facts of the ease, Mr Cassidy said that there was no dispute as to the,respondent's condition. The necessary corroboration of her story lay in the appellant's untrue statements as to what had happened. His Honour: Then the • matter is purely one of law. Mr Donnelly: I am not one who wishes to bring affiliation cases before the Court, but this case is -one of great importance. The young man was arrested on warrant, and could not get bail. He stood in the dock while the woman told her story, but he denied her statements that she had been on his premises at certain times. Her presence there would have constituted opportunity. His Honour: And if she had been there, that would have been corroboration?* Mr Donnelly: I contend, your Honour, that the mere denial of an opportunity is not corroboration. Your Honour has yourself ruled to that effect. His Honour: How old is the appellant ? Mr Donnelly: He is a married man with three children. I suppose he is about 40 years of age. " His Honour read the Magistrate's notes of the evidence of the girl, and asked whether counsel wished her ;to go all over it again. ; Mr Donnelly said that he wished to cross-examine her on certain points, which would cast great doubts on her credibility. His Honour: The Magistrate believed her. , Mr Donnelly: Your Honour knows the way Magistrates decide these cases. They hear the girl's story, and there is some corroboration, and then they give judgment in her favour. His Honour: You have absolutely no right to make such a statement or to cast any reflection on the fairness of the Magistrates. I suppose you usually appear for the defendant. , Mr Donnelly: No member;of the Bar more _ frequently—without remunera-, tion—gives his services to girls than j myself. His Honour: The fact is that in most cases the girl's story is true, and there is but little corroboration; the Magistrate must take into account the way she tells the story. The girl was then called, and was submitted to cross-examination by Mr Donnelly. She stated that she was 19 years of age, and that she had been seduced by Hoxman, during the illness of his wife. She was then attending his house to perform domestic duties. The cross-examination dealt with the dates at which the alleged occurrences took place. For the corroborative evidence, his Honour relied on the Magistrate's notes of the appellant's denial, and of the stories of several independent witnesses. Mr Donnelly submitted that in the circumstances there was no case. He thought his friend should call his witnesses, as he had not read the Magistrate's notes. His Honour: I shall adjourn the case to enable, you to peruse them. This course was agreed to, and the Court adjourned.