An Important Case.

Thames Star, Volume XXII, Issue 6624, 11 July 1890, Page 2

An Important Case.

DEIVEE V. EAIHI TINI POAKA.

A case of considerable importance, being, wo believe, the first of its kind that has been heard in the'colony, came before Mr H. W. Northcroft, E.M., at the Besident Magistrate's Court this afternoon. It was a case to recover a sum of £90 due on a P.N. signed by Tini Poaka, the father of the present defendant. It seems that Tini Poaka owed the plaintiff a large sum of money,, and gave the P.N, in satisfaction of the debt, while he at the same time undertook to pay tbe amount as soon as he had sold a block of land called Otauto, to which the defendant, who, it may be mentioned, was his only child, succeeded.

Mr Miller appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Purchas for defendant.

In opening the plaintiff's case, Mr Miller said that the defendant was sued as executrix, and showed that a very slight circumstance of intermeddling with the goods of a deceased will make a person an executor de son tort. Thus, a widow milking cows of the deceased, or the taking of a Bible or a bedstead, were held sufficient, as they were the indicia of anyone so interfering being the representative of the deceased. In this case tbe defend* ant was by the order of the Court appointed successor to the estate of Tini Poaka, the maker of the bill, and it was contended by Mr Miller that this made defendant responsible for the amount of it. Counsel referred to Williams on Executors, quoting passages from pages 261 to 270, and spoke at some length in reference thereto.

The defendant was then called by Mr Miller, and stated that her father's name was Tini Poaka Ngako. He had died in the Lunatic Asylum, and she, being his only child, succeeded to certain lands in which he was interested, amongst them being the Otauto, Ohinemuri No. 17, Hikutaia No. 4, and other Blocks. Go* vernment had bought tbe Hikutaia Block from her for £78. She had other shares of her own in these blocks besides those to which she was entitled as Tini Poaka'a successor.

Henry Driver, the plaintiff, gave evidence as to the P.N. being drawn up by Mr D. Tookey, a licensed native inter* preter, and its being signed by Tini Poaka in the presence of Mr Tookey and witness. He also added that tbe latter was perfectly sane when he signed the P.N., the signature on which was written 11 Ti Poaka ti Ngako." The amount claimed had never been paid. D. Tookey stafcea that he had drawn up the P.N. in Maori, and after thoroughly explaining the moaning of it to Tini Poaka, the latter signed it. Tini was perfectly sane at the time.

This closed the case for tho plaintiff, For the defence evidence was given by James Maokay, licensed native interpreter, as to native customs, and Haori as to the state of Tini Poaka's mind about this time.

Mr Purchas then addressed the Court at some-length. He contended that the P.N. was defective, as it was not certified to by an interpreter as required by section 96 of the Bills of Exchange Act, 1883 ; that there was no power vested in the E.M. to give a judgment charging a sue* cessor with the debts of a deceased Maori; and that it was incumbent on tho plaintiff to prove such power before he was en* titled to a verdict. He also commented upon the evidence as to Tini Poaka's sanity at the time he signed the P.N., and contended that it was evident the deceased was not in his right mind for some 21 years before that date. His Worship reserved his decision until the 17th inst., saying that ho would like to look carefully into the important law points involved in the case, while he also desired to be supplied with a detailed statement of Tini Poaka's indebtedness to plaintiff.