THE AUCKLAND CORONER.

Waikato Argus, Volume XV, Issue 6044, 18 September 1903, Page 2

THE AUCKLAND CORONER.

(BY TELEGRAPH—PKES9 ASSOCIATION) Wellington, Last Night. In the House of Representatives to-day, Mr Bollard asked the Minister for Justice if his attention had been called to the inquest held on the body of the boy Moate doggard, at Auckland, on or about June 26th last, and the conduct of the CororT on that occasion. Mr Bollard reviewed the facts of the case, and quoted the rider to the jury's verdict, reflecting on the conduct of the Coroner. He said it was notorious in Auckland that this Corouer was anxious to hold an inquest on every person who died. The Minister for Justice said his attention had been drawn to the case, and to the strong censure on the Coroner contained in the jury's rider, and he asked the Corouer tor his report. After perusing that report and the other circumstances of the case, he had come to the conclusion that the verdict of the jury was exaggerated, and that, in the circumstances, it had not been proved that tht Corouer was responsible for the delay in the burial.

Mr Bollard : You ask the inspector of police.

Mr McGowan said there appeared to be some feeling between the coroner and the inspector of police. The evidence was most contradictory, and there appeared to be some other reason for the rider of the jury. At a later stage, Mr Bollard moved the adjournment of the House, in order to express his dissatisfaction with the Mioisters answer. He declared that the Aucklaod coroner cost the colony more than any other coroner in connection with inquests ana postmortem examinations. It was a matter of public notoriety. Surely the Minister must see what was going on. A matter which had become public scandal was the strained relation between thecorooerandtbe police in Auckland. Surely it was necessary that the coroner and the police should work in harmony. The appointment of the present Auckland coroner was a political appointment, but he (Mr Bollard) did not otject to the Government rewarding their frienda if they would insist on the work being properly carried out after the appointments were made. Mr McGowan said Mr Bollard must know that in spite of all his statements against the coroner, the Government could uoc interfere with the coroners so long as they did their work in ascordance with the law, and there was no coroner in New Zealand who knew his duty better than the one referred to by Mr Bollard. He (the Minister) was not accountable for the feeling between the police and the coroner. The bell rang for the half-past five adjournment before M" McGowan had completed his answer.