THREATENING THE PREMIER.

Waikato Times, Volume LVII, Issue 8061, 20 November 1906, Page 2

THREATENING THE PREMIER.

THE AUCKLAND CASE. AICKIN RELEASED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Last night. William Stevenson Aickin, the Auckland sharebroker, who had admitted having sent a letter to Sir Joseph Ward, threatening his life, was brought before Mr Justice Edwards in the Supreme Court this morning for sentence. His counsel (Mr McVeagh) said the accused desired him to express publicly his extreme regret that he took a wrong course in despatching the letter which formed the subject of this charge. The accused had taken a great interest in the Maori land legislation, and had come to the conclusion, rightly or wrongly, that the legislation of last year was an infringement of the Treaty of Waitangi, and an injustice to the Maori people. His interest, however, was purely academic, because he had never had any transactions in Maori land. He. however, had absolutely in) ill-feeling against Sir Joseph Ward, and had acted, as he conceived, entirely on public grounds. His Honor : I don't think you are improving your case very much, Mr McVeagh. Mr McVeagh : I want to emphasise— His Honor: What do you mean—that he is mad ? Mr McVeagh: Well, your Honor, I am not prepared to say that. His Honor: He is either mad or guilty of a serious offence. Mr McVeagh : The prisoner never made any attempt to carry his threat into effect. His Honor: He is not charged with attempting to murder, but with sending a letter " threatening to kill." Mr McVeagh: He has never made an attempt to kill. His Honor: How do I know he won't ? Mr McVeagh: The prisoner is a sharebroker and holds a very high reputation among his fellow brokers. I propose to call three of them to give your Honor some indication of his disposition. His Honor: I don't want to know anything about his disposition. Mr McVeagh: These witnesses will say that he is very steady, industrious, and of unimpeachable integrity. His Honor: He is not charged with not being of unimpeachable integrity. They might satisfy me that he is a respectable shareholder of unimpeachable integrity, but he sent this letter threatening to kill. The public must be protected. His action indicates that on the Maori question he has—to use a common expression —"'a bee in his bonnet." Mr McVeagh proceeded to say that if His Honor felt justified in ordering prisoner to hud substantial bonds to be of good behaviour, those bonds could be got. It had come to the prisouer's knowledge that Sir Joseph Ward had said that so far as he was personally concerned he would be satisfied if that course were adopted. Mr Tole said that so far as the Premier could interfere he was not disposed to place any difficulty in the way so long, of course, as his life were safe-guarded. But the whole responsibility rested, of course, with His Honor. The ciccused certainly had peculiar views about the treaty of Waitangi, and was constantly writing letters on it. He wrote to the Secretary of State for the Colonies threatening to shake the Campbell-Bannermau Government if the Act were not repealed. If he were sure that the personal liberty of the Premier would not be interfered with, he would not object to the course suggested by Mr McVeagh. However, ho did not know to what extent it was safe, when a man wrote those letters, not only to Sir Joseph Ward, but also to the late Premier. No doubt Sir Joseph Ward had made the statement referred to by Mr McVeagh. He would not, of course, interfere. His Honor : But ou the last occasion he did interfere. 1 sent a man to prison for three years for threatening his life, and he did interfere, for the man was let out. Mr Tole: Then perhaps he will do it again. His Honor, addressing the accused, said the sooner he disabused his mind of the insane notion that he could interfere with matters of State in this way the better. If he wanted to interfere with the legislation of the country he would find that the best course was to get into Parliament. Finally his Honor released accused on his own recognisance of £IOOO and two sureties of £SOO each, to be of good behavionr for three years, come up for sentence if called on, and not go beyond 20 miles from the City of Auckland.