A. Nice Distinction.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 467, 14 June 1890, Page 3

A. Nice Distinction.

A HALF-CASTE AND HIS WIFE. To the N,Z. Herald we are indebted for the following report of the case in which Warbrick, the footballer, was concerned :—Alfred Patchett Warbrick was charged with having Sailed to comply with an order of th 5 Court that he should support his wife and three children. Mr H. Campbell appeared for the informant, and Mr Theo. Cooper for the defendant. This case was before the Court at a previous sitting, when it was argued for the defence that Warbrick, who is a halfcaste, must be regarded in the eye of the law as a native, and was not therefore liable under the order. His Worship now gave judgment upon thia point. He ruled that the words in the Act, “ an aboriginal of the native race,” did not apply to a halfeaste. He could not follow ’he distinction drawn by the defen* dan ’s counsel on the point, and the question was whether the words in any other Acts could be interpreted so as to include halfcastes under the category of aboriginal natives. There were many cases where this was done, but only for ths special purpose of the Acte. His Worship mentioned the Native Rights Act, the Native Land Act, the Native Lauds Alienation Restriction Act, tbe Native Land Laws Act, the Native Licensing Act, aud others, and said that in all of these Acts the word “ native ” was defined to be “an aboriginal native of New Zealand,” and included halfcastes, while some of them included persons of other ; islands in the Pac*fio Ocean. Another Act 5 which had been quoted told against ths term i “ native ” including a halfcaste, because it 5 spoke of “ aboriginal native or halfcaste,” ; making a distinction between the two. Both of the counsel had seemed rather to agree that he ought to take the Resident Magistrate’s j Act of 1887 as a gui de, and that Act stated j that persons of a native race, halfcastes, and § other persons of mixed races living as mem- jhers of a native tribe, and all aboriginal ’■ islanders of the Pacific Ocean, shall be -1 deemed to be persons of a native race. The present case stood in this way : First of all, uas there anything in these Acts which made • it necessary for the Court to interpret the words “ persons of an aboriginal native race ” i in section 43 of the Destitute Persons Act, $ as including halfcastes ? and, secondly, should the present defendant be deemed to be living as a- member of a native tribe. He was of opinion that the words “persons of an aboriginal native race ” did not include halfcastes, and he also held that it had not been proved that the defendant was living as a member of a native tribe. The Act had manifestly not been intended to apply to a man brought up and educated as a pakeba, and marrying a pakeba wife, even though ha afterwards deserted that wife aud weni to live amongst natives. Moreover; he was not at present living a tribal mode of life. His opinion therefore was the defendant was not entitled to any immunity, and was liable under the Act, and as to the other question, whether he had sufficient means to obey the order, he would vary the order to £1 a week till the 30<h September, as it appeared that the defendant’s income was not so large during the winter months.