AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM—THE CASE OF WHITEMAN.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1886, 8 September 1885, Page 2

AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM— THE CASE OF WHITEMAN.

Sib, — I believe men are still to be found in the ranks of journalism, whose English love of juatice and fair play will lead them to lis«n to both sides of a question before pub-, lishihg their judgment upon it. I hope ' I may rank you amongst the number, although your sensational and- one-sided article on the unfortunate maa Whiteman - has somewhat shaken my belief. Po3ssibly a true statement of what happened to the man here may be interesting to you and your readers. On tho evening of his arrival in Rotorua he did not apply to anyone for relief or assistance, but having money in his pocket, ho went to a boards-house, where he was well looked after. ;The following morning he walked more than a mile to my residence", and consulted me as a patient. His utterance was indistinct from partial paralysis of the vocal chords, and his power of locomotion greatly enfeebled'; this he rightly attributed to having slept out in the fern for three (not fourteen) very cold nights. The exposure had affected his mind as well as his body ; ho was in a state of profound mental despondency, and I advised him to return to his lodgings, promising to look after him. Shortly afterwards I aaw Mr H. D. Johnson, Government Agent and Chair- • man of the Town Board, respecting him, when, solely in consideration of his mental condition, we thought it right to place him under the surveillance of the police. We had no intention of removing him from the boarding-house, but the man elected to place himself in the care of Police Constable Abrams. The outbuilding in which he was placed, although originally intended for a stable, had never, or very rarely, been used as such ; the bunk he occupied had been used for weeks by the Government Inspector of Roads, and as you intimated in your itsue of the 25th August, the building was occupied by the constable and his family after Wmm burning down of tho police statation— an accident which might never have occurred but for that officer's zeal iv looking after hi» charge. I hope this will satisfy you that the building was habitable. The day after the fire I sent a buggy for Whiteman, and placed him in one of the rooms of our still unfinished building. We have virtually no hospital yet -neither furniture, staff, nor means of any kind for either nursing or feeding. I was sorry I could give the man no better accommodation, but did the beat I could under the circumstances, tho building being full of workmen, and noise of sawing and hammering going on all day was anything but. what I could have wished for a patient in his coudition. He was,, however, fed from my own table, and nursed assiduously by my wife and a lady visitor who happened to be staying with us. He received also the greatest kindness and sympathy from the men working on the. premises, who willingly gave me all the assistance in their power. Depend upon it, sir, there is a residuum of good iv human nature, even at Rotorua, Auckland journalistic opinion to the contrary notwithstanding. As the man grew worse,. I had to decide whether to let him die on my hands or send him to Auckland for treatment by galvanism, .which I believed to be thd only means of saving his life. I adopted the latter alternative, wired to Cambridge for a special conveyance, and was furnished by Mr Carter with as perfect an. ambulance carriage as I could wish ; he was made warm and comfortable and placed iv charge or the only police officer available — a native constable who speaks English. He- waa furnished with a supply of necessaries for use on tho journey, he reached Auckland safely, and — if your newspaper .reports' are to be credited — in a better condition than when he left Rotorua ; for your hospital authorities are reported to have entertained hopes of his recovery, hopes which I certainly could not have entertained had he remained here. I maintain, therefore, that I had not over-estimated the patient's strength, and that the action I took was, under tho oircumstances, the best I, cojild v "b.ave ;i taken, No one appreciates more highly than I do, sir, the power and usefulness of the Press of this country, or would more jealously conserve its liberties and privileges. At the same time, no one regrets more sincerely the . v too frequent abuse of that liberty and power. • I can well understand that the exigencies of • a daily journal of ten strain the ingenuity oi its editor to the utmost, but the prostitution of previlege involved in dishing up and *» parte statement for sensational purposes, regardless of the injustice it may inflict, or the reputation it may injure, is— to say fcho least of it— muoh to be deprecated. — I am, &c, ALFRED GrISTDEBS. Rotorua, August 29, 1885.