THE STRANGE CASE OF

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 100, 21 January 1908, Page 6

THE STRANGE CASE OF

A MINISTERIAL STATEMENT. With reference to a statement recently published in The Dominion concerning the alleged circumstances which led up to the committal of : a ; patient from a public to a mental hospital, the Minister for Health (the Hon. G. Fowlds), who has been making inquiries, states that, it appears that the man in question was taken into custody, by the police oh account of his strange conduct in the hospital, and was carefully examined by two med.cal men, who, from facts observed by themselves and other evidence, both certified "that lie was a lunatic within the meaning of the Act, and a proper person to be taken care, of and detained person to be taken care of and detained under caro and treatment." He was then carefully examined by the Stipendiary Magistrate, who from his own observations and the certificates of the doctors, being satisfied that tho'ifian was a fit case for treatment in a mental hospital, signed the committal order. On his admission to Porirua Mental Hospital on November 28, he was reported by the medical superintendent to be recovering from acute alcoholic insanity, and was detained in the institution until December 21, when ho was discharged. - The committal papers, the Minister states, wero all in order; and, in the opinion ol Dr, Hassell, a gentleman who has had 20 years' experience as medical superintendent of various mental hospitals in the Dominion c he was properly committed. The Minister also expresses surpriso that the unsupported story of the unfortunate man should have been given publicity in a rospcctftble. newspaper. We must assumo that the Minister read the original statement published, and that boing so, it would be wasted effort to argue the matter with him. We venture to think, hovyovcr, that the course adopted was in the public interest, and that the publicity given to the case will bo productive of good for some time to come.

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