LIONEL TERRY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 848, 21 June 1910, Page 6

LIONEL TERRY.

——♦ —— THE MAN AND HIS OBSESSIONS. J INTERESTING INTERVIEW. * BELIEVER IN THE SIMPLE LIFE (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.). Christchurch, June 20. Lionel Terry, wJio is an inmate of Sunnysido Mental Hospital,' is "ono of tho saddest and' most picturesque figures of that institution. His is a case on which one might easily allow his sympathy lo run away with his judgment. He is physically in the full rigour of manhood, and, in somo respects, of no mean 6tatur© intellectually. His extreme "protest." against the admission of Chinese into the ; Dominion brought him prominently before the public eye. His trial, condemnation, and reprieve and then oamoi his incarceration in prison. and, ultimately,.in the Snnnyside Mental Hospital. His escapes from the mental hospital, and his extraordinary conduct in the Lyttelton Gaol periodically revived interest in his case, and the publication of his letters in The Dominion, complaining, .of his treatment at Suiinyside,. has been once mor© the means of directing public attention to him. A reporter paid a visit io Sunnysido to-day, with the object 1 , of making tax independent 'investigation into Terras - complaints. '• He was roceived by Dr. Gow, medical superintendent, who placed . every facility at his disposal for an interview with Terry in his quarters. Dr. Gow, however, made one suggestion—viz., that the -reporter should not inform Terry of his * profession, but lib introduced simply as "on© feeling an interest in Terry's case, and desirous of inspecting his • quarters." This, the doctor said, was tho Minister's wish, although it was'not an absolute condition. The reporter agreed to the suggestion with the reservation that, if it. were found necessary or desirable, he would reveal his profession and tho object of Ills visit.. Ho was then conducted. to Terry's quarters.. and entered ■the famous "cage" in company with 'the '-medical superintendent. Are You a Government Official? Terry Ms exercising in his yard, pacing up and down with a long swinging stride. Ho' halted when. Dr.. Gow ana .the reporter entered> and courteously acknowledged their salutations. < He cermade a picturesque' and oven rather, startling figure. His'- fair ,hair 'has been allowed to £row, and now hangs •down curling, on his shoulder. It is plentifully streaked with grey. His cheeks are clean, but his chin is adorned ivith. short thin whiskers. Ho carries his six feet three inches' erectly,' though his height makes him look rather slender. His feet were innocent' of' any covering other « than that of sandals secured by. straps over the. instep and great toe. He •was clad in a fresh-looking suit of-white moleskin. He wore no hat, and his clo.thes were open ait the neck, while his' eyes were of almost normal appearance, being distinguished by a slight brilliance, which did not impress'one as unnatural to him. 'Altogether he was a fine figure of a man,'and one could not suppress a feeling of sincere sorrow that fate had made him'the victim of such' adverse fortune. Terry was in V perfectly amiable mood. "Are you a Government official?" was.' the first.question he put; and the reporter denied the soft impeachment. . "I'am rather at a loss to understand this sudden interest in'me," Torry continued smiling,'"l am beginning to think that one of my bulletins have • got 'through." ' v He evidently referred to the letter published in The Dominion, though lie had not been informed that his case is being discussed. Terry then went on to talk about' his .grievances and things in general, speaking without the slightest reservation) He liad undoubtedly made a shrewd guess as to the identity of his visitor. Terry :is not enamoured of his: present quarters . which have been described as an immense cage, buthis complaint is not so much' about their construction as their position.

. . . Terry's Quarters.. The building occupies part' of one side x>f a quadrangle formed by the institution building which arc grey coloured and two storys high. At on© end there is a cabin jn which Terry lives, and compared with the dimensions of the ordinary living rooms, the occupant can have no fault to find with the amount of airspace. The apartment is amply furnished with a bed, table,-chair and shelves on "whicii repose books and papers. A pile •of newspapers lying in a corner indicated lhat Terry was'being enabled io keep himself abreast of current events in the - outsido world. The ' cabin and exercise yard are-enclosed by a fencelike erection, about twelve .or fourteen feet high. Three or four-feet'of .that ieight is closely boarded, and the remainder is barred \rith wooden : bars with iron reinforcement, ivhile overhead, there are stout iron bars. The whole area covered in is probably about 30ft.. by 20ft., including the cabin. There is a sugges-' tion-of strength about the .building, but one could imagine that a powerful man like Terry would not find the task of .breaking out one of very great difficulty. In the corners of the structure there are small triangular patches of soil with •nhich Terry experiments in tie growing of cereals and grasses. .He is a strict -vegetarian,-, and. will talk by the hour Tjf. \ °l ¥ din « the "natural" ' , aS . regards food and clothing. His complaint about his quarters is that the S",T r s!l,nes on them in winter, and tnat they, are excessively, cold. .He complained of boils and chilblains, and jhowed one of his hands, ni.e finger if chilblai ? n aS markcd by a '."Se-.but healing His Belief in "Nature," J2,n! i? 11611 a certain attitude in regard to his confinement at tho Mental Hospital and ho will not be moved from that attitude. He has. a ready, answer to every suggestion, and is uneomSwfifw • an y' Proposal that does not meet his views. In the presence of the reporter Dr. Gow suggested that S m |w; „ e i a fe oiut S cnt s > ouW be applied to his chilblain. Terry initantly refused faying that if a,man led the natural life and -had sunshine he would not suffer trom chilblains; that, m any event, Nature would effect a cure, and that' ho was to leave it to Nature. the reporter asked him why he did not have some heating apparatus in his cabin, and jerry replied that ho was utterly oposed to everything of an artificial nature. He added that ho meant that people should keep themselves sufficiently warm m a natural way without any extraneous or artificial assistance. Tho whole bent of his mind was on the ability of Nature to support the human body in comfort and health without outside assistance. The reporter then asked Terry why he dul.iiot accept tho offer made him by Dr. Udw to allow him two hours daily exercise in the sunshine. Terry replied that he i would accept tho offer if the hours were definitely fixed, and regularly adhered to, and that.h,c had refused to leave his quarters because, this had not Jeen done. The. attendants used to call for him when he was not ready to "0, when ho was in tho middle of a meal, "or doing some job or conducting some experiment. lie refused to recognise that it was impossible for tho medical superintendent to fix in. the hours definitely when lie never knew what demands might be mado on his staff of attendants. Dr. Gow elucidated the point. Tho reporter had caught a gliinpso of tho female inmates when they were exercising ill their part of the. grounds—a heart- . breaking sight. "If'it rn.ino on to rain suddenly," the doctor said, " all those poor women would have to bo got inside, and fires lighted for them. The sen-ices of all the attendants aiid many of the inmates would have to' be utilised to meet tho circumstances sprung 011 us. Again, an inmate might escape from the institution, and I would at onco have to send three or four attendants out to bring hi in back. There arc hundreds of things which might happen,. and it is impossible for me, not knowing what tho morrow will briug forth, to say that I will send two attendants to take Terry out for exercise at a particular hour. Every attendant could not be trusted with hiin, as somo of them are.elderly men.

Terry is a dangerous man, and has* openly stated that he will nouallow the life of one man to stand in the way of his liberty. On live days out of the seven, howevo:, lie could rely on getting two hours' exercise in tho open. Suffers from Loneliness. As far as Terry's solitary confinement is concerned, the term "solitary" hardly fits the.case. "Lonely" would be a better word. An attendant is always on duty outside his quarters at every hour of the day ♦ and night. The malo inmates troop past Terry at meal times on-their way to and from tho dining hall. It is, quite conceivable, however, that tho unfortunate man suffers from loneliness. He has few, if any, friends in tho South Island, and the authorities do not allow visitors to see him when their only motive is to satisfy a morbid curiosity. A man of Terry's temperament would be all tho better for some companionship, and it might be well if some scheme could l>e devised whereby he could receivo some visitors apart from the Government officials who seo him as a matter of duty. According to Dr. Gow, Terry is not. always desirous, of seeing, people who call, and sometimes takes up an attitude which makes it impossible for visitors- 'to bo introduced. His Correspondence and Diet. As to the complaint about Terry's correspondence being interfered with, the ordinary rules of tho institution apply, but they are slightly relaxed in his favour. His letters from home have been opened in his presence and handed to him unread. He is at liberty to write to the Inspector-General or officers of the Department and members of Parliament, and these letters are posted without being opened. Incoming letters, with the exception mentioned, are opened according to the rules to see that they, contain nothing that would enable Terry to work harm on himself, or any other person. What Terry wants is an absolutely unceusored correspondence, and, until he gets that, he says that ho will not avail himself of the ordinary channels of communication.- He was obviously delighted iwhen he gathered that at last one of his "bulletins" had got past the authorities. • Terry's diet is one of his own choice. Tho position was summed jip by Dr. Gow in a few words: "He won't take the food that we are prepared to give him; ho won't take a cooked meal; ho believes in 'pure food/ and all his meals arc made by himself; he threshes his own } wheat and practically lives on wheat and peas; he ,has an unlimited quantity of vegetables from the garden attached to tho Mental Hospital." This is only another version of" Terry's' fad for "Nature." Reaching «down a Bible, ho said that, he was prepared to give Biblical authority for his course of action in this respect, remarking that ho regarded the Bible as a very interesting history .of an ancient people. * An observer fails to detect anything disquieting in Terry's physical condition. His face is a healthy pink, his voice is < clear, and, altogether, lie would pass for a very healthy and- clean-living man. Beyond the chilblains on'his hand, and a few pimples 6n. his lips, he ' appeared to bo in perfect health. The suggestions which ono feels inclined to make in regard to his future treatment are (1) That exercise space in his quar- ' tors should bo increased. (2) That he should bo given moro opportunity for meeting approved people who may bo interested in him. \ (3) Another suggestion which, however, presents obvious difficulties is that his "cage" should be transferred to a part of tho institution where he will get the. sun without having to i t leave it. Tho objection.is. that a patrol would have to be constantly employed : to prevent' Terry escaping, and ■to ' keep misguided sympathisers away from him. At present he has not only to escape from the "cage," but also from the institution—a task of some considerable difficulty. The whole subject is a difficult one. Terry .has still a. grievance against tho Government for reprieving him. He says , that he made.aprotest against a bad law, and according to the law ho should have been hanged. The Government had no right to reprieve him, and' it was acting wrongly in detaining him -as a criminal lunatic. Argument and entreaty regarding his", present course of action were wasted on him. • "Good-bye. Do the best you can for me," was his farewell to the reporter, and the entrance to his "cage" was once more bolted and barred to the outside world. A RESIDENCE FOR MAHUTA. ■ '• ' NATIVES WILL DEFRAY COST. Speaking at the Native Conference at i Huntly on Thursday, Mr. Kaihu, M.P., said that they should remember that the Government promised •• to erect a house for a promise that was also made to Mahuta, So far no steps had' been taken to fulfil that promise, and it appeared to him that the Maoris would have to show the Government a •good example by providing the cash necessary for such a purpose. He had not the slightest doubt that they could , raiso before the end Of the year | if a special effort were made. To this excellent purpose might bo devoted the moneys collected to defray the expenses 1 of the Topu Taingakawa deputation to England, in reference to the alleged breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, of which ho (Tupu) and his party complained. By doing so they would see some tangible result for the money, and would be saved ; from expending it on airy nothings and imaginary grievances. It was decided that all mone3's collected.be held in trust for the people and lodged ' in the Bank of' New Zealand in tho names of Messrs. Kaihau and Tama. ICawa (tho chairman of the committee). All expenditure to be passed by the District Council, and all accounts to be open for audit by the Governinetit Auditor.