THE ASYLUM ENQUIRY. FOURTH DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. FURTHER STARTLING STATEMENTS. ALLEGED ACTS OF CRUELTY.

Evening Post, Volume XXI, Issue 44, 23 February 1881, Page 2

THE ASYLUM ENQUIRY. FOURTH DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. FURTHER STARTLING STATEMENTS. ALLEGED ACTS OF CRUELTY.

This enquiry was continued before the Eoyal Commission, consisting of Messrd. E. Shaw, Ji.M. (chairman), W. W. Taylor and J. Woodward, J.P.s, at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Mr. Edwards again appearing on behalf of the Superintendent (Mr. J. H. Whitelaw), and Mr. J. H. Shaw, the complainant, conducting the examination of witnesses as before. Gardiner Blackmore said— Last February, while taking a walk near the Asylum, I saw a female attendant ill-treat a female patient. I do not remember her name. The attendant knocked the patient on the knees and head with an umbrella. Subsequently I saw another attendant come to the other's assistance. Tney tore her hair, twisted her arms, and dragged her along the road. 'Ihe cause of this was presumably because the lunatic would not walk quibttly enough. 1 reported the matter to a man whom I took to be a policeman, and who was standing in front of the Newtown police station The constable observed what I have now stated. I wrote a report to"Mr. Mansford, it M., the following day concerning the- affair. An enquiry was ordered to be held on the 4th March last. I went up to the Asylum to see Dr. Skae about it. I was received by Whitelaw, who treated me in a most insolent manner. Dr. Skae acted as president at the enquiry, which, however, appeared to be conducted by Whitelaw. Ihe whole enquiry was a complete farce. The matter was quietly extinguished, as far as I could judge. 1 saw my presence was no longer required, and I left the establishment. Dr. Skae commenced the proceedings, I should say, by remarking that he considered the attendants' word as good as mine. The Newtown constable (Phair) reported the matter to the Inspector of Police. His report corroborates my evidence. As I was leaving the Asylum some of the female attendants — Whitelaw standing behind them — hooted me and called me an informer. Cross-examined — I won't Bwear Whitelaw was standing behind them, but 1 firmly believe it was he. Dr. Skae waß not guilty of insolence like Whitelaw. Christopher Daggan, a warder employed at the ABvlum (examined by the complainant), said — 1 have been a warder at the Asyium for two years. One of the patients i<s Jam^s Gannon. H e has a mild sort of religious mania. In other respects he is quite sensible. He was in the " back" ward when I first went there. He is tuere still, but ha 3 not been there the whole of. that period. He has been there for the last four or five months, having been put there for disobeying orders — he would not work. He has the same food as the other patients in that ward Once I reported to the superintendent that Gannon s boots were getting too old, but Whitelaw said the boots were "' right enough." Another patient named Thomas Buchanan has been put in the "back" tor punishment; he has also been put in a solitary ceil. Cross-examined — Gannon not only refused to work himself, but incited others to follow his example. Re-examined— Thi3 was about a year ago. He said to me " it was no use killing themselves." To the Commission — The patient 3 in the back ward are locked up at 6 o'clock every evening, and let out at 7 each morning. Buchanan was 1 -eked up in his cell for two or three days. That was supposed to be for punishment. I could r.ot Bay what offence he had committed. William Mlntoah, shoemaker, recalled, deposed — I said yesterday I had been confined in a dark cell tor fourteen days and nights. '1 hat *as not the only confin- ment in a dark cell thai I suffered. Once before this I was kept in an adjacent cell for thirteen days. While there 1 was treated with inhumanity and cruelty. My food was passed through a small aperture in the wall, aa if intended for a wild beast. In the Asylum there was a patient named Coleman. He was once brutally uted fey Brown, an attendant. On reprimanding Bro .m for his cruelty, he told me to ''go to h ," adding that he

would do the same to me if I didn't hold my tongue. Cross-examined — Twenty years ago I was on a station. I was not out of my mind then. The insinuation is a most impertinent one. Mary Mahoney, an ex-attendant, said — I left the Asylum in December last. I was there about a year and nine months. I have seen Whitelaw enter the private cells of female patients. On one occasion myAttention was drawn to a cell occupied by a female named Foley. She was not clothed. I concluded she had torn off her olothlf. "WWtelaw and she were in the cell alone. I reported the circumstance to Miss Brigden. She remarked, " Never mind ; we will see what can be done when Mr. Whitelaw comes down." I said, ."But the woman has got no clothes on." Miss Brigdon replied, "Never mind. It is what he has been used to." Presently Whitelaw came down, and then he and Miss Brigdon went together to Foley's cell. On other occasions I have seen Whitelaw take female patients into the cells— to put them in, I mean. Sometimes he did bo unassisted. He put Mrs. ClaTk in her coll by himself. She Bcreamed ont, and he used his hands and knees to hor. It was a common ocourrence for the patients to bo without bread. It was Whitelaw's duty to order the bread. Frequently the attendants have gone without bread themsolvos in order to let the patients have theirs. Sometimes a few of the patients had to go without alto* gether. Circumstances like thi9 I have reported to the matron, Mrs. Kettle. [The complainant — That's Mr. Whitolaw's mother.] I have reason to believe Whitelaw knew that the bread was deficient. I some* times also reported the deficiency to the cook. I did nob know whom to get orders from sometimes — whether from Mrs. Kettle, Miss Brigdon, or Mr. Whitelaw. 'J he Chairman — Who is this Miss Brigdon P Witness — A niece of Mrs. Kettlojs. The ChairmanWas Miss Brigdon. <jn the Asylum staff? Mr. Edwards— l am informed that she has been on the. staff since last September. The Chairman ftp witness^— Do you remember her being plated on the staff last September P Witness— No!' It was before last September that Miss Brigdon accompanied Whitelaw to Foley's cell. The matron is lame, and walks on crutches. I have bought tea and sugar when there was none for us. That has been pretty often, and other attendants have had to do the same. So far as I could gather ¦ the members of this " triangular authority" did not live in harmony. This want of htmnony often caused inconveniences, and sometimes led to the neglect of the patients. Cross-examined — Foley was a rather violent lunatic I would have had no fear to visit her oell aooompaniod by another attendant. Sometimes attendants objected to go into cells oconpied by violent patients. Whitelaw used unnecessary violence to Mrs. Clark. I was dismissed from the Asylum by Whitelaw under the following oircumstanceß : — By permission of the matron I was out two consecutive evenings, the latter being my ordinary " Sunday out. Another attendant took my place, and during my absenoe a female patient escaped from the institution. Next morning Whitelaw Bent me a note of dismissal. I was not in the habit of asking his permission to go out ; I always went to the matron for that. I waß not aware of any rule that such permission was to bo obtained from him. He waß making new rules every day. (Laughter.) I saw the . matron about the matter. She was crying, ¦and told me I had better go. Re-examined— It was nothing unusual for me to find the matron in tears. , - At 4 o'clock the Commissioners retired for five minutes for tho purpose of consulting on some subject which did not transpiro. ' ,' William Dear, bricklayer, said — Recently I was working on the hillside overlooking tho Asylum grounds, whon my attention was directed to tho building by a scries of screams. On looking round 1 saw an attendant at the back Of the building raise his hand and kneek down a male patient. Afti/r he was down, tho attendant — whom I believe to be Duggan — strnok him three or four times on the head as hard as ho could. A day or bo later I saw some lunatics excavating .neir the building, whon a warder beat a lunatio with a pick. I was about four hundred yards distant at the time. Tho first occurrence took place about 8.15 a.m., the other at 11.15 a.m. I should say tho attendant beat the lunatio at least thirty times with the pick. The lunatio made no resistance, but seemed to bo getting out of the attendant's way as fast as no could. Crossexamined — If I again saw the patient who was assaulted with a pick I think I should recognise him, if placed at tho sumo distance. Tho attendant was about sft Bin high j the lunatic was a short man. lam quite sure it was an attendant. Alfred De NorviHo, bailiff, said-Foujr years ago I was a night watchman at the Asylum. I remember the witness M'lntosh being there. I also romombor his cold shower bath, which, to tho best of my recollection, lasted 20 minutes. He wds Bcreaming the whole of tho time. [The witness was not cross-examined ] John William Rickman, expressman, said — My mother has boen an intnato of the Asylum for the last 26 yeara. It is now-four years since I saw her. During those four years I have made four different attempts to see her. They were unsuccessful. Three times 1 was told she " was not fit to be seen" ; tho other time I was refused nduiission because it was a Sunday, atid not a " visiting day," although I had been in tho habit of going there on Sundays many years previously. To go on a "visiting day" would have necessitated the loss of a day's work. [The cross-examination was unimportant.] Thorßas Poynter, fireman on board the s a. Stormbird, said— l left tho Asylum five weeks ago. I have seen patients fight. Once they were set to fight. An attendant nodded to a patient and said to another, "Go on, George ; he's good enough for you." They then set to, and ono gave the other a black eye, eliciting the exclamation, " Oh, my G — ; you've knocked my eyo out!" I felt thoroughly disgusted. When I wont there I was told to keop myself quiet, and take little notice of what took place -that they had a padded room, and I might find myself there if I did not look out. If I had stopped there very- long I should have been an out-and-ou t lunatic. Another time I saw an attendant thrash a darkie, and throw a boot at him. The ' ' bath ' ' perform inco was hurried through as quickly as possible. The patients were " sluiced " with a bucket of water, and ran through with the greatest expedition. To the Commission — I was treated fairly myself. I was a quiet man, and if I hod interfered at a'l it would have been reported that a " turn for the worse had set in," and I should have been put at the " back. " Convicts are better fed and treated than the lunatics. The food was not only deficient, but sometimes was ao repulsive that it could not be eaten. Cross-examined — It was Cook who set the patients to fight. The Chairman hero said the Commission proposed to adjourn until the following day at 3 p.m., to hear any evidence that might then be forthcoming An adjournment would then be made till Friday afternoon. Ihe question as to the examination of patients would not be entered into at present ; but before the Commissioner;* mado their report they might think it desirable to interview somo of the patients at tho institution. The complainant having applied for summonses for two female witnesses he wished to be produced — viz., Ellen Frost And — Crowe— the i ommissioners adjourned till 3 o'clock this afternoon. •