CHIDLEY'S CASE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 196, 19 August 1912, Page 2

CHIDLEY'S CASE.

j A case which is arousing considerable public interest in Sydney at present is that of W. J. Chidley, who has been committed to the Callan Park : Mental Hospital by the Sydney Lunacy Court. Chidley is the author of a book entitled "The Answer," in which a return to the simple life is advocated, and some radica} ideas on I dress reform are advanced. The j author of this work has, unfortunately I for himself, not confined himself to i writing his opinions, but has put them into practice, appearing in the streets of Sydney in a single-piece garment extending from neck to knee arid leaving the arms and legs bare. Chidley's appeaannce in this garb created a sensation, and he was arrested. The Magistrate ordered his ! retention for medical examination, ! and Dr Chisholm Ross, the foremost j alienist in New South Wales, pronounced, after conversation with Chidley and reading "The Answer," that the man was "a menace to the community." with the result that Chidley was adjudged to be a lunatic. Chidley has written several letters to the Sydney Sun during his detention, and these letters certainly show no evidence of mental derangement. The writer defends the principle he has i advocated, and gives an account of I his interview with Dr Ross, in which he states that" the doctor told him he had read "The Answer," and that he considered the writer was a menace to .society and ought to be incarcerated. Chidley appealed for an examination by another medical man, a Dr Arthur ; but this gentleman declined to intervene. Chidley claims that he has been in correspondence with- Dr Arabella Kenealy, the late Dr May Stone, Professor Gilruth, Dr Havelock Ellis, Dr Stanley Hall, of Amei-ica, Mr Edward Carpenter, Professor Laurie, of Melbourne, and Bishop Mercer, of Tasmania, all of whom partly or wholly endorse his views. A photograph of Chidley printed by the Sun shows him to be a •man of refined and intellectual appearance, and his letters as published do not belie that appearance. Dr Arthur, to whom Chidley appealed, is a member of the Legislative Assembly, and he has moved for an investigation by the Inspector-General of the Insane.