DEATH WITHOUT DOCTOR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18565, 24 November 1923, Page 2 (Supplement)

DEATH WITHOUT DOCTOR

A CHPISTIAN SCIENTIST. EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST. CONTRARY TO RELIGION. The death of a Christian Scientist, whose life might have been saved if a doctor had been consulted, was the subject of. a. H&mpstead inquest , recently on Miss Sara Whitehill, aged 45. " ,Miss Lily Whitehill, sister of the dead woman, said that her sister had been a Christian Scientist for . 20 « years, and adhered to her belief until .she died. ' "■ She' suffered • from lumbago, flatulence, and indigestion periodically," said Miss Whitehill," " and when ill was attended by ' faith healers/ who prayed with her. She believed in the efficacy of prayer, refused to tee a doctor when :11, and took no medicine for many years." Miss Whitehill added that she did not blame the " faith 'healers" who attended his sister, but she condemned the " pernicious teachings" ,of the Christian Science healers as , a body. <' -Mrs. Marian Graham, ■ the dead woman's, landlady, stated that when a doctor was proposed Miss Whitehill said that she was having "help," and added that she was a Christian Scientist. Miss Whitehill had two women*..visitors, and would not allow her relatives to be sent for. ■ ■

Mrs, Constanco Johnson, a Christian Science practitioner, stated that on the request of a woman friend, she went "to help Miss Whitehill mentally," • Miss Whitehill ' was .in pain, and her breath was short and laboured. She. gave her " present - treatment"namely, treatment by prayer. i . The Coroner: Simply prater? , ' I Mrs. Johnson: It is the practical application of ,the .law of God. -' 'i t 'Did ■ you do", anything beyond praying for her?— No.'. " , ' %. . Was the question of medical advice mentioned ?— did not refer to it, and Miss Whitehill said that she did 1 not want a doctor, and hoped that the landlady would not call one in. Miss Whitehill was unhappy owing to; the ; opposition of her family to her . religious beliefs.,. '• 4 . , ' The, Coroner: If you realised that she was seriously ill would, you have .advised the calling in of a doctor —I could not. * ; Would you J*—-No, I could not ido' so. That is part of our religion. , t Was Miss' Whitehill's mental condition sound -Quite; but she was very unhappy. V iJ, . A . ' Dr. *'Pritchard, who made an internal examinationVof.* the body, . stated that the heart weighed 21£ . ounces— the .'ordinary , weight. -. Death was - caused - by syncope from bronchial pneumonia while Miss Whitehill was suffering from disease of the heart. s '*' ■ * The Coroner Under medical advice there was no * reason why her life might not have been saved? ' Dr. I'ritchard : I think very likely it would. . . . . , , • " The coroner said the case might, have presented a more serious aspect if Miss Whitehill had not been in the full possesion of her mental powers, Or had been under the control of another person. He recorded & verdict of " Death from natural causes." ~ ,

EXECUTIONER CONDEMNED.

The officials of the French penal settlement at Cayenne have been placed in a curious dilemma by the necessity for executing their official executioner, Isidore Hespel, known in the settlement, by his nickname of " The Jackal." Hespel was formerly a convict, but after serving his long term of imprisonment he - was appointed executioner, and has guillotined a number of murderers. He is now to make the acquaintance of the instrument of death in another capacity, having been sentenced to death for killing a convict during a quarrel. His appeal to. the Court of Cassation having failed, he has formally lodged a request that, . since he does not relish the idea. of his execution being entrusted to an inexperienced headsman, he may be allowed to erect the guillotine himself and to see that all is in good working order before he ascends the scaffold. Hespel' has pointed out in this connection that during • his term of office as executioner he has always given proof of a tender heart by despatching his subjects in the most expeditious manner possible. It is on record, indeed, that during the whole .operation he never ceased to whisper encouraging words to his victims, assuring - them that their end would be perfectly painless.