ALLEGED CANCER CURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18629, 9 February 1924, Page 7 (Supplement)

ALLEGED CANCER CURE.

—.-(- —♦ , HORSE OINTMENT USED. ; I EX-MINER CHARGED. " ' ' • ..." PATIENTS' SUFFERINGS. I,n " '' An ex-miner, David Williams, who it was stated professed to be able to cure canc';,-, was charged at Doncaster with inflicting grievous bodily harm on Alice Fairly fism and with obtaining from her £11 by ;"f false pretences. :f . Mr. Pashley, for the Public Prosecutor, •'.' 'said that in four cases people treated by Williams had died. He was formerly a l'?: ' small farmer, and in 1816 became banky - rupt. He then issued circulars claiming It: that he could cure cancer, and said: "No ft; cure, no pay." He had no knowledge of ..» cancer, but he had a knowledge of the :r treatment Of horses, and some ointment lie ". gave was of common use in the external \ treatment of animals. : As a result of his treatment the patients "r suffered from sores, boils, eruptions, loss of blood, and in some cases portions of ,: flesh were taken away. Ho became a danger to the community. •■;-.'■ Mrs. Fairham, who was suffering from gland tumours, was told by Williams that <lhe had cancer. He gave her a lotion which smelt like ammonia and charged her £2 a week. Blue Vitriol in Ointment. One lotion was so powerful that the woman's mouth had to be muffled when it was applied. She suffered great pain from blisters. Then Williams applied an ointment which was a powerful caustic consisting of lead oxide and copper sulphate, and was known as blue vitriol. It would at once burn the human skin. As a result Mrs. Fairham's condition was rendered malignant and she was now prone to the development of cancer. One man y was driven nearly mad with pain. s f Williams once wrote: " The Lord has < given mo power to cure cancer." His letters were badly spelt. To a man suffering from cancer on the tongue he gave a bottle containing brandy and figs and in it put drops of what he called the " secret cure. ' The drops, he srid, were sixpence each. y A youth named Hutchings who was treated by Williams died, and Williams g*ve evidence at the inquest. The poultice he used was composed of linseed, lard, sulphate of copper, and extract of lead. He Obtained £18 for the treatment of the boy. Holes in a Miner's Neck. A young miner, whose trade union paid £19 toward £29 charged for his treatment, had four holes in his neck. Williams once said: "I have gained virtue. Thank God for His blessing. I have only got a doctor's faith." It was the first case of its kind, said Mr. Pashley, and he hoped and believed it would be the last. Mrs. Fairham, giving evidence, said that she had not had a night's sleep for threo weeks. When she expressed dis- ; satisfaction with the treatment Williams proposed that he should submit her to X- . rays. She asked him for her money back i. but could not get it. When she said she had been nearly dead with pain, Williams laid: "You cannot get cured without pain." At a subsequent hearing evidence was given by Dr. J. A. Asburst, of Bentley. He said that during his professional career he had attended many cases of cancer. ' Mrs. Fairham had been a patient of his ; for ten years. In June she consulted him with regard to a gland tumour in the breast. A. removal by operation was necessary, and Mrs. Fairham consulted a ... specialist. ■, ''■« An operation was not performed, Mrs. /Fairham being unwilling to submit herv self to it. In October witness again ex- ' amined her. and he found sores caused by an irritant and the tumour had grown '■■■i slightly in size. %■ The corrosive paste stated to have been used by Williams was a strong one. Great ; . would arise from his general treatment. The materials used would cause burning and destroy the tissues, Sepsis . was actually setup at one time. It was .possible that Williams' treatment might r . ~,. turn anon-malignant case into a malig- " nant cne. To the present day Mrs. Fairv ham was not suffering from cancer. *. , , Hopeless Case of Cancer.

Cross-examined, the doctor said " that ' accused's treatment by corrosives was in use by qualified medical men 170 years .ago for dealing with any kind of tumour. It was now recognised that such treatment r < was not good. Mr. Frank Allen, coroner, deposed to holding an inquest on a nineteen-years-old boy named Hutchinson, who died of cancer. Williams treated Hutchinson to the day of his death, and was paid £3 a week for doing so. Giving evidence at the inquest, Williams stated that he used poultices of lard, sulphate of copper, and ecetate of lead. Such poultices were applied three times a day. Cross-examined, witness said that medi-ciit-evidence was given at the inquest that Hutchinson's was a, hopeless case of cancer, and it did not make " a ha'porth of difference ' as to the treatment tried. Dr. Frederick W. Johnson, practising at Bawtrey, said that he attended Hutchinson. Accused's poultice caused laceration and his general treatment was of no use at all. The case was a hopeless one. Replying, in cross-examination, witness said that the youth died in a perfectly natural manner from the disease. At limes witness gave him morphia to relieve the pain.