A DOCTOR ACQUITTED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18891, 13 December 1924, Page 2 (Supplement)

A DOCTOR ACQUITTED.

MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE. ,

* DEATH OF A CHILD.

ALLEGE!) DIPHTHERIA CASE.

Scenes of great enthusiasm were witnessed in and outside the Court at Gloucester Assizes on October 29, when Dr. Walter B. Hadwcn, an anti-vaccinist, was acquitted of the charge of manslaughter brought against him in respect of the death of Nellie Burnham, a girl of 10. It was Contended by the prosecution that Dr. Hadwen had been guilty of negligence in treating the girl, who was said to have had diphtheria, for ulcerative tonsilitis.

Passionate scenes, probably unique in a non-political case, accompanied the trial. Immense crowds, never less than two or three thousand strong, gathered before the Shire Hall, where the trial was held. Mounted police—who were frequently booed—were required to keep them in order, and special bodies of foot police guarded the entrances to the Court and the corridors within the building.

Early in the morning a crowd of women attempted to rush the Court. They got as far as the entrance doors, one of which gave way. As a result a pane of corrugated "glass, half an inch thick, was smashed, and a few persons were bruised. Alter this the police forced the crowd back to a distance of a hundred yards each wnv from the Court. .

Four medical witnesses, including Sir William Willcocks, the famous Home Office medical expert, described the girl's symptoms as those, of diphtheria. Dr. Hadwen. however, positively denied that diphtheria had ever been present, and contended that death was due to pneumonia, probably contracted through the child having left her bed during her mother's absence and gone' downstairs for a drink of cold water. This fact was admitted by the prosecution. „

Cheers for the Verdict. Summing up, the Judge said it was a case which required very strong and clear proof. He told the jury that before they could convict Dr. Hadwen for manslaughter they must be quite satisfied, first, that he had been wickedly negligent, and, secondly, that the child had died as the result of that negligence. After an absence of 20 minutes the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. In spite of all precautions the' jury's verdict of not guilty was the signal for an unprecedented outbreak of feeling in Court. Tumultuous cheering burst, from the gallery and the well of the assize room alike. The noise was deafening, and the whole spectacle seemed to have more connection with the election which was proceeding outside than with the administration of justice. The police were, for a moment, powerless, and the Judge looked on, bewildered and as helpless as they. Presently, when silence was restored, Mr. Justice Lush scathingly rebuked the demonstrators. "It is most reprehensible."' he said, "and makes one wonder how far people should be allowed in Court in, a case of this kind. You are discharged." he said. curtlv, to the defendant.

Doctor Kissed by Women. Outside, in the pouring rain, a crowd, swelled almost to unmanageable proportions, had already heard the news of acquittal. " For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." thev sang, in a frenzy of excitement, and when the doctor, wreathed in smiles, tried to escape by a back door, he was seized in the strong arms of West Country women and carried bodily to his car. For some time the vehicle could not-lie started, and when it did get under weigh it carried a dozen or more cheering people on. the splashboard. After addressing a triumphant meeting, and another gathered on the steps of his house—where he was repeatedly kissed by excited women—Dr. Hadwen was allowed to have his dinner.