THE SAINTLY STANTON.

NZ Truth, Issue 114, 24 August 1907, Page 5

THE SAINTLY STANTON.

JUSTICE CHAPMAN'S EXTRAORDINARY LENIENCY.

The Damnable Fraud's Appeal for Mercy.

Christchurcn Peeple Justifiably Indignant.

There is a chorus of indignant remonstrance m Christchoirch at the extraordinary leniency shown by Mr Justice Chapman to William Stanton, the preacher-cum-quack doctor, who was sentenced to only four months' imprisonment at the late sessions lot, manslaughter. The majority^ of people thought that four years' imprisonment would have be&n much nearer the mark, bearing m mind the life the man led, the large number of people he deceived,, and the number of people he pretended to tresit because they were foolish enonchto undergo treatment at his hands. And he didn't know what the devil was' the matter with them. In the case dealt with on this occasion not only were the people grossly deceived, but the patient died on the scoundrel's hands. Stanton can't have* even an elementary knowledge of diptheria or anything else, although he 9ays that he could bring forward persons who could swear that they ttt'ra cured by him. Well, they had a bit of luck, because there are more of his unfortunate gulls dead than alive. There are some alive now who are cursing Stanton daily and carsing themselves also for having been so fatheaded as to have handed their bodies over to him instead of seeking expert . medical adivice. It is the attractive advertisement used to delude these unfortunate, credulous folk. "Cancer cured" reads like a guarantee ; but the awful quack . Stanton never cured a case m his life. Is there not a man dying m the Christ-? church hospital at present who had been treated by this criminal StanIfcon to whom he paid £19, and never got the * slightest benefit "by , it ? Didn't "Truth" publish the names and addresses of others who had been under his care some months ago When we were exposing the blackguard — some living, some under the sod ? Stanton's game was oof all the time, and lie didn't care how near 1 be came to KILIING A PERSON so long' as he got out of tiie case m time to let a duly tqualified practitioner step m andi be m charge when the end came. That happened m the case of one woman whom we could name who is now at rest ; he used to pray with her for an hour at the time, the dammed hypocrite ; he sadd he would cure her, but gave her over ■ t when she was dying, saying she hadn't sufficient faith. This is the cry of the bogus faith-healer of allegedly religious tendencies. Stanton used to often pray with his patients, and they thought a devil of a lot of him for it. it ofte-n meant that he could stick an extra few bob on to his bill and be pretty sure of getting it. The biasing fraud. And this is the hoaryjjearded bounder that Judge " Chapman only gave' four, months' to. The Judge was evidently impressed by the skunk's demeanor m the dock, and when passing sentenoe alluded to his apparent respectability ; he was sorry to have to inflict punishment on' such a man, but couldn't avoid doing so. In fact, he practically begged the prisoner's pardon m the most servile manner for baVin-g to sond him to gaol. A. nice state of things, truly. n;,MTvt his Honor know that this jellyfish Stanton paid for his damnable temerity m attempting to . deceive the Greaneys before he started to help their son off the earth. All the family Galled the arch-hypocrite "Doctor," and he never took the trouble to set them right. He is, not even "Mr." now, nor "William," nor vnS*ar "Billy" ; a number denotes Ihat he is something moving, and that's all. T'he'pitv is that he has only to wear the King's uniform for four months, through the kindness- of Judge Chapman. There will likely be a row down at that gaol between Stanton -and McCoombe. The latteri is known as the "Doctor" ; he is a long sentence brute who fixes on poultices and plaster at Dr. Newell's beihest, and administers the medicine to the sick prisoners. Salts is the medicine always used, and' McCoome hands salts over to everybody, no maittex what he is suffering from>. Stanton Will want this, nice easy billet. He certainly can't produce any diplomas, because he kis none. Stanton's sugar nowders which he administered 'to the dead a/nd gone Groaney were certainly harmless ; , he might hi more at home were he to handle something stronger, like salts ; for there is no mistaking the effect o| salts on anybody. Since Stanton's conviction and relirement quite a number of people have stated openly that they have been treated by him, and that he bad don? them no good, but they didn't care to be derided by their friends for havine gone .to a "specialist" for treatment. Of course, tlvov had parted their good gold, and the number of these people at onoe explains why this goncing gospeller was- able to live m a fine house m Latimer Square, and purchase the section adjoining, which must have cost a nice sum of money. But numerous of his female clients were plastic clay m his spurious hands, and whe-n he knew i-hey had coin HE BLED THEM PRETTY FREELY, as his large and varied assortment of beautiful furniture testified. The blatant impostor did one lady a shameful wrong;, however ; he "treated" her until she felt so bad that life to her was like being m an antichsrnber of- perdition, and it was only a threat -of suicide that made the family kick the spicier quack out and .obtain the services of a couple of experienced medical men. The lady, it is pleasing to state, is now quite recovered. Stanton the stiffener wasn't satisfied; with the few remarks made by bis counsel. Mr Harper, on his behalf, prior to the passing of sentence. He asked permission to make a few observations himself, and the tench acquiesc&d. He snivelled and drivel"*-:! at the outset and then put on his iri 1.---piteering style, a sttni-drvnatic sty'c with a pain m its bnv— I"- 1 :-- !,:-.; nncr m which he up---i1 to speak to i>ns ttisciptas of oast aad (humbug m (tke

Orange Hall on Sunday night's iwKei* he wasn't "curing" anybody.- He said ■ heroically that ho had a wife and children ; the wife was noble and courageous, and the children as courageous as she. To see them on "the previous night was heartrending;. If the punishment fell upon him alone and no on© else he could bear it, but his family would suffer more acutely than he, and he therefore trusted his Honor would make the sen/tehee a lenient one on their behalf. What a harrowing picture of the heartrending! domestic scene, to be sure. Perhaps it was heartrending, but the sordid, soulless Stanton forgot for a moment an even more heartrending scone at the house of the 'Grearccys, when a young man on the, threshold of life passed away as a result of his id-am nod incompetence. What sort of a scene was his compared with theirs ? also, his children are alive ;• their boy is dead. The impudence of the fellow;. In giving this unprincipled member of -the medical riff-raff the shockingly inadequate sentence of four months, JudFO Chapman actually ordered that' he should be KEPT tAFART FROM THE OTHER PRISONERS as much as possible ; why he made such an extraordinary order is really incomprehensible. It's a wonder this sin-spotted souser wasn't accorded the privilege of dining with Gaoler Cleary every meal time, and given half a holiday once a week to inspect the shipping. A case of champagne and a few women to pray over might have been added. The result of the awful official blunder made m Stanton's case will be that the other "specialists" dn Christchurch will sail closer to the wind than ever, and the grave-digger will ba kept unusually busy. Christchurcli is so full of easily-gulled people — it is the happy hunting-ground of quacks and humbugs of all sorts— that they do very well, and wouldn't mind risking four months' now and again if -the fee was attractive enough. The dubious doctoring dodges of these dusiwbin "doctors" are really paralysing m more senses than- one, but they get their duipes m plenty and these drift into the (hands of "genuine doctors later on. Quite a large number of healers of multifarious kinds wear brass plates of attractive hue, and they advertise, and do their best to divert the sick from- the doctor's* channel or the chemist's shop, and if they have cash, or can! raise it — often at great personal inconvenience— a big lump is usually demanded, and whether they Mil or cure they live like fighting cocks. There is -no doubt about that. The pernicious parasitical practices of these guys are often criminal, but it takes a lot of evidence on which to secure a conviction- The only thing for people to do is to giv© this riff-raff a very wide 'berth if they want to regain 'or conserve their health, and save money at the same time. • When -sentence was passed on Stanton he asked counsel Harper to apply for a new trial on the ground that the verdict was against the weight of evidence. Harper did so, but Judge Chapman placed a large moist counterpane on the idea.. He said that he would like the application and the reasons set out m writing. Judges of the Supreme Court had decided to exercise more care m future m regard- to granting leave to -appeal. He himself had granted such leave m a case not so long ago, and "he, regretted having done so afterwards. Mr Harper said he would consider the matter. He has since stated that he won't prosecute any appeal. . . It is quite natural that Mrs Stanton, the convict's wife, should FEEL HER PRESENT POSITION j ACUTELY. She j defends her husband, and 1 has seat along a, testimonial to "The Press" for publication. It was apparently -applied for by Stan-ton when he saw gaol looming m. the distance, and was received m Christclrureh the week of his trial. The document serves to show that St-anton has given Auckland a turn as well as other places m the colony. Reference to tha signature at the foot- of the testimonial causes a smile, for it is that of Dr R. H. Bakewell, a retired sur-geon-captain m the Army Medical Department,- and an eccentric newspaper correspondent too well-known m Auckland. It appears from the datqs supplied that Bakewell, M.D., was treated by Billy Stanton ten years, ago. He had previously consulted three doctors for a throat affection, two pronouncing it an ulcerated: tumor m the interior of the windPipe — a tumor of a cancerous na-ture — while the third said it might -be Papllloma. Walking home m a state of despair, Bakewell says that he passed Stanton's consulting rooms and stepped m to see what he could do for him-. "I can cure you," said Stanton, m a confident tone, so Bakewell placed himself under his care. Now, just mark how Stanton treated him for supposed cancer. He ordered him to take the solution of a white powder every hour (the same as m Greaaiey's case) ; but when Dr. Bakewell Said that would involve ..him giving up his practice. Stanton told him to double the dose every two hours. In Bi / , w€eks > says Bakewell, all trace of the tumor had disappeared. Two of the doctors he had previously consulted examined his throat with the laryngoscope and certified to that effect, but the third refused to look at n on the ground that he had been treated by an unqualified practitioner. Bakewell swore this Wore E. G. Allsworth, J.P., of Onehunga. on Bth August last, or four days before the criminal sittings opened at Christchurch. Dr. Bakewell IS A VERY ACCOMMODATING INDIVIDUAL, DUt his 'belated testimonial did the qvack no good. Everywhere he has ; 'sunf out has shingle, Stanton has i JT'VRrt his cheap sugar powders to people suffering from' bad riisi\isf;s, but ' ■•v<T-re is no record of him having of,lcred them to a ohap afflicted 'with . '• bsokea Icje» ' I