DOOMED TO DEATH!

NZ Truth, Issue 136, 25 January 1908, Page 5

DOOMED TO DEATH !

How Hugh Dalgleish was Deported. SHANGHAIED ON: A STEAMER AND THEN SUICIDES. Buried as a Pauper and Worse than a Dog. THE COLD, CALLOUS CONCERN OF THE PORIRUA ASYLUM AUTHORITIES. How Did Dalgleish Break His Thigh ? THE UNION S.S. CO. AND ITS HUMAN FREIGHT. '■[ HOW THE MENTAL \ HOSPITALS ARE MANAGED. A Royal Commission of Enquiry is Imperative. — _ I-.-

One of, the. ugliest cases of , brutal^. l ity and ipapVs inhumanity r tp, man, is I that of Hugh Dalgleish, the unfortunate person who sought respite from, the horror of a tortured existence byjumping overboard at the Bluff- from the Melbburhe-bbuhd steamer M&rama. '"Truth" "has been; furnished with inf orhVaiion ■ which' reVeals the mental hospital authorities of ; New Zealand m tlie light of monsters, caU lous m their "-cowardly cruelty, arid couples the much-advertised Union S.S. Company as'an equally responsible p'afcty* With the Government, to j the death of 'an asylum : patient* in. j the person of Dalgleish. The deceAs-| ed was a native of Stirling, Scotland, y.ged 54, and "m his early manhood was a resident of: Oamaru befbre - he m ade his home m Australia. 5 -Prior to August last he ' was employed ' by the Melbourne Horse Tram and 1 Omnibus Company, and it was the 1 nerve-' sha^ing experiences encounte!red : m this occupation 'that were responsible for his impaired physical- condition. Once the 'bus ' by Dalgleish narrowly escaped annihilation -by a passing fain, and it was only by the prompt application of the brakes byIho 'bus driver- that a catastrophe was ' averted. The incident completely shattered , Dalgleish's nerve,, aiui medical aid found him suffering ? fj(dm_ neurasthenia. The doctors - advised rest and a trip to New Zealand and predicted a cure at the expiration ..of, six months. A man m Dalgleish's portion wasn't- weal thy enough to acquire the tourist habit, but with the assistance -of ..relatives m. jfchis ; Dominion, he hoped to' 'carry ;6iit the instructions of the' Melbourne 'medical authorities. Unfortunately the expectations ._, based .upon the . prospective kindness of relatives were > not realised, andvto a?man in' Dalgleish'.s Dvei>w-rought condition, this stroke of adversity was .a. disaster- of;;.. the first magnitude. He' arrived m .Wellington on August 2 * •"-.-■_ wmi lOs IN HIS POCKET,. and-hei -seettfs to have wandered' about for- three days m a semi-dement-ed, stale without attracting particular attention. On the third day he was seen to ■ throw himbelf v into- the seEf* at Island Bay, and was -rescued from a moist grave by a casual pass-er-by. Hife wild appearance and 1 ; behaviour led to' the supposition ; tbat he had been drinking, but the , fact that .Bs. was found m his possession and other circumstances, discountenances this assumption, m fact, Dalgleish had been an abstemioirs maii* for. some time. .Medical examination and treatment . led to his committal to the P.ororua Asylum, where, if a person isn't mad already, he is, soon; driven into that awful state by, assor cHticn with gibbering idiots. Mean-, time M»rs ,Dalgleish had a hard .row ■to hoe m Melbourne, where she' was supporting . herself . and her twp. children by her I 'own unaided" TexertiOns. fl'hfe faW'th^t her husband' had ' been commit^cf to an asylum gave her untold anflfety, and she put herself into communication with. Dr. Guy Has-seil,.-medical superintendent of tne Porirua hell, with the object of having her husband sent back to Melbovrife. She was led to believe that Dalgleish was getting along/ splendidly ; indeed, all arrangements were completed for his voyage across the watr" per s.s. ; ..Monowai, when "there happened one ol those little accidents: which have served to make of the Porirua Lunatic Asylum a public scandal and, a disgrace to humanity. Dalgleish. fell one .day and . fractured his thigh.' Heaven only knows what -occurs iv J fo_re retreats.: of theiinsane, wl>e>e the only witness arc persons who ore not qualified -to give. evidence., "Truth", has .on more than one- occasion exposed instances-, of brutal ill-, treatment' of patients I i m this.; very. !Pori rua asylum/ and: .can- ,only ■< sur-? mise the ext and number Of cases o { cruelty -which never s see theirlight' of day. TChe authorities explained to, the' urifpiPtiffiaiGe .w'? that.' hep Mj;hustr band was jihshed'by -one oV'tShe otherpatients as' he was watchinig.: .some, cagb bir-ds that 'the violent .^patient formerly Md -the' honoii of: feeding,, and that vDalgleish's iv<jiv.r.<y- ' .. THIGH :Vi>A& BRO^E^I^Y : ;?teE.. ..-....■ FALL. i; ' " i .- 1 .-V •■ - ,/..: But. "Truth"' is aware that, there are, strong warders m the asylum ; who exert their strength unmercifully on obstreperous patients, and this; paper desires io mention m a .pointed man-ner-that the only, evidence of injury inflicted by another patient is . furnished by the warders', wh r o'are interested parties. But even ; supposing the broken , thigh were caused by a ' lunatic, what m the name qt t<|\unien \^ere. the authorities doing to permit such an' awful happening ? Thfe heart-bro-ken widow of the victim bVcaihe' alarmed, by this new develojiment and at great sacrifice, came with her children to New Zealand m. December to Icok after her husband. She obtained work m a Wellington laundry and applied to the authorities . 'for the discharge of Dalgleish, whom she was. gatisried was suffering from a nervous ailment which .could be cured if ; he were taken from the morbid en-

yircinnient of the mad-house and .translated -..to the. bosom ,of his own family. • The authorities obstinately refused to comply with. this reasonable 'application and requested her to take her' husband back' to Victoria, to. which state she would have to pay her own, passage and that of her children, which was altogether out of the question. . Apparently, the New Zealand Government desired to get rid of the patient, and made arrangements with the Union S.S. Company and the.' Victorian authorities to -have j Dalgleish transported to Melbourne. The " heartless . part of the business I was that, they deliberately refrained from.- .giving notice to Mrs Dalgleish that they intended to deport her husband out of the colony, or at least they did not mention it to her until within one hour and a half of the Marama's departure. Then' the following curt note was delivered at the unhappy woman's lodgings :t— ' ■ " . Japuary 9. Mrs . Dalgleish.— l am directed by , the medical superintendent to inform you that Mr Dalgleish was this morning discharged frorii this ; hospital. I understand HE- LEAVES , FOR AUSTRALIA [ leaving -Wellington ?* this day at. 5 p. m.. . ' ! v '■ G_ C. Holder, i Clerk) Mental Asylum, Porirua. Mr_3 ; Dalgleish - narrowly escaped missing her .husband, for she was absent, at work when the: callously . cold offijJialj intimation arrived, but it occurred sto her little hoy to bring the missive and the frantic woman ru^hejl down to the wharf. The scene on ! the..steamer _. was heaxt-breaking m its pathetic, misery. A few short imonths previously this devioted , woman ,-. ,sa,w her husband 'depart for New Zealand a fine,: upright figure of a man, six feet m height,; now she found him bowed down, a hopeless cripple ; through the injury tp his thigh, and looking fully twenty years older. ■• ■ He knew her immediately— this man who ; was said by Dr. Has- ■ seli'-'to be" suffering from loss of memory and chronic dementia. "Is it you, mother ?" he asked sadly. "Oh, dad !" was all the unhappy woman could say ks he kissed her. '-'Are you coming wiii me ?" he asked, "No I" she replied, and the pent-up emotions ofthe unfortunate wife found vent m a : storm- of weeping. The man was distracted, "Oh, AHugh, my darling boy !" he exclaimed, as he embraced his son. "And Alick, my pet lamb," he said' of the youngest. The leavetaking was short, and as the boat steamed from. the. wharf the wife saw 'her husband gazing into the water with- a look of abject misery on his face. What wonder that the inhuman conduct to vyhich he had been subjected should drive him to thoughts of suicide ! Dalgleish left Wellington m the clothes he stood up m, despite the knowledge possessed by the authorities that a large quantity of clothing was,, m the possession of the wife, who was ignored m every possible way. This poor fellow, insane or sane, suicidal tendencies, was put aboard with no attendant and no protection from himself excepting that of a perfunctory nature extended by t^e stewards: His secondclass cabin was locked while th 6 steamer was m port, but Dalgleish was permitted A CERTAIN ' AMOUNT OF ■ FREEDOM . while at sea. No one will ever know the awful thoughts of this : neurotic victim before he took the fatal ■ step .which freed him, from care for ever. Mentally distracted, a shocking cripple, torn from wife and children, dragged from bedlam . companionship m New 7 --Jand to the horrors of confinement and association with madmen m Victoriar-what was there left but death ? Hugh' Dalgleish took the short , road arid solved' a problem. Put is the Union Company answerable for this man's life? Is George Fo-vlds, the, Auckland rag-seller and Wjn^tex. for Mental Hospitals, to be held responsible ? He who was given a portfolio and put m charge- of mental hospitals to placate the arrogant leaders of wow.serdom m New Zealand— does the conscience of Holy Fowlds prick him into a sense of responsibility for the death of Dalgleish, or has the religious Minis^r got no conscience ? The horrible details of this outrage upon common humanity call for an immediate inquiry, and if the representatives of the people m Parliament have the smallest modicum Of human kindness and compassion m their breasts they will ask tor an investigation and will not pause until every detail of this terrible business is. forced into light of day and fit punishment is meted out to the monsters responsible for the tragedy. They cannot give the woman back her husband, but they can support... a. movement which should revolutionise the system of mental t hospitals control m this country, and possibly make some provision for those left behind by the man ; who was sent to his doom by official 'brutality. Mrs Dalgleish is naturally

averse to publicity m this matter^ but she recognises that the ventilation of her late- husband's terrible ending mfigbt* be the means of PREVENTING SIMILAR MURDERS by the authorities where others are' concerned. The bereaved widow has written to Dr* Hasseli for a_ explanation of the circumstances narrated above, and it will be interesting to learn what the merciless medical superintendent has to say on the subject. "Truth" calls— <and calls loudly—for an inquiry into this sensational case. We have heard it proposed that c>her madmen, alleged or otherWise, should be deported from the Dominion. The daily press, impotently indignant at the repeated escapes from. Sunnyside and Seacliff of Lionel Terry, instead of demanding a Royal Oompiission of Enquiry into the management of New Zealand's mental institutions, are impudently suggesting that Terry should be deported to Ms friends, if he has any, m Great Britain. If Terry ' is a madman of homicidal or even suicidal . tendencies, what greater opportunity could he afforded to rid the earth of the poor fellow than by shanghaing him and giving him free and untrammelled liberty to jump overboard and thus .CEASE FROM FURTHER TROUBLING. It is an easy way of ridding tho country of the poor menta-lly-aflttct-v ed being.' It' is murder, horrible, cruel, and worthy of the dark ages. Certainly, if Terry is to be forever .silenced, 'let him be deported. Let him, like Hugh Dalgleish, be shanghaied aboard, some ocean-going vessel, m the care of some careless, irresponsible stewards, and no doubt Lionel Terry will solve the problem that he has created. But it is With Daligleish's death that "Truth" wants to deal. At Sunnyside Asylum recently,, Hans Wilson, who attempted his wife's death, was 'rel eased to finish his bloody task. Unfortupately, that case is sub judice, otherwise some very strong reiriarks would be made. Those remarks will, keep, though, and if the lessons afforded by the release of Hans Wilson, the inhuman treatment of Hugh Dalgleish, and other scandals connected with the Mental Hospitals of New Zealand,' do not, when Parliament next assembles, call for the creation of A ROYAL COMMISSION OF • ' - , ENQUIRY, presided oyer by one of our Supreme Court judges, nothing will ever move Parliament to interfere m these cases of worse than murders, of which the Mental Asylum authorities of this Dominion are clearly held to be, guilty. i ■-_■•;■ * In the Campb-elltown Cemetery, at the Bluff, is an untended There < rest the mfcrtal remains of Hugh Dalgleish. Buried like a dog, this ■« poor demented man, hurriedlycovered up as a pauper, whom- nobody knows, or for whom' nobody but his wife and orphans cared for and loved, was certainly' the victim of unparalleled callousness and brutal treatment on the part 6f the Porirua Mental Asylum. 1 authorities.' Truly, this isa scandal that niust be more further aiid fully investigated, and m giving to the public what it knows, this paper is only endeavoring to- do a duty fairly and squarely by the public. Kindness, _ ahd every possible attention is exppcted from the authorities to the unfortunate insane. The public view with great regard and a love of humanity, the treatment of the poor lunatic. The public are quick to resent brutality and callousness to these poor afflicted people, and the time now is ripe for the expression of public disapproval and reprehension.