AN ILLEGAL OPERATION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 194, 15 August 1907, Page 4

AN ILLEGAL OPERATION.

DB DAIiZEEX SENTENCED. FOtTR YEARS' IMPRISONMENT. The sensational trial of James . Dalziel, a medical practitioner, residing at Pukekohe, charged with performing an illegal operation upon a young woman in Auckland on June 11 last, was concluded last evening.' Dr. Bamford for the prisonerj and. the Hon. J. A. Tole, KiC. (Crown Prosecutor) each addressed the jury'for an hour, and his Honor's summing up- lasted a similar time.

The jury retired at 1.15 pjn-, and after deliberating for two hours and forty minutes, returned a verdict of guilty, but added that in view of the prisoner's age they recommended him to mercy.

Mr. Brookfieid expressed tie hope that his Honor would give effect to-the jury's recommendation, and impose as light a sentence as possible. The conviction sneant <nat the prisoner, as a medical naan, would practically be struck off the rioll of practice". ■ • His Honor said that although he could" not put to the jury the letters which were found on the prisoner -when arrested, still he was entitled to take them into consideration when sentencing the prisoner. As he had' said before, it was a wellknown iact that medical men were frequently asked to perform such operations, and were'written, to; bat when it was found that'a medical mall, and "a country"* practitioner more particularly,, had on him when arrested several letters of this nature from people residing in different parts of the country, and that the writers assumed that he would, comply with their request, one could not help realising that Dalziel had a reputation for that class of .thing. One of the letter*, read: '"Knowing you to be a. clever man at your profession, and from what I hear, that you can help a man out of a- difficulty ." The writer then proceeded to ask the prisoner to perform an illegal operation upon a girl whom he had got into trouble. If inquiries were made, by the police they would show that those letters had not been replied.to. Continuing, his Honor said that he entirely agreed with the verdict of the jury. He very much regretted to have to deal with a man of the prisoner's age, and it gave him great pain; but he had to perform a duty to the country. The law looked upon this class of offence as of the gravest character, especially in the case of a. medical man. Long terms of imprisonment had almost invariably been given for such offences, and he did not feel inclined to depart from, the precedent established. He regretted that he could not see his way to sentence the prisoner to less than four years' imprisonment. It was a much shorter sentence than was usually given in these cases.