The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1886. Murder and Suicide

Feilding Star, Volume VIII, Issue 51, 9 October 1886, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1886. Murder and Suicide

Within the past few weeks their haa been an epidemic of murder and suicide in the Colonies. The number of lives, sacrificed to influences which ought to he within human control, ie very great, while the supposed causes for self destruction are, possibly, too often wrongly described in the public reports, or in the verdicts of juries. Drink is the primary cause in some instances; but in others its baneful power has not been felt at all. Mental worry has been the motive, whether induced by pecuniary difficulties, imaginary, or real ; from accusations of immorality praying on an innocent, but not too strong a mind ; and last, but not least, from force ci example. In years gone past, when the fact of the recurrence of epidemics of suicide was first noted, medical men were quick to observe how any peculiar mode of self destruction selected by a suicide was, within a very limited period, adopted by a host of imitators. This generally continued until it became ridiculous, when the mode at once ceased to be fashionable. Sometimes the desease or madness, or both, is confined to one class of persons — for example, in the case of footmen in England, and servant girls in a German city. The first took place about forty years ago, and the latter within the memory, no doubt, of our readers. But although ridicule stops one method of suicide, it does not effect the average, simply because it only touches the surface, the root of the desease is not even guessed at — until after the fact. Terror has as little effect, because the suicide is — to his mind'— escaping from a greater one than even death itself — death becomes a refuge and a strength. Religion lias failed signally, as perhaps homicidal mania from that source is on a par with alcoholism. Not so many years ago interment in consecrated ground was refuged, and the body of a suicide was buried in a cross road at midnight with a strong wooden stake driven through it ; but this had little or no effect, inasmuch as juries soon learned to bring in verdicts of " unsound mind," which obviated this disgrace. In the present day it is .very rare for a jury to find a verdict of •* felo de se," and when they do they are wrong,- because, as a mere logical conclusion, a person's mental faculties must be weakened by desease of some kind before he ■'• shuffles off this mortal soil" by his own act. It has been said, " Thou can' at not minister to a niiud deceased," and no 4oubt the saying was a correct one at the time ; but during the years which hare since passed the progress made in medical knowledge has proved its fallacy. Deseases of the mind are deseases of the brain, and these are now within the compass of medical skill. But others than the doctors cau assist in lessening the number of suicides. The newspaper press cau do much, not actively, but passively. Instead of publishing with all their ghastly details, narratives of murders, and deaths from violence or other unnatural causes ; let the facts be chronicled and no more. The practice which now obtains of giving exaggerated prominence to every horror, must have a baneful effect on hysterical or other weakly persons. That a morbid craving for this kind of literature exists already in too many minds, is evidenced by the craving evinced day after day for the most filthy and minute details of evidence given at certain trials in the Supreme Court at Home, which have recentlyblotted and smirched the good names of many leading persons in England. That is a mania which giows with the food it feeds on ; let the supply be cut off and the desire will vanish. With a person predisposed to suicide, the continued iteration of self murder

': by individuals in other parts of the world, is an exciting uause for him to follow their example. In some cases embarrassment may be felt in adopting a new line to create notoriety, and startle the little circle he belongs to in this world, by the singularity of his mode of exit. But the end comes as sure as day follows night, unless kindly nature anticipates. That it is possible to prevent this thing altogether we do net believe, but we do think many valuable lives may be spared to this world by the exercise of prudence, forbearance, and charity; by being slow to think evil »r to speak evil of our fellow men ; by closing our ears to the Blanderer or talebearer, who robs his neighbor of his good name ; and by exercising more kindly feeling to all men. Failure in these has sent many an innocent man to a suicide's grave.