A Disturbance at the Hospital.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7875, 18 July 1905, Page 2

A Disturbance at the Hospital.

.COMPLAINT IIEGARTJ'IKtt POLICE I ACTION.

I With reference to I the TarannKt jllorpital Hoard's complaint to ln- \ spector Ivicl.y, of Waiiganui. with i"> jjfnrd to the uon-arrest. of a recalcitrant ex-inmate of the OKI People's i lonic, a reply »as reaxl at Holiday's .•".■••tiiiK of (.lit- Hoard. The Ins}*., lor said i'lappeared th a l. on the evening of .June 12. Mr.r'an'nr r.injf up the police nation aVrd sairl an nl.i man na Q liriiiics was under the inllu-p-nee ,)f drink and ensuing a distnrt)iance at the Home, The constable informed Mr Fatrar that the police could not 'interfere,with him in ihu Home. ,l)ii the following day Sergeant Haddirll received a complaint from'Mr farrar that Crimes was [drunk and abusing h(n., ; and thai he Was then down by Ihe 'hospital ami annoying people there. Tin' sergeant, so the inspector understood, t.ild Mr l/arrnr that he would se,td up for (iriines at once, and within li\e minutes two constable:; '.vere on llieir way up to the hospital. On nrivval there they found that Crimes had deo-impwl into the hut of a mail mined, MHgill, whcrci. he was now lis'in?;.; , "These facts go to. show," coi eluded Inspector Kiely, "that the police made no delay in going* to the hospital to prevent any disturbance there. The other institution being tho recognised home of t'iie inmates, even though they are drunk and quarrelsome, the police Cninnot interfere with them while then;." The ins[*«tor pt>intt'd out that, at tho Jubilee Home, Wanganui, the police 'hat never taken any Kit the inmates owij from there while under Uk' influence of 'drink, nor would the poliqe hav< either power or authority for doinc so. Men belonging to the Home frc qucntly got drunk in the town whei they came in to draw their pensions but they wore .generally arrested Ire fore they reached the WaHw.', ant

locked'lip. Caws' of rowdy conduct had occurred at the Home, and the offenders \rerc expelled : then Ihe polico locked them up. as vagrants a nd had them -'lent to gaol for a term. On their discharge they were generally very glad to get back to the insti tution. 'Mr K. Cock poi'lted out that it. was undentood that in regard 1 to the hospital the police refused to take action because the hospitla.l ground, was private property. He did not know why the law should he interprelcd differently here, lint according to the police version a ninn could behave as he liked because it was his home. Such up argument was absurd. Members agreed that it was unreasonable to say that an obstreperous inmate must, be throw! l out before the police woulvl aftc-rd any protection lo th'' "llicr patients. It was agreed to suNnt all tlr correspondence to the Minister for .lustice for an interpretation of ,th« law. vhe;her tho police had not authority to remove disorderly pcreom frewn the prcoindls of the Home! ami Hospital.