ESCAPE FROM PORIRUA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 118, 12 October 1914, Page 7

ESCAPE FROM PORIRUA.

A BAttIUSTEH'S AD VK XT CUE.

Ail interesting story of bow be escaped fro.-u a mental hospital was told by Mr I!. W. Hill, barris;er and solicitor. -who at the Auckland Supreme Court on Tuesday sought to have ail order made declaring liim able to manage his affairs.

Mr ll'ill was well known in Taranaki stme years a;ro, where, he held an appointment under the Taranaki Education Board, afterwards oeetippying the position of managing clerk to Mr T. C. 'Fookes, solicitor, Stratford, ami for some ' time private secretary to Mr. iMassey, then leader of the Opposition.

Mr Hill's story is as follows: —"J endeavored to obtain 111;;,' frmloni! by fair ■means, and when 1 found that those failed I tried 'crook' methods, and beat them fair and square," be told a Star representative. "Having' slipped them, it was due to thcihelp I got from friends that I got clear away." "It is now eighteen month* since I escaped,'" he continued. "First of all I v.as incarcerated at Avondale and I first of all endeavored to obtain my freedom by making the. usual application. Th ■ hospital visitors were, in due course sent along, and tobl me that I was sane, but subsequently I was removed to the l'o.'iiv.a institution, and informed by the Auckland authorities that my case wis then out of their control, ami that they could not do anything further in th; matter.

'•When furthe.r applications failcl I decided that I would escape on Ihe lirst opportunity. I was confined in a room in which 'iJicre was a little window leaking out on to a courtyard, which was enclosed by otluir buildings. ! •rnad'e lip Ely mind io try to remove tlio pane of glass in the window without attracting attention, and then, trust to "luck if 1 could reach the yard. It was a very small pane, and it w.is doubtful whether I should be able, to get through (ho aperture even if 1 was successful in removing the glass.'

■'A DOUGII PAD."

"The mosfi important thing was to tako out the glass without ma..mg a r.oise. The attendants wen- alwayi handy, and there was a recreation room for them next door to where I was. I kit upon the iden of making a dough pad. with the object of deadening the sound of t!ie breaking glass, and day by day saved uj> a piece of bread' whicu I managed to conceal from the attendants. This 1 "workech into a dough, and one night the opportunity came. While the attendant# wciv jdayinj cards in the next room: 1 put the. pad over the window, got hold of a wooden implement which was iwed for polishing the i'loor. and, giving the window sharp tup, lnolce out a triangular piece of {fl'iw. The attendants wont on pi lying cards, and F had no difficulty in extracting the other pieces. Just as I had finished, someone came in; it was only another inmate who had come it claim the polisher and to clear tho floor, i persuaded him that it not yet time to do the cleaning and be i vent away. Before .1 could get through there was another interruption. This time it was another inmate who was practically sane, an'\ L agreed to his <scaping with Ino. )\Ve both wriggled through thi> -window, crossed the yard and climbs to the roof of the obstructing buddings. Wo proceodfl along the roof in the. hope of getting into one of the attendant's rooms and finding kcy><, but in this we were doomed to disappointment. Ultimately We went U> a place where it was possible { 0 climo ■ acw.i. we 11,0,1 l? ol ', int ° t'Je open country, having lito-de a circuit lit order to avoid the roads and gained the l.ills. rOKTRUA TO PJiTOXM "Oil the way I knocked up a. sett!'*!' and got him to lend mc a suit of clothes in exchange for my hospital uniform, bu; 1 was unable to gel! one for the man who bad escaped with me. Wc procecd«l through the hush, never meeting a soul, and spent the night in the gully tetrtveen Porirna, and Petone. fortunately 1 happened to'have four shillings which I hail borrowed in the asylum, and at 2 o'clock the next, da".- 1 caught tile train at lVt'oue for Wellington. Luck was with me. The Syemcv boat was in the harbor. I called upon a certain friend who locked ante in his office virile he fetched some, money, and at 6 o'clock the same afternoon, the Sydn'y boat lefti promptly to time with me as t Tie of the passengers." On arriving at Sydney the first thing '[ did was to become a member of the Seaman's Union, so that in the event of any attempt being jna.de to retake me I couid get n job on board ship ani leav-3 ihe place. This was not neccssa.rv, and at the expiration of three nionll'.s I endeavoured to get ipo-.<icr<s:on of my property. This I failed' lo do, and then for twelve months, while working fcr my livelihood. T studied the law relating to lunacy, and I have return.«l to New Zealand, and have instituted the present iproeced'ings. Mv application for the interpretation of the statute has been adjourned nil 1i 1 the case, in which I inn endeavouring to get quashed, the reception order of Mr Cut I en, ihe magistrate who committed me to the mental hospital, ha„- been decided."—Auckland Star,