LIONEL TERRY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10074, 21 June 1910, Page 3

LIONEL TERRY.

COMPLAINS UP HIS TREATMENT.

Lionel Terry, \ i ■ m <"hred an old Chinaman at Well..y > . "i August, 1905, and who wa.-< s......*ijed to death and afterwards i grieved, is a dangerous crimiiu.. .onttic, who, unfor-tuna-ily, is re t . d by some people as a very ill-treated martyr. During the past eighteen months or more, that is to say, since his disgraceful behaviour necessitated his removal from Lyttelton Gaol he ftas not been before the public eye in any way. It will be remembered that Terry made two sensational escapes from Sunnyside and one from Seachffe Mental Hospital. He was, of course, recaptured, but it was felt advisable to put him undfcr more effectual restraint, and consequently he was placed in Lyttelton Gaol, the Hospital quarter of which was set aside for his special use, and was proclaimed a mental hospital for legal reasons. Terry was very wel! treated in the gaol. AN UNGRATEFUL PRISONER. He was allowed books, newspapers, and, in fact, anything he wanted within reason. He was permitted to send and receive any correspondence, and to receive gifts from certain "admirers;" but for all the consideration shown him he was very ungrateful. He treated the warders in attendance on him ia a shameful matter, and took every opportunity of insulting them and giving them as much trouble as he could. On two occasions he tried to set fire to his quarters, wmch were situated in the middle of the gaol buildings. FOUGHT AGAINST FOOD. Terry, who was a powerful man,' always fought like a tiger when feed-ing-time came,-and it required four strong warders to hold him while he was fed through a tube after his jaws had been opened with a gag. This procedure went on for months. Every night, and at all hours of the night, he set up •, a fearful yelling, which sounded far more like the cries of a wild beast than those of a "gentleman."' Warders and prisoners were kept awake night after night, and people living in the neighbourhood suffered In a like manneri while sick and nervous people and little children were terrified. TO SUNNY SIDE. Finally, after repeated complaints on the part of the public of Lyttelton, and on the representations of the chief gaoler, a special brick building was erected in the grounds at Sunnyside for his accommodation. Terry has now broken out again, but in view of his former disgraceful behaviour his new complaint will scarcely have rriuch credence attached to it. TERRY INTERVIEWED. A visit was paid to Sunnyside Mental Asylum by a reporter anxious 1 to learn what the conditions are under which Terry is incarcerated. Tne medical superintendent, Dr, Gow, conducted the reporter to the place where Terry's cage has been constructed. It is situated in what has been

previously usee as au airing court an oblong pa 'od ana practically surronrded oi all sides oy the* h ispital buildings. On one side the buiLiing ij only a covered verandah, and in summer weather when the sun is huh in the hca/eua there should__be ro lack of sunshine. " At this season tie place is almost shat off from sutI ght and is about as cheerless as a prison yard may be imagined to be. T. 13 structure in which Terry's cell is s ,ualed may be between twelve and sixteen feet in height Thiro are no means of getting ova- the tup of this fence surrounding thi: eel!, because metal bars cover in the area between the top of the fence and the top of the cell. The flo-jv is, of course, the c iinentcd pavement, and the "gardens" ltferred to as Terry' 3 are pathetic in their tinynass. They ara not oven toy yard 3, but simply corners upon which seme soil had been 1 placed, with a pi.'ce of wood in front II keep the soil in place. y It was about htli-pasi. fuur o'clock whan the reporter reached the cell. Inside the cell the light was dim, and the visitor could hardly make out (he features of Teriy, who was in bed. ' In the conversation that followed Terry was asked a.a to his health, and stated that he was suffering from cold and from boils. Whvn it was remarked that people outside j were not free from illceaa at this time of the year Terry remarked ! that,consideriiig the circumstances in which he was situated, he was astonished that he was as well as he _ wa3. The impression gained by the reporter in his brief experience of If the csll was that it was far from j being a desirable dwelling-place. I The confined character of the strac- { ture, the blank outlook, and the ; gloominess of the surroundings were j depressing, and that is putting the > matter mildly. DR. GOW'S STATEMENT. The medical superintendent explained that in the absence of an institution for the treatment of criminal lunatics the authorities had mi other means of keeping Terry in safe custody. Originally he was given al> the privileges of the other patients, but his undisguised' determination to escape anri the successful efforts he has made togco so rendered it necessary to adopt rnea-, sures that to the outsider may appear harsh. As to Terry's complaint abuut being deprived of sunshine, Dr. Gow stated that until recently Terry was taken from his cage to an airing court-an area of nearly half an acre, planted wi«h trees and shrubs, and having a northerly aspect. Two attendants accompanied him, and they had to be vigorous, 1 keed-witten men, who never allowed their eyes off him for a moment. On several occasions the exigencies of the institution had not made it possible for two attendants to be detailed for this duty, and Terry, who claims the privilege as a right, declined to go to walk in the sun unless there was no denarture from regularity. Consequently, his visits to the airing court have been discontinued. "As '.O his physical condition, there ia nothing cut of the ordinary regarding it. He will not take the food that we are prepared to feive him, and won't take a ccoked mea>. 1 He is a believer, in 'pure food,* I and his meals are all of his own making. He threshes his own wheat, and lives on it and on beans and peas. He has unlimited vegetables from the garden. He is not suffering in an inordinate manner from boils." ( I Dr. Gow added that no restrictions 1 were placed on Terry in regard to corresponding with his relatives.