SUMMING UP OF THE ASYLUM ENQUIRY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 728, 28 March 1881, Page 2

SUMMING UP OF THE ASYLUM ENQUIRY.

(Prom the N.Z; Times.) ' ; Mr Shaw, in addreeeing tho Commission, aaid tho charges which had been 1 made by, him ;were very opecifio in. thmr •charabter.Two of them were practically One charge admitted was that for :aome mopths Sir Whitelaw had been, in the habit of performing dutiei which ; he had no right to .'undertake. - He had been in the habit of visiting female wards without a female attendant. In this charge they had the evidence of Mr White. Dr Franco stated at first that when ho visited those wards he Was always accompanied by a matron, b.ut whan cross-examined and pressed closely on'the point, he admitted that he was not accompanied by i female, and explained as a reason that alterations which were being effected in the brilding created » number ot obstructions, which made it irapossibli for the ftraale attendants to accompany him. He also gave asanother reason fot their not going with him that the patients would get more i excited when visited by firaale attendants, and that the obscene language used by the patients wci not fit for the attendants to hear, Mr White, on being M : called, had stated that, there was. a passage of six teet in width, and the timber was piled on one side to leave » passage for persons going to and fro. As to the oharge against the personal character of the Superintendent,, he (Mr Shaw) had not intended to introduce the. personal element, but a good-deal had come out in the coarse of the enquiry. The Commission had had the opportunity of seeing the Superintendent under examination, and had seen his demeanor. Mr White had' seen a number.of things, and also patients who were kept in the Asylum. .These things had raised his indignation, and, he believed,, the indignation of a great number of people besides, and he (Mr Shaw) did not think that Mr White's feeling strongly in the matter had in the slightest degree deteriorated the value of his evidence. Mcintosh had given his evidence in a very direct way, and it had been substantiated on all its essential points, and corroborated by persons who could have no ulterior motive for doing so whatever. The defence had introduced good evidence for the prosecution by calling on Mr Carrol. That witness had said that he went into the bath and could not in any way escape the shower, Mcintosh was kept in the bath ten minutes, and when let out staggered forth into Carrol's arms utterly exhausted. Something had been said about inexperionce; but what was to be expected when a person' placed in charge of an establishment like this acted in such , a manner as the Superintendent liad; a man who permitted his temper to carry him off his judgment in such a violent manner) It had been shown that he (Whitelaw) had expresed a wish for revenge on Mcintosh, who had baffled him, and if such was the case what conduct could they expect on the part of the attendants. They had the evidence of persons who were formerly inmates of the asylum, and also of persons not connected with it, The patients were holpless in tho matter. If they made a complaint their statements were not believed, but they made no complaint because of fear. They were placed in such an unfortunate position, and the power was great on the sido of those who had care over them, if disposed to exercise tyranny, Mr Shaw continued to review the evidence and compare testimony with testimony for about an hour, after which he said tho question was, in what mode will these charges be met? The very large number of people who were brought to swear that they had opportunities to see the Asylum, had said they saw nothing to condemn in it.' The warders had been brought to deny things, and Mr Whitelaw, after a fashion, had done so himself. The charges brought by him (Mr Shaw) were all defined, and positive evidence had been givon in support of them, He claimed that the charges had been more than amply proved, Most serious things had come to light. As denied by the defence it would appear that a numbor of persons had sworn deliberate lies, and had given evidence which was destructive and damaging to certain persons concerned. The evidence of the witnesses for the defence was" too good," and they would not escape the consequences, He (Mr Shaw) had endeavored lo keep from personal considerations as much as possible. He abstained from bringing in the affairs connected with Mr Whitelaw and his family, and he was not answerable for what had come out. He was, however, justified in taking advantage of facts which had been elicited. Things of a nature surprising to himself had branched out, and had widened the enquiry into a matter not only of local importance, but he might say colonial - importance. He hoped that it would have a good effect, and teach people who took upon themselves duties and publio responsibilities, and claimed special privileges, that : they were under the observation of a vigilant and active public opinion, This case should teach a good lesson, and if it did so he should consider that in bringing it forward in 'the manner in which he had that he had done some service,