Tiie Case of the Rev. Mr. Dodwell
321 Art. X.?
Tiie case of 1 his unfortunate gentleman has justly excited much sympathy. The public have been made fully acquainted with the arguments of the medical men who have advocated this gentleman’s sanity, but the opinions of the Government officials and others who have visited him remain at present a secret. The particulars of the case have been so freely discussed in the public press as to need but few remarks from us. Mr. Dodwell was tried at the Old Bailey in March last for an assault on the Master of the Rolls with intent to murder by discharging a ” deadly ” pistol at his lordship. The charge of intent was not substantiated, and he was found guilty of a common assault. At the trial he refused all assistance from counsel, and defended himself. He was acquitted on the ground of insanity, and was sent as a criminal lunatic to Broadmoor.
The chief points to which we wish to direct our readers’ attention are the manner in which the trial was conducted, pronouncing a man insane without calling any medical evi- dence of his mental condition ; and, secondly, the obscurity in which the public have been left by the authorities’ refusal to make known the reports of the Government officials.
Mr. Dodwell was visited twice, whilst incarcerated in Newgate, by Dr Winn and Dr L. Forbes Winslow. These visits were made at the request of Mr. Dodwell’s friends, and also of himself. Copies of these reports were sent to the Home Secretary, and certain questions asked in the House of Commons in reference to Mr. Dodwell’s sanity. A reply was given to the effect that no reports had been forwarded by the medical officers of Broadmoor. A subsequent visit was made to Mr. Dodwell, in Broadmoor, by Drs. Winn and Winslow, and a second report forwarded to the Home Secretary. The question was revived in the House, and the public Press were indignant at the secrecy with which the official reports were kept, and Parliament came to a termination without anything definite being done, or the public enlightened in the matter. We learn that Mr. Dodwell has been, during the last few days, visited at Broadmoor by Dr Maudsley and Dr Blandford, but at the moment of our going to press we have not seen the reports of these gentlemen. We, however, trust that the authorities will soon liberate Mr. Dodwell and permit him to return to his family, for we think he has had sufficient incarceration for his unjustifiable act.
The following are copies of the reports of Drs. Winn and Winslow, alluded to before :?
“Dr L. S. Forbes Winslow’s Report. ” I have on two separate occasions, in consultation with Dr Gibson and Dr Winn, had lengthy interviews with the Rev. Mr. Dodwell, now in Newgate. ” Alleged Grievances.
“1. He described in detail his alleged grievances: his dismissal from the Brighton Industrial Schools, inability to obtain a rehearing of his case, and the treatment he received from the governors of a school in Devonshire, to which he had been appointed master.
” Actions in Courts of Law. ” 2. He gave a very lucid description of the course of action pursued by him in Courts of Justice, and its result; of his endeavouring to obtain what he considered to be his rights, and his failure in every instance to obtain a proper hearing. ” Acutely Conscious of his Grievances.
” 3. He gave an accurate description of the various peti- tions he had presented. He appears acutely conscious that lie possesses a grievance for which he can obtain no redress. He believes in consequence that his family and himself have been brought to the brink of ruin.
” Inability to earn a Livelihood. ” 4. He informed me that, having failed in obtaining a re- hearing of his case, he had made fruitless attempts to obtain clerical duty. He had applied for such an agency, but without success. He had also endeavoured to get pupils, but in this he had also failed.
” Proof of non-murderous Intent.
” 5. The act for which he is now in Newgate had been pre- meditated for the last six months. As a proof of this he read me an extract from a letter written by him to the Lord Chancellor, in which he stated that it was his intention to break the law in order to obtain a hearing. His first idea was to fire off a pistol in Vice-Chancellor Malins’ Court, but lie found by so doing he would simply be committed for contempt of Court, and the purpose he had in view would remain unaccomplished. He was anxious to impress on me that lie never had the intention of committing- murder. To prevent or rebut a charge of so serious a character, he purchased a pistol and not a revolver, as he only intended to fire once. He also informed me that a few weeks previous to his attempt he read of a man who was injured by the discharge of a pistol containing blank cartridge. This accident would have been avoided had not the pistol been close to the injured man. * To avoid any possible injury being incurred by the Master of the Kolls, lie (the prisoner) stood at what he considered to be a safe distance from his Lordship before discharging his pistol.
” State of his Affairs one Month previous to Assault.
” 6. A month previous to the assault he met a friend in the Strand. At that time he considered that he was suffering from gross injustice, and, having failed in obtaining clerical employ- dent, had only a few shillings in the world with which to support a wife and four children. On this occasion he exclaimed: ‘ I will not go to the workhouse except through the gate of the dock; and if by so doing my case is placed before reflecting people of England and I sink, I must sink!’ He is a man apparently of determined purpose, and this seems to have been his character through life. I have carefully inquired into the history of his antecedents, and can detect no evidence of hereditary disease.
” Opinion of Case.
” 7. During the whole of my conversation with him he was calm and collected; there were no symptoms indicative of a morbid impulse. He appeared to be a man driven to despera- tion and ruin by circumstances. He did not labour under any delusions. He declared that he had only acted unlawfully with a view to securing the attention of his countrymen to the sub- ject of his alleged wrongs. He gave clearly and distinctly an account of his previous history. His memory seemed to be excellent. His conversation, manner, and general demeanour were most rational in every respect; and I was unable to detect any symptoms indicative of mental disorder. I am of opinion, from a careful and anxious consideration of the case, that he is of sound mind, and there is nothing to justify his detention as a criminal lunatic.
” L. S. Forbes Winslow, ” M.B. Camb., M.R.C.P. Lond., D.C.L. Oxon., LL.M. Camb. ” Lecturer on Mental Diseases, Charing Cross Hospital. ” 23 Cavendish Square: ?’ March 23, 1878.” z 2 324 the case of tiie rev. mr. dodwell. .
” Dr Winn’s Report.
” During a long interview with the Rev. H. J. Dodwell, on Thursday, March 20th, and another on the 21st, I could not dis- cover the slightest indication of insanity. He was neither excited nor depressed, and his manner throughout both visits was calm and self-possessed. His conversation was perfectly coherent, with- out any inconsequence of words or thoughts. There was not a trace of a delusion, and his memory was never at fault. In all he said, he gave unmistakable proof of his being a man of great ability and learning, and having feelings keenly sensitive to the least doubt thrown on his honour or truthfulness. His general health was good, and he stated that he never had had any serious attack of illness, and that there was no hereditary taint of insanity in his family. He gave a clear and logical account of the motives and circumstances which led him to commit a breach of the peace.
” He stated that six years ago he held the appointment of Chaplain to the Industrial Schools at Brighton. From this office he was dismissed in consequence of his having complained of the conduct of some of the officials, thereby giving offence to some members of the Board of Guardians. He demanded a full and fair inquiry into all the circumstances of the case; and although he was supported by seven clergymen and other members of the Board, his reasonable request was not granted, nor could he get any redress for the grievous wrong and ruinous loss he had sus- tained. Since that time he has made repeated efforts to get justice done him in vain. He says that if he can only get his character cleared he would be satisfied. Fifteen months ago he applied to the Court of Chancery, but was told by Vice- Chancellor Malins that he had no jurisdiction in the matter. On asking him what induced him to fire a blank cartridge at the Master of the Rolls, he said, it was from no vindictive feeling or murderous intention, but with the hope that it might be the means of bringing his case before the public, being driven to it by extreme poverty, and that if he must go to the workhouse, he preferred that it should be through the criminal dock; that he did not fire from sudden impulse: he had for months previously contemplated doing something to force him- self on the attention of the public, having on his mind the example of the officer who struck the Duke of Cambridge in order to get himself heard.
” Mr. Gibson, the Surgeon of Newgate, informed me that during his imprisonment his conduct has been most exemplary, his manner and habits perfectly rational, and he has never complained of the prison diet.
” From a careful consideration of all these facts, I have come to the conclusion that the Rev. H. J. Dodwell is not insane. ” J. M. Winn, M.D., M.R.C.P.
“Member of the Medico-Psychological Society, &c.” “Joint Report of Drs. L. S. Forbes Winslow and Winn. ” On the 21st inst., and at the request of the friends of the Kev. Mr. Dodwell, and with the special sanction of the Home Secretary, we visited this gentleman, now confined as a criminal lunatic in Broadmoor Asylum.
” We found him calm, collected, and perfectly rational. He alluded, as he had done on our two previous visits to him in Newgate, to his alleged grievances, and to the motives which induced him to commit a breach of the peace. ” He admitted that it was an unwise course of action, but contended that he was driven by circumstances to commit the act.
” We were unable to detect, either from his demeanour or conversation, any symptoms to justify his detention as a criminal lunatic. ” L. S. Forbes Winslow. ” J. M. Winn. ” Cavendish Square, W.: 11 June 24, 1878.”
The truth of this theory was strikingly exemplified in a case of melancholia which lately came under our notice. The patient was a young lady who had been for some time in a state of extreme depression, bordering on suicidal mania. Her case resisted treatment until a copious eruption of eczema appeared in different parts of her body, when the feelings of the patient underwent a change, and she expressed herself as being much better. She stated that this was not the first time that skin disease and mental depression had alternated.?Ed.
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