Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-10-02

SINGULAR CASE N coURT-A DECISION At
VARIANCE WITH FORMER NOTIONS.
From the New York Times

\ remarkable trial has recently taken
place at the central criminal court in Lon
don, where the - liberty Of the subject in
matters OF religious belief WAS defined very
clearly in matter involving considerations
of great importance. The =. Peculiar Peo-
pie are a religious sect, one of whose
principal tenet- Is founded on the literal in
depreciation Of the fourteenth and fifteenth
verses of the fifth chapter Of the general
epi>tie of St james. In cases of illness oc-
curing among themselves they reject the
physicians aid. and instead they call in the
elders Of the church TO pray, and to anoint
with oil the person afflicted. \ laboring
man named Thomas Hines is member OF
this denomination, and having had 4 son
two years of age who fell i'll, he sent, in
accordance with his doctrines, for one Of the
elders Of his church, an engine driver named
George Hurry, who lived in the neighbor-
hood. Hurry prayed over the child very
aSsiduously, and anointed him with olive
oil. The boy appears to have been well
nourished with good food, but he died.
As no medical certificate could be obtained
an inquest was held, and the jury, under the
belief that neglect in providing medical as
sistance had contributed to the death,
brought in a verdict upon which charge OF
misdemeanor was framed against the father,
and he was tried before Baron Pigott. as we
have stated.
The counsel for the prosecution relied
mainly upon the authority OF Russell on
Crimes, that it is an indictable offence to
refuse or neglect to provide sufficient food
or other necessaries for any child Of tender
years unable to provide them for itself:
The witnesses for the prosecution proved
that every attention had been paid to the
child, and all means used that were consist
ent with the belief of the parents. ply
Sician also stated in evidence the cause
Of death, and that it was one which was
fully amenable to medical treatment But
at this stage of the proceedings the Judge
;ntericred He expressed the opinion, IN
which he stated he was sustained by his broth
er judges, that the omission to call in a medi-
cal man could not, under the circumstances.
be construed into culpable negligence, and
that no one is bound to seek the aid of
physician 50 long as the legislature has not
enacted that he must. The point was
actively contested by the counsel for the
prosecution, but the judge maintained that
there was no case to 90 to the jury, and con-
sequently the prisoner, who was undetend-
ed, received a verdict of acquIttal.
This conclusion was very different from
others which have been arrived at in some
what similar cases, but there can be no
doubt that it was strictly in accordance with
both law and equity. The defendant may
have erred in his belief, but having done all
that, according to his knowledge, was re-
quisite to be done, it would have been hard
TO hold him criminally responsible. The
case appears to have created some surprise
among a few writers in England, but ex-
cept that it defines the law in set of
cases that have been hitherto rather vaguely
dealt with, it ought not to have done so.
The boy was probably victim to a mistaken
belief. 1t is possible that he might have
lived if medical assistance had been called
in. Bnt it cannot be justly said that the
father merited punishment. He much more
needed instruction. Education is, in fact,
the remedy against n repetition of such
cases. not the criminal law. 1t Is not ne
cessary to suppose that the man Hines was
an altogether illiterate person. The proba-
bility Is that he was not. lie had very like
ly read portions of the scriptures for himself,
but he had also interpreted them for himself,
without further aid than was given by per-
sons of the same religious tendencies. The
little education he had received was of slight
use to hin. lie had capacities which, be-
cause thy we're not directed by somebody
else, soon came to be misdirected by himself
all Of which points to the necessity for
that more extended care in the education of
the masses which too many people are apt
to consider unnecessary. In its legal aspect
alone the case is interesting and worthy OF
note, but in its bearing upon this particular
phase of mental cultivation and guidance, it
presents features that deserve the care
ful attention of all who are friends Of edu-
cation.