- Email: [email protected]
THE CORONER'S AUTHORITY.
THE
CORONER’S AUTHORITY.-NEGLECT
OF THE DEAF.
671
THE CORONER’S AUTHORITY. HAS a coroner too much powerSome may think so who are accustomed to other forms of judicial "Ne quid nimis." tribunal. Two solicitors, attending an inquest lately held at Bournemouth, may have been surprised when NEGLECT OF THE DEAF. the borough coroner refused to allow them to crossTHE National Institute for the Deaf, in its fifth examine witnesses on behalf of parties concerned. annual report, has endeavoured for the first time in The coroner was exercising an indisputable right ; the social history of this country to place before the he is not only judge but also, so to speak, examining public in a concise form the full case of the deafIt is evident that the mute and the deafened. magistrate. He summons such witnesses as he thinks Institute is doing a large amount of valuable work in fit and, if he chooses, he can insist on questioning the face of the severe handicap resulting from lack of them himself. During the course of the proceedings interest and support, both from the public and from Deafness is the most widespread the Government. it may happen to become clear that blame attaches to of all sensory disabilities, for the number whom it
Annotations.
A or B in respect of the death of X ; but A and B ]have no inherent right to make their defence in the - coroner’s court ; they may even be found guilty of - wilful murder on the verdict of the coroner’s jury though they have neither been present in court nor been represented by any legal adviser. That is the ‘chief anomaly of the inquest as a judicial tribunal. The essential element in the proceedings is a dead body, not a specific charge against a named person. ’The coroner is engaged in collecting and sifting the evidence as a preliminary step to the framing of a charge. Hearsay and gossip are not to be ignored if -they help him to reach the facts, nor are the technical rules of evidence to be rigidly followed. His inquiry being of a roving nature, the jury may be invited to range over topics of general interest rather than of strict relevance to the limited issue. Thus at a recent inquest upon the death of a patient in a mental hospital the coroner is reported to have said that it - would be for the jury to say whether the hours worked by the hospital staff were not too long. If this meant that the death amounted to manslaughter, caused by the criminal negligence of the hospital management or peisonnel, it was correctly referred to the jury’s arbitrament. If it merely meant that the jury should - comment upon the hospital administration, it was one - of the vagaries tolerated and encouraged in coroner’s .courts and in no other judicial tribunals. Anyone -who made a collection of the riders attached to the verdicts of coroner’s juries would obtain specimens ,of remarkable range. He would probably also detect .similarities in the riders presented to a particular I Sometimes a coroner has views of his own .coroner. which he does not attempt to hide. Junior barristers, - it is believed, when sent to attend an inquest professionally, are occasionally instructed by their :more experienced seniors in these idiosyncrasies. ’The particular topic is respectfully kept in the fore_ground and the jury adds the appropriate rider. In view of its autocratic character, the coroner’s .authority is happy in escaping adverse comment. An independent observer may sometimes be shocked - at what he deems the unnecessary publicity and probing into personal affairs in cases of obvious suicide. The legal profession may raise its eyebrows at "coroners’ quest law." The general public may wonder whether the inquest should not be brought more closely into line with our other judicial courts. But the inquest is an ancient institution ; therefore it is popularly acceptable. The machinery works ; therefore time need not be wasted in the invention -of a theoretically more perfect process. The statute law was reviewed and amended only three years ago ; -therefore it is likely to be left untouched for another ..generation. The ample discretion entrusted to the is not abused by coroners of discretion.
afflicts in this country probably reaches several millions. It is, therefore, surprising that the total contributions to organisations labouring for the welfare of the deaf and dumb and the deafened over school age should amount only to something under £40,000, while the State stands entirely aloof from such work. In contrast, more than ten times this sum is voluntarily contributed annually for the blind, whose total registered numbers are only some 46,000, while rates and taxes provide a further 600,000. Again, for the blind, the qualification for Old Age Pensions, already reduced to 50 years, will shortly be lowered to 40, but no such consideration is shown to the deaf. At present, education is the only service publicly provided for the deaf, but the Committee of the Institute believes it is certain that the majority of deaf children, despite their far greater need, do not receive an educational opportunity equal to that which is rigidly required for children who can hear. Further, the Committee has recently concluded an inquiry into the industrial position of the deaf and dumb, and has no hesitation in saying that the effects of the large expenditure on education have been, to a great extent, neutralised by the circumstances of post-school life. This is not the result of any lack of effort on the part of the schools or the welfare societies, but is due to the inevitable handicap of deafness in working life, which is increased by modern conditions of industry, by certain legislation affecting wages and insurance schemes, and by the regulations of trade As a result, 30 to 50 per bodies in several industries. cent. of deaf school-leavers remain unemployed. This industrial problem is a pressing one, and it is much to be regretted that the Government in 1928 refused to make any inquiry into the matter. The Institute is raising this question again, and regards it as urgent that an adequate and searching inquiry into the full conditions of the deaf and dumb and the deafened over school age shall be made by the Government in the It is much to be hoped that the Institute near future. will receive the general public support which it deserves. ____
DIAGNOSIS AND CURE OF G.P.I. general paralysis of the insane was regarded as a definite clinical entity for which there was no cure. It was generally held to be a kind of cerebral exhaustion, due to excessive expenditure of vital energy on " woman and wine." While the diagnosis offered no great difficulty to the experienced alienist, it was made very cautiously, because the outlook was hopeless. The part played by syphilis was subsequently proved beyond reasonable doubt by Noguchi’s demonstration of the spirochæte in paralytic brains, and since then the tendency has been to make diagnosis depend on complex laboratory tests for syphilis rather than on observation of the patient’s demeanour. The possibility of cure by antisyphilitic remedies, and recently by induced malarial pyrexia, stimulated efforts at early diagnosis, and thus led to a still greater tendency to diagnose on laboratory findings without waiting for the development of late and unmistakable mental and physical signs. The THIRTY years ago
CORONER’S AUTHORITY.-NEGLECT
OF THE DEAF.
671
THE CORONER’S AUTHORITY. HAS a coroner too much powerSome may think so who are accustomed to other forms of judicial "Ne quid nimis." tribunal. Two solicitors, attending an inquest lately held at Bournemouth, may have been surprised when NEGLECT OF THE DEAF. the borough coroner refused to allow them to crossTHE National Institute for the Deaf, in its fifth examine witnesses on behalf of parties concerned. annual report, has endeavoured for the first time in The coroner was exercising an indisputable right ; the social history of this country to place before the he is not only judge but also, so to speak, examining public in a concise form the full case of the deafIt is evident that the mute and the deafened. magistrate. He summons such witnesses as he thinks Institute is doing a large amount of valuable work in fit and, if he chooses, he can insist on questioning the face of the severe handicap resulting from lack of them himself. During the course of the proceedings interest and support, both from the public and from Deafness is the most widespread the Government. it may happen to become clear that blame attaches to of all sensory disabilities, for the number whom it
Annotations.
A or B in respect of the death of X ; but A and B ]have no inherent right to make their defence in the - coroner’s court ; they may even be found guilty of - wilful murder on the verdict of the coroner’s jury though they have neither been present in court nor been represented by any legal adviser. That is the ‘chief anomaly of the inquest as a judicial tribunal. The essential element in the proceedings is a dead body, not a specific charge against a named person. ’The coroner is engaged in collecting and sifting the evidence as a preliminary step to the framing of a charge. Hearsay and gossip are not to be ignored if -they help him to reach the facts, nor are the technical rules of evidence to be rigidly followed. His inquiry being of a roving nature, the jury may be invited to range over topics of general interest rather than of strict relevance to the limited issue. Thus at a recent inquest upon the death of a patient in a mental hospital the coroner is reported to have said that it - would be for the jury to say whether the hours worked by the hospital staff were not too long. If this meant that the death amounted to manslaughter, caused by the criminal negligence of the hospital management or peisonnel, it was correctly referred to the jury’s arbitrament. If it merely meant that the jury should - comment upon the hospital administration, it was one - of the vagaries tolerated and encouraged in coroner’s .courts and in no other judicial tribunals. Anyone -who made a collection of the riders attached to the verdicts of coroner’s juries would obtain specimens ,of remarkable range. He would probably also detect .similarities in the riders presented to a particular I Sometimes a coroner has views of his own .coroner. which he does not attempt to hide. Junior barristers, - it is believed, when sent to attend an inquest professionally, are occasionally instructed by their :more experienced seniors in these idiosyncrasies. ’The particular topic is respectfully kept in the fore_ground and the jury adds the appropriate rider. In view of its autocratic character, the coroner’s .authority is happy in escaping adverse comment. An independent observer may sometimes be shocked - at what he deems the unnecessary publicity and probing into personal affairs in cases of obvious suicide. The legal profession may raise its eyebrows at "coroners’ quest law." The general public may wonder whether the inquest should not be brought more closely into line with our other judicial courts. But the inquest is an ancient institution ; therefore it is popularly acceptable. The machinery works ; therefore time need not be wasted in the invention -of a theoretically more perfect process. The statute law was reviewed and amended only three years ago ; -therefore it is likely to be left untouched for another ..generation. The ample discretion entrusted to the is not abused by coroners of discretion.
afflicts in this country probably reaches several millions. It is, therefore, surprising that the total contributions to organisations labouring for the welfare of the deaf and dumb and the deafened over school age should amount only to something under £40,000, while the State stands entirely aloof from such work. In contrast, more than ten times this sum is voluntarily contributed annually for the blind, whose total registered numbers are only some 46,000, while rates and taxes provide a further 600,000. Again, for the blind, the qualification for Old Age Pensions, already reduced to 50 years, will shortly be lowered to 40, but no such consideration is shown to the deaf. At present, education is the only service publicly provided for the deaf, but the Committee of the Institute believes it is certain that the majority of deaf children, despite their far greater need, do not receive an educational opportunity equal to that which is rigidly required for children who can hear. Further, the Committee has recently concluded an inquiry into the industrial position of the deaf and dumb, and has no hesitation in saying that the effects of the large expenditure on education have been, to a great extent, neutralised by the circumstances of post-school life. This is not the result of any lack of effort on the part of the schools or the welfare societies, but is due to the inevitable handicap of deafness in working life, which is increased by modern conditions of industry, by certain legislation affecting wages and insurance schemes, and by the regulations of trade As a result, 30 to 50 per bodies in several industries. cent. of deaf school-leavers remain unemployed. This industrial problem is a pressing one, and it is much to be regretted that the Government in 1928 refused to make any inquiry into the matter. The Institute is raising this question again, and regards it as urgent that an adequate and searching inquiry into the full conditions of the deaf and dumb and the deafened over school age shall be made by the Government in the It is much to be hoped that the Institute near future. will receive the general public support which it deserves. ____
DIAGNOSIS AND CURE OF G.P.I. general paralysis of the insane was regarded as a definite clinical entity for which there was no cure. It was generally held to be a kind of cerebral exhaustion, due to excessive expenditure of vital energy on " woman and wine." While the diagnosis offered no great difficulty to the experienced alienist, it was made very cautiously, because the outlook was hopeless. The part played by syphilis was subsequently proved beyond reasonable doubt by Noguchi’s demonstration of the spirochæte in paralytic brains, and since then the tendency has been to make diagnosis depend on complex laboratory tests for syphilis rather than on observation of the patient’s demeanour. The possibility of cure by antisyphilitic remedies, and recently by induced malarial pyrexia, stimulated efforts at early diagnosis, and thus led to a still greater tendency to diagnose on laboratory findings without waiting for the development of late and unmistakable mental and physical signs. The THIRTY years ago