The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-07 00:00:00

Tilli SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENINCTI, JUNE 7, 1864.

stitution in question. Lord C. PAGET declared
that it was the intention of the Government to
consider the claims of naval officers, and that he
entirely concurred with all that Sir J. PAEINGTON
had said on the subject.

It is very satisfactory to find that at last some
glimmeringsof the light that should guide their steps
shoull have been discerned by the Admiralty, for
they are generally most obtuse in making the dis-
covery. It remains now to hope that the Govern-
ment will be a little more expeditious in their mode
of carrying out these improvements than they have
been in devising them, for precious time is being
lost, and opportunities are slipping by that can
never be restored. The efforts of those who have
constantly advocated the adoption of the necessary
reforms have not been thrown away, and they may
flatter themselves that they have contributed to-
wards a good work, and done great service to a
noble institution of their country that all ranks
and classes alike concur in honouring. No time or
trouble can be thrown away in order to render the
workings of such an establishment more beneficial,
more worthy of the nation that offers the succour,
and more acceptable to those who receive it, and
then only obtain an offering to their bravery more
than a charity doled out for their support.

It is curious to observe how a subject which en-
grosses much of public attention for a time grad-
ually gets forgotten or set aside. Some long-
continued evil or oppression perhaps is brought
suddenly into notice by a startling catastrophe.
Every one is shocked, and every one exclaims that
something must be done to check the recurring of
the risks which occasioned it. Theorists are ready
with their schemes of amendment, the assistance
of the Press is invoked, the Legislature appealed
to, and all seems to promise a speedy and substan-
tial reform. This is more especially the case
during the months of the recess, when there is less
to divert the attention, and consequently any do-
mestic event finds it easier to gain prominence.
But it too often happens that after all the discus-
sion and the promise very little is done. Parliament
meets, and a thousand questions start up for debate
and decision, the war of parties, the chances of
office—all these exciting topics thrust the humble
but necessary reform into the shade, and until a
fresh catastrophe produces another commotion
things are suffered to go on in the same way. This
programme has been accurately fulfilled.in the case
of lunatics in humble life. After the startling re-
velations of last year, it was openly stated that
many persons of unsound mind were concealed
throughout the country, and were frequtntly ill
treated by their relatives, who had charge of them.
The instance of the PORTER family was too painful
and convincing for such a suggestion to be rejected
as improbable or impossible, neither after the evi-
dence which was then brought before the magi-
strates could it be hoped that the neighbours or
other persons aware of the ill-treatment of the
insane or imbecile might be relied on for giving
information of such misconduct to the autho-
rities, It was said at the time that the
crime proceeded as much from ignorance
as from cruelty, and a case was brought to
light in which the parents who seemed to enter-
tain no ill will against their imbecile son, nor any
desire to deny his existence, kept him locked up in
a den hardly fit to live in, in a state of dirt and
wretchedness beyond exaggeration. In these days
of enlightenment and humanity such conduct ap•
pears moat inhuman and revolting, but we must
remember that it is the lingering remains of the
treatment generally adopted towards lunatics in
the last cettury. Whips and chains, beds of straw
and brutal keepers, were the means used by public
consent to " minister to a mind diseased," and
while the interior of even our public asylums is
described by the writers of the time as a perfect
Pandemonium, there were, at the same time, the
same fatal facilities for obtaining the incarceration
of sane persons who were wished out of the way for
the sake of their property, or for other interested
reasons. At last the evil grew to such a height
that public indignation was excited, and the con-
sequence was a thorough reform. Those who com-
pare the treatment of lunatics in Bethlehem or
in Calney Hatch with the records of former times,
may well felicitate humanity on its progress. But
while no care or consideration can be too great for
these afflicted beings, whose condition appeals so
forcibly to those still blessed with their noblest
faculties, the safety of the public must also be con-
sidered. Happily there is no discordance between
the two requirements, since the public interes
demands only that reasonable and constant

supervision be kept over the actions of the lunatic
which is essential to his own safety and possible
chance of recovery. Let every care and kindness be
shown to the insane, but let them be placed under
control the moment any dangerous symptoms mani.
fest themselves. This may be of less consequence
with harmless imbeciles like PORTER, but it is

indispensable in the case of violent lunatics. With
the imbecile the great object is to guard them from

ill•usage or neglect ; with the insane to keep them

from iojuring others. A very melancholy story has
just been brought to light, giving forcible evidence
of the urgent need that exists for making some
alteration in the present system of dealing with the

insane. A young man named JAMES LOVE lived
with his family in the north. His mind had been for

some time seriously affectcd owing to an acciden

we presume a fatal one, having befallen a young
girl, to whom he was much attached. He was able
to maintain himself by his work, which precluded

the authorities from noticing him; but he had long
been so dangerous that his mother admitted she

always kept knives and sharp things out of his way;
and his other relatives, it is said, lived i❑ fear of

him, not without cause, as the sequel of the story
shows. One night the mother was roused by a

strange noise, and going into the adjoining nom

found her eldest son lying in bed with his throw

cut, while the lunatic readily admitted having been
the murderer. He had killed him with a razor

which he had borrowed from a barber in the village,

... .
and so closely did his mother watch him that she

had ascertained the fact of his having borrowed it,
though she searched for it in vain. What the

barber was dreaming of to give such an in

strnment to a person who must have been

known in the village to be insane is a
question that may well be asked, and was,
we hope, put at the inquest, The blame of keep-

jog such a man at large does not in this instance

rest exclusively with the parents, since a year ago
the mother spoke of him to the parochial inspector,
who, on hearing that he was gaining his own
bread, refused to interfere. The condition of the
family during all these months must have been
ng frightful, since every hour they were
dsormeeedtihnigthe catastrophe that too surely came at
last. There ought to be some regularly appointed
may work such terrible results. It would
office to er.amine into such cases, where ignorarce
have a system of registratiog all such
ebo are s andenwse,eglil e:ot
the medical officer for the district might
be charged with the duty. It is quite time that
a different method was adopted, since it is a well-
known fact that among the lower classes there are

large numbers so s tp icted, and the burden of sup-
porting them fall 4 heavy on their friends, Who are
besides unable to pay for keepers and attendants as