The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-27 00:00:00

doubt believed to be the case, the prisoner should be found
to be a fit object for its exercise. That my :opinion was in
the slightest degree based or influenced, or attempted to
be biased or influenced, by Mr. Leech, or any friend of the
prisoner I most positively deny ; neither (as I have before
stated) was Mr. Leech present during the inquiry.:
" With regard to the statement of the magistrates in their
letter of the 15th inst., that Townley's removal to Bethle-
hem Hospital was effected by the expenditure of money, I
can on►y say that I am entirely ignorant as to any and (if
any) what expenditure there has been in the matter. Some
expense may possibly have been incurred (though as to this
I have no knowledge) by Townley's family or friends in
engaging the services of Mr. Leech ; and beyond this I do
not suppose the magistrate's remark was intended to ex-
tend. If, indeed, they can have intended to insinuate
that the opinions or acts of myself or the magistrates
or medical men who acted with me in signing the certifi-
cates of the 27th and 23th of December were directly or in-
directly in my way so irfluenc I beg, as regards myself,
to give such an insinuation my most unqualified and in-
dignant denial, and as regards each and all of those who
acted with me, to express my entire conviction that it is
utterly unfounded.

" If on any point relative to the matters referred to in
Mr. Waddington's letter of the 19th inst. (which, I may
add, I did not receive until yesterday) I have been less ex-
plicit than I have wished to be, and should you desire a
fuller explanation, I shall be most happy to afford it you.—
I am, &c.,

" W. T. Cox, J.P. for the County and
Borough of Derby.
To the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, Bart., &C.

it Derby, Jan. 22

" Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 19th inst., with enclosures, which I have
carefully read, and I beg to state in reply to the first of the
passages mentioned by you that there was no doubt what-
ever existing on the minds of my brother magistrates and
myself as to the 'nature and effect of the act' performed by
us in certifying to the insanity of Georg© Victor Townley.
Before we signed the certificate dated the 27th of Decen3,
ber, 1863, the Act of Parliament bearing on the case was
read and fully discussed and understood by us.

" With reference to our being' put in motion by the pri-
soner's solicitor,' this is untrue if by these words the Der-
byshire magistrates wish to impute that any unjust or un-
lawful means were adopted to induce us to take the steps
we did ; and it is only by the words previously quoted—viz.,
' put in motion,' that I surmise the Derbyshire magistrates
would imply that Townley's removal to Bethlehem was
effected by the expenditure of money.'
"I have only to add that I did not take part in, nor do I
know of, any act periormed by my brother magistrates or
myself in this business which did not arise from pure and
conscientious motives.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant,
"TiIOISIA.S ROE, Mayor.
"To U. Waddington, Esq."

" Derby, Jan. 22.

" Sir,—l beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
the 19th inst., with enclosure, and to thank you for the op-
portunity you have thus afforded me of giving you a lull
explanation of the course which I took with regerd to the
case of George Victor Townley, and of answering the state-
ments so far as they affect me contained in the letter ad-
dressed to you by the magistrates of the county of Derby.
On the 26th of December I was requested by Townley's
solicitor to attend at the gaol, in company with other magis-
trates and two medical men, for the purpose of examining
Townley and reporting to you our opinion as to his state of
mind. I felt and expressed great reluctance to take any action
in the matter, but after full consideration I consented to do
so. I was at the time entirely ignorant of the provisions of
the Act of the 3d and 4th of Victoria, cap. 54, and of the
powers thereby given.

"On Sunday, the 27th December, Mr. VT. T. Cox, the
Mayor, Dr. Goode, Mr. Harwood, and myself had a long
interview with the prisoner. Mr. Harwood has been surgeon
to the Board of Guardians for upwards of 20 years, and in
that capacity has examined most of the pauper lunatics sent
from Derby to the asylum during that period. Dr. Goode
has also had considerable experience in cases of lunacy. Mr.
Harwood, from his great experience, appeared to us to be
the most proper person to conduct the examination of
Townley, which he mainly did, and to our entire satisfac-
tion.

" I entered upon the enquiry without any bias, and with
a sincere desire to arrive at a just decision. Ido not claim
to be an expert, nor to be better able than other non-profes-
sional men to form a correct opinion on such a subject, nor
do I profess to understand the difference between insanity
and unsoundness of mind ; but I judged of the prisoner's
mental condition to the best of my ability, and I came to
the conclusion that he was insane. Our decision was una-
nimous. The chaplain, surgeon, and governor of the gaol,
who had been present during our examination, entirely con-
curred in that decision, and to sign at once the legal certifi-
cate was in my opinion the only course open to me, consi-
dering my conscientious conviction of the prisoner's in-
vanity."

"For myself I deny the allegation of the Derbyshire jus-

tices that the certificate was expressed in terms directly
opposed to the publicly-eeclared intention of those who
signed it.' Before entering upon the examination I read
carefully the clause in the Act 3d and 4th of Victoria, cap.
54, and knew perfectly well what I was doing.
" The justices' letter asserts that ' Townley's removal to
Bethlehem was effected by the agency of his solicitor and
by the expenditure of money.'
" If by this they intend to convey the impression that I
was in any way unduly influenced by money, or any other
consideration, they assert that which is entirely untrue.
" If they know, or have reason to believe, that money
has been improperly used, they ought, in common fairness,
to state in what manner it has been applied, instead of, by
implication, casting suspicion on all concerned. If, on the
contrary, they have no knowledge on the subject, they
have no right to insinuate a charge of so serious a character
which they cannot substantiate.
" I was admitted to see the prisoner by the order of Mr.
Mundy, chairman of the visiting justices. I was not aware
of the circumstances under which that order was obtained,
but Mr. Mundy himself has thrown light upon it by his
speech at Quarter Sessions on the sth of January, from
which I quote, as reported in the Derby Mercury of the 6th
January :
" The day after Christmas-day I received an applica-
tion from the attorney for the defence that two or three
magistrates and two medical gentlemen should be allowed
to see the prisoner, and, having been made acquainted with
the Act of Parliament which authorised such an interview,
I felt that I had no alternative but to do so.'
" How Mr. Mundy, on careful perusal of the clause in the
Act of Parliament referred to, came to the conclusion that,
supposing the two or three magistrates and two medical
gentlemen' believed Townley to be insane, any other conse-
quence could result than that which actually followed I am
at a loss to know.

,6 In conclusion, I again beg to disclaim being influenced
by any other than aconscientious desire to give an unbiased
opinion,—l have the honour to remain, Sir, your most
obedient servant,

" THOS. B. FORMAN.
To the Right lion Sir George Grey
Bart., her Majesty's
Secretary of State for the Rome Department, &c."

"Draycott-house, Jan. 23.
" Sir,—In reply to your letter of the 19th inst., which
was only received yesterday, I beg to inform you that when
I signed the certificate on the 29th of December last of the
insanity of George Victor Townley I was unaware of its
effect
been as regard
obligationfrom
on you. And I should have
taken an earlier opportunity of informing you of this had
I not mthe fact of the respite being
granted before the certificate of the 29th of December had
been received by you, that you had throughout acted on the I
led to its
believe,
first certificate.
,g I was never in any way influenced by the prisoner's soli-
citor, being in the first instance applied to by the surgeon of
the gaol (Or. Gisborne), who sent over a note to me on the
morning of the 29th of December, urgently requesting my
attendance at his house that afternoon on the subject of
Townley's insanity, where the necessity of my presence
'would be fully explained. This explanation was never
given, as Mr. Gladstone neither received me at his house
nor appeared until late on the same afternoon. I met my
brother magistrate Mr. Cox there and Mr. Leech, the pri-
Boner's attorney, who informed us that a meeting was to bo
held at the county gaol at 3 o'clock, requesting us to be
there. I then found it was for the purpose of being present
at a private examination into the state of Townley's mind
that I had been sent for.
" We were there joined by Dr. Goode and Dr. Harwood.
The prisoner was then brought before us, and examined by
us for two hours.
" During that time 1 became convinced, and my convic-
tion still remains, that the prisoner was of unsound mind,
and my own judgment was strengthened and confirmed by
the opinions then expressed by...the governor and chaplain
of the gaol.
"The certificate was then signed by me in the belief that
I was merely certifying my own conviction of the insanity
of Townley.
" I know nothing whatever of any expenditure of money
in the business.—l am, Sir, your very obedient servant,
" W. HUGH SCOTT.
"To the Right Hon. Sir Geo. Grey, Bart."

LOOKING A NICE LITTLE GIFT PONY IN THE
MOUTH.—I was surveying the collection of New
Year taxes which had been levied by Madame de H. Her
fair daughter was at hand. I lifted a very pretty box,
lightly and brightly put together. I remarked that tho
taste shown in it was exquisite. The young lady shrugged
her shoulders, and answered—" That, Monsieur : I'm sure
it didn't cost ten francs p' Unhappy wight is he who had
given that exquisite little box of sweetmeats to Madame
de H. It is true that he is only a young employe at the
Ministry of the Interior, and that he has only a very few
hundred francs per annum ; nevertheless he should not
have done this thing. He should have put the watch his
mother gave him into " Piety's fair Mount"—and have
lived for a month or two on haricots—and, in this way,
afforded to march boldly into therenowned establishment of
Siraudin. These are not the days of sentimental gifts.
Gifts are not held to the heart : they are appraised,—Pai is
Correspondent of theSdthenfflton.