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

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 appea!ed
to, and all seems to promise a speedy and substan-
tial reform. This is more especially the case
during the months of the recees, when there i 3 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.
Sian 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 frequently 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 exaggerat ion. In these days
of enlightenment and humanity such conduct ap-
pears md6t inhuman and revolting, but we must
remember that it is the lingering remains of the
treatment generally adopted towards lunatics in
the last century. '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 wee excited, and the consequence was a thoro
-agh reform. Those who com-
pare the treatrelent of lunatics in Bethlehem or
in Colney 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.
sidercd. Happily there is no discordance between
the two requirements, since the public interest
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 rani-
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 injuring 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 affected owing to au accident,
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 in 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 room
found her eldest son lying in bed with his throat

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

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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-
ing such a man at large does not in this instance

rest exclusively with the parent 4, 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
something frightful, since every hour they were
dreading the catastrophe that too surely came at
last There ought to be some regularly appointed
office to examine into such cases, where ignorarce
or neglect may work such terrible results. It would
be well to have a system of registratiog all such
cases, and 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 stilicted, and the burden of sup-
porting them falls heavy on their friends, who are

besides unab:e :o pay for keepers and attendants as