The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-15 00:00:00

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TRE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING. DECEMBER 15, 1863.

ists, who have appreciated the freedom and independence of
the Press, and I believe it to be essential to the interests not
only of the press, but of the Public.
Although, therefore, I have accepted your challenge in
this instance, I shall decline to make any further contri-
bution to the Rochdale Observer.—I am, Sir, your obedient
servant,

16, Serjeantr-inn, Dec. 11. JOHN T. DELANE,

ANOTHER HORRIBLE STORY.

A writer in the Times says :—After I had de-
spatched my letter on the subject of the Flushing
lunatic, which you did me the favour to insert in
your paper of Thursday last, I felt some compunc-
tion at having ended with the inquiry, " Are there
any similar cases demanding investigation ?" It
seamed to me too dark a reflection upon the age to
suppose that parallel cases could exist. I almost
felt that I had done an injustice to humanity in
propounding such. a question ; but, sir, compunc-
tions are cast aside in the presence of the appalling
facts that are forcing themselves upon me.
Even in the short interval which has elapsed
since the publication of my former letter four fresh
cases have come to my knowledge, not all of them
of equal atrocity, it is true, but still so dreadful
that, had I not been somewhat inured to such hor-
rors by the experience of the Flushing case, I should
have considered these equally incredible, and the
terrible truth is becoming manifest that these rank
blots on our social system are scattered broadcast
throughout our rural and, possibly, our civic dis-
tricts, shielded from public view by ignorance, cun-
ning, and the reluctance of neighbours to become
informers against those with whom they are living
on amicable terms.

Two of the cases to which I refer, of recent
occurrence in an adjoining county, have been hap.
pily disposed of. One—the details of which, as
narrated to me, were as loathsome as in the Flush-
ing case—was exposed by a solicitor, a friend of my
own, practising in the county to which I refer; the
other, not so aggravated a case, for the patient was
kept clean, resulted in the death of the sufferer.
By yesterday's post, in consequence of my former
letter, I received an intimation of a case nearly as
bad as the one in Cornwall still existing in a dis-
tant county, which I have this day forwarded to
the proper authorities for investigation. This case
is stated to be " well known to several persons, but
up to the present time has not been made known
through fear of the persons concerned in the atro-
city." The fourth case was revealed to Dr. Byrne,
and was made the subject of our immediate and
conjoint inspection. At present it is not de-
sirable to mention the names of those implicated, or
the locality ; but I would wish your readers to dwell
upon the following picture, which gives but a faint
idea of the picturesque horror with which the case is
invested :—A lonely cottage, surrounded by woods
and orchards, standing close down by the waters of
a remote creek, opening into a well-known river of
this district. This cottage is to outward appear-
ance an ordinary working man's abode, with the
single significant exception that the door is fastened
on the outside by a padlock. We enter this cottage,
we will suppose, at night, which was the fact in our
own case. The partition walls have been removed,
the whole ground floor thrown into one, and is used
as an apple store. We know that we are within the
solitary abode of a lunatic, and by the light of one
tallow candle we look cautiously around to see if he
be at large among the apples. Nothing visible but
the piles of fruit extending to the outer walls, in-
terspersed with the common lumber of a barn in a
farm-yard. We stumble up a staircase, or rather
ladder, to the upper floor, gaining it rather cau-
tiously, for the lunatic may encounter us awkwardly,
as our heads rise above the floor. Another large
pples again extending to the outer
square loft—a
walls. A corner, screened off by some hoarding
exactly Cft. by 7ft., hardly attracts our notice, for
we are still looking all round for the lunatic. But
the father, aged 74, approaches this " box" in the
corner, and pointing to a small door says e Now,
this is the place we are obliged to keep him." There
is still some hesitation, for the mother, over 70, who
is always with us, is a little nervous. The doctor
seizes the candle, and without hesitation throws
back the bolt. The well •known sickening stench
meets us as we enter. There lies the lunatic
crouched with the updrawn knees, which seems
the rule in these cases. A raven black moustache
and beard, a face pallid as snow, cramped, ema-
ciated limbs, nails that might be measured by the
inch, the limbs spotted with filth, cobwebs de-
corating the walls, and some mildewed spots
upon them and on the bedstead which have an
ugly look. But we have seen Porter in his den,
and we don't think so much of this case. This
man has a straw bed beneath him, a clean shirt on
him (is it possible a visit was anticipated ?), and
some sacking, and an old quilt to cover him. We
could hardly expect more—" He tears everything
up." Still, for two years, confessedly, to be shut up
in a box in the corner of an apple loft ! No sweet
breath of Heaven in summer; no fire, no light in
winter; no companionship at any time, for he is the
sole occupant of the house, his relatives living in
another some 200 yards away. There is no window to
this box, the only light that ever reaches its interior
struggles over the top of the boarding, in the small
space between that and the uncoiled roof. I pause
to ask myself as I write whether I am not penning
the page of some old romance rather than the de-
scription of a hard fact that came under my obser-
vation only last night. I have visited asylums and
felt my heart sicken es I have watched the group of
lunatics congregated in their various rooms, and
thought that the world cookl scarcely show a
sadder scene ; but, Sir, the condition of a
pauper lunatic at an asylum is a blissful heaven
compared with that of this poor wretch, rotting
in a loathsome den, the bare remembrance of which
makes me shudder—the home of noisome insects,
and the probable battle-ground of vermin in the
dreadful midnight gloom. I no longer ask the
question, " Are there any other such cases ?" I
ask now how many such cases there are throughout
our land, if in my own experience of a few days I
can enumerate so many ? In this case also our guide
to the spot told us it had been long talked of; that
his wife had said that very night ''„this ought to be
inquired into." " The poor man has been like one
dead to us these six years past," he added. The poor
wretch had been sick upon his pillow when we saw
him, and the foul stuff was still there, not likely to
be removed until the morning, as he was shut up
for the night. This was about 7. He is fed three
times a day regularly, however, and eats well. Re-
ferring to his sickness, his mother told us he was
like that once a month—" o wing to the moon, sir-"
lie had been at the asylum some seven years before,.
and was returned to his parents in a somewhat ink
ewhat
proved state. Without, I fully believe,any ;so:
lute intention of cruelty on their part, things
gradually grown worse and worse and dwindled
Sir, it is
ri had
down to this condition. With your aid,
possible my words may penetrate to the inmost
. May
hearts of the dwellers in our humblest
if not for the
I entreat them for the love of God, homes
love of their fellow-men, not to blind themselves
wilfully to the enormity of such cases as those I
have described ; not to let any false scruples of
intimacy or friendship present their making some
effort to relieve a fellow-creature with an immortal
soul like themselves from so dreadful an earthly
doom? How many such cases may yet be brought
to light, who shall tell? But there is a stain upon
our country which no self-adulation can remove so
long as one is left unrevealed.
Your readers will be glad to learn that the Tre-
gony case, referred to by your correspondent Mr.
Charles Reed—who in " doubly convicting" Corn-
s wall seems to forget that he convicts himself by his
long-continued reticence—. was brought to the notice
of the Commissioners typo years ago. Will you
allow me also to state, in answer to numerous in-
quiries Nyhidk have reached the privately, that

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Royal Geographical
tfr
At the meeting of this society yesterday . eviginga S
—Lord Strangford in the chair—a paper yes. 3 read,
communicated by Mi. Swinhoe, on Formosa, 1 vhich
island was opened to'British commerce by the -late
Lord Elgin. Mr. Swinhoe was appointed vice-con-
sul of Formosa, and visited different parts of the
coast to ascertain which port would be best adapte d
for trade- In his communication he stated some of
the result' of his investigations in the character of
the island vid its inhabitants. A ridge of moun-
tainous hills eztends north and south nearly through
its cent(e, those portions of the country being in-
habited by native t; ibex priecipal:y of Malay origin,
the lower country on ti'e west and north being in
possession of the Chir%sc. On the north of the
island there are extensive seams of cowl, which is
highly bituminous; so much ad indeed as not to he
fiaed for combustion in the furna.ces of ste umships,
bfourt
thew h when
purpose.m ed
r.
ihtihe
Voi:e s.:al ?ieltsrec.,no
Swinhoe
very
ft
think t,eheoinutsais_tit::temberlyges
to be o
inf the
tertiarycharacter
etrat
strata,
th'
can be very deep. At present they are worked near
the surface, and to a Email extent. The rocks are
volcanic, and not far distant from the coal there is
a sulphur hill, in the vicinity of which there are ho t
springs and other indications of volcanic action.
The summit of the highest of these hills is covered
with coral, indicating that the whole range has been
elevated from the sea. The country, so far as Mr.
Swinhoe had an opportunity of observing, is very
fertile, and on the east side of the island it is well
cultivatedthe
attention
by thenatives.
o f
the iNI r.
societyS w Swinhoe h
to
o the want
of
eparticularly-
called
accurate maps of the coast, the absence of which
renders the navigation very dangerous.
Admiral COLLIN SON, who said he considered
Formosa a child of his own, as he had surveyed
the coast sixteen years ago when little or nothing
was known of it, described the general character
of the island, and mentioned that on the east coast
the equatorial Gulf stream is stronger than at any
other part of the globe. It carried his ship in one
day 95 miles against the wind, and on another day
upwards of 100 miles. On the west side of the
island there is a strong current in the opposite
direction.

PRICE..... 4d.
STAMPED

Porter was, of course, an imbecile when first con -
fined? I never imagined that my letter would
convey the impression that he was incarcerated
when in a sound state of mind• The tale needs no
romantic addition to intensify its naked horror.
Falmouth, Dec. 13.

THE ALABAMA AGAIN.

Two More Vessels Destroyed.

LIVERPOOL, Da. 14.

_ .
By the arrival of the India and China mail we learn that
the statement that the Alabama had gone to tile eastward
is correct, and that she has already signalled her arrival in
the Eastern waters by the destruction of two large Ameri-
can merchantmen off Java Head. From the particulars at
present to hand we only know that the Amanda, which is
one of the vessels destroyed, under the command of Captain
Larrabee, left Manilla on the 18th September last, bound to
Cork for orders. The Atuanda was a fine clipper barque,
built at Maine, in 1861, and was owned by Messrs. J. T.
Stevens and Co., of that city. Her cargo was a very valu-
able one, being comprised principally of coffee, indigo,
pepper, hemp, and tobacco. The other vessel burned was
a fine square-rigged clipper ship, called the Winged Racer,
Captain Cummings. This vessel left Manilla about the 4th
of September (we are not certain as to the exact date), and
was also fallen in with by the Alabama off Java Head, cap-
tured and destroyed. The Winged Racer was laden with a
most valuable cargo, and bound for New York. She was
built at Boston in 1852, was 1,767 tons burthen, and was
owned in New York by Messrs. R. J. 1 aylor. The latest
intelligence received from the Mauritius states that the
United States war-steamer Vanderbilt, Captain Baldwin,
had left that place in search of the Alabama, Captain Bald-
win having been apprised of the new cruising ground of the
notorious Confederate cruiser.

Sir HARRY PARKES noticed the original occupa-
tion of Formosa by the Dutch and Japanese, and
stated that though
biihoeuen,toipsland is so large that it now
forms one of the 54 divisions of the Chinese em-
pire, and. is only
coast, it was not taken
, and to
until within the last. Lvy 9osssemssiii
possession
ns
of distantby t h
the
fromc Chinese
ntet,s_
ec
with the
He mentioned the
difficulty of trading
and
tile island,
savage
character, its
o f
want of harbours
andone mwaokoe
falls a a practice till:
itrtoh
some of the native tribes,
t.: small tribe, not
deven of the Chinese
themselves. There is, 11, sai
amounting to 300, who Occupy south-east point
ands. By
hcut off the,
ofne
at hdenifs
eve:l a. dy,
that tribe ana by the Chinese nearly
the crews of the two English ships worn
whole of
wrecked
on the island were murdered. He took
more
favourable view of the p robable extent of the seams
of coal than Mr. Swinhoe, and stated that though
there is no trade with Formos..l carried on directly
with this country, there is nevert.lieless a consider-
able indirect trade through Hong Elong.,
After some observations from the chairman, a
second paper, describing a journey from Nazareth
to Bozrah-Moab and Damascus, by Mr. Eaton, was
read, and the meeting ajourncd to the 11th of
January..
-....