The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-26 00:00:00

eta—l have the hut,our to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 26th ult. (delivered to me yesterday).
relating to certain circumstances which took place at the
last County day of the Middlesex Sessions. I have referred
that part of the letter which relates to what you term " the
deception which had been practised upon you and the
Court" to the County Treasurer, and inclose, his answer.
With respect to what passed between you and myself as
Chairman of the Court, I must beg to reedl to your recol-
lection the whole of the conversatton. I You came info
Court in the early part
of the day, and _ addressed me to e
some question respecting the County Lunatic Asylum,
when I informed you that anotherquestton was then before
the Court, and you bowed and sat down. You remained
silent twit the crew of the business of the day (between four
and five o'clock). when you said you visited to have the 43 h
Report of the Visiting Justices of the Hanwell As) lum taken
into consideration, I told you that that bed been already done ;
you then said you wished to ask of me haw, if Reports
contained matters which were incorrect, you could bring
them before the Court, and where you were to seek for
redress if you applied to persons for information and it was
refused to you. I answered, as to the first part of your
question, that notice of the bringing up of a Report was
always inserted in the agenda paper, printed and sent round
to the Justices, and that it was your duty to be present i ,
your place as a !Magistrate at the time when the Report
that was considered ; as to the latter part, if you would name
the information required, and the parties refusing. I would
give you any redress within my province or power. You then
complained that the Vestry Clerk of St Junes,,, w,,st_
ininster, bad applied (as I then understcod you, and as tla
fact is, as will appear by the inclosed copy of his letter)
for a copy of the Annual Statement of the Accounts of the
Hanwell Asylum ; not, as you now state in your letter to
,
they had been witl,held"
me, " to know why and that no
notice had been taken of his letter. I 1 ;
Lien interrupted you
by sa)iug that the letter in queation, which
bore date you
15, had been taken into considerati,, by
and that orders
the Com.
mittee at their next meeting ( February 19)
were
• given to send f to parish,
the
and that at the time I was then speaking (the afternoon of
the 21st) I had no doubt they were in the possession of the
Vestry Clerk. I regret to fiad, from inquiries made since the
receipt of your letter, that from the neglect of the clerk my
latter statement was incorrect, and that the accounts hate
not to this day been furnished. The cause of this neglect
must be inquired into at the next Committee; but no
one can more regret the circumstance than mys If.
You then said those accounts ought to
have been
printed. The Court were of the same opinion, and up-n
my suggestion and your motion, seconded•by one of the Vi-
siting Justices, the resolution was uuanimously carried.
You then told me you wished to make further observations
on the 48:h Report if it was open to You. 1 printed
you the lateness of the hour, nearly
five oscioek; out to
and stated
also that it was not customary to consider any question -
S
re-
lative to the Hanwell Asylum except at the Quarter
sions, and also that a Report which I: ad been once consi-
dtred could not be reconsidered (in point of order) without
a notice, and at my suggestion you g:•.ve a notice of moticn
for the next County day, " That the 48th Report of the
Visiting Justices of the Hanwell Asylum be re.eonside -ed.
I trust this explanation will exonerate me from the sus.
picion that I could have intended to place you in the at-
y
tuation in which you feel you have been placed, and
beg to express my extreme regret, that I should even
: unintentionally have been the cause of eri.aiing. such. a
l feeling iii the ta,..it, of a Brother illat,-t.istritte, Allow
me to add, that, as you charge the Visiting Justices