The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-25 00:00:00

" A SUN PORTRAIT."

The Photographic Curiosity announced by us,
some timeance, as in active preparation, is at
length, we are rejoiced to say, completed, and
completed, we will add, most successfully. The
difficult task of its production—by means of an
entirely new application of the wonderful art of
photography—has been delayed until now solely
by the. unpropitious state of the weather, that is
to say; by the unusually lengthened continuance
of a murky and misty condition of the atmosphere.
One bright day, however, has at length put an
end to the difficulty—the result aimed at being
now completely and triumphantly accomplished.
An all but microscopic facsimile of the front page
of The Sun newspaper of MONDAY, the 2d of
January, 1865, has—in other words—been pro-
duced by this hitherto undreamt-of application of
the photographic art. It is hereby announced in
fact as ready for publication, on Monday, the 3d
of April, upon which day a copy of this Miniature
Photograph, entitled " A Sun Portrait,"
will be presented gratuitously to every purchaser of
'the Sun

of that evening—the Photograph being accom-
panied by a Supplement reproducing the front
page of our Journal of Monday, the 2d of January.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
rifts DAY.—Morning, 12h. 14m.—Afternoon, 12h. 40n1
'llO-Moßr.oW.-Morning, lh. Bm.—Afternoon, lh. 33m,

Lord MALMESBURY last night rendered an impor-
tant service in a just cause, when he suggested that
an inquiry should be made into the case of the late
Mr. DOCKNALL, who was illegally detained in a
lunatic asylum at Sedgefield. There is nothing of
more consequence in social jurisdiction than the
matters which appertain to the treatment of luna-
tics, or to the decision respecting who are sane and
who are not so. After all that has been done about
these arrangements, it is too bad that they should
be evaded, and especially by an official person.
Lord MALMESBURY clearly showed that there had
been great carelessness, to say the least of it, in the
carrying on of the affair, and his lordship was fully
justified in making his statement. Indeed, when
we consider the importance of the case, and its re-
lation to other matters of the sort, it seems sur-
prising that more care should not have been taken
at an earlier period to ascertain the full particulars,
and express an opinion thereupon. Such was the ,
bounden duty of the Government, and they fully
deserve the reproach cast upon them last night of
having neglected an important trust committed to
them. In some respects the question of rightly
dealing with the insane, and discreetly judging who
are afflicted and who are not, is more than a matter
of life and' death, since to all persons death would
be preferable to confinement in an asylum if they
were not insane ; and to those who are so life can
present no greater tortures than such treatment or
mismanagement there. The chief errors committed
in the case of the late Mr. DOCKNALL appear to be
these : in the first place, only one medical man was
consulted, instead of two, as the law requires ; and
next, that Colonel JOHNSON stated he had examined
the man periodically, whereas he had never seen
him. It is the best proof of the extent of the evil,
that, after the unfortunate Mr. DOCKNALL had been
for a short time confined to the asylum, it was evi-
dent to those around him that he was not insane,
and accordingly steps were taken to liberate him.
Two magistrates went to the asylum, and they,
with the medical men, being convinced that he was
in the full possession of his senses, he was liberated.
A stronger assurance could not be given as to the
illegality of his being sent to the asylum, but not-
withstanding this apparently conclusive evidence,
great laxity seems to have prevailed at headquarters.
Lord MALMESBURY forcibly put the case when he
said that it was for the House to consider the
conduct, of Colonel JOHNSON, for he had appended
his name to a statement which was untrue. " Not

any course of proceeding more reprehensible than
upon the
that he could hardly conceive."
The Home-office
possesses ample powers to adjudicate
affair ; and, as Lord MALIIESBURY observed, they
should have shown their sense of the wrongdoing by
dismissing, or, at all events, by severely reproving
the magistrate. Lord GRANVILLE'S endeavour to
shuffle off the matter was not very successful, and
it was well that Lord SHAFTESBURY took up the
subject, of which he is a good judge. His lord-
ship very truly argued that, when they heard
of a magistrate sending a man to a
lunatic asylum, and declaring at the same
time that he had personally seen and examined him,
while all the time he had done no such thing, it was
time that the house " should express a feeling that
the law ought to be placed upon a better footing

for the defence and protection of her MAJESTY'S
subjects." No one has so good a right to give an
opinion on this question as the noble earl, who has
devoted so much toil and assiduity to the benefit of
those oppressed by the heaviest affliction that can
befall humanity. The advantages that have accrued
to those suffering under this calamity through the
arrangements and improvements of the noble lord
and his supporters are almost incalculable, and the
benefits are not confined to that class, for there is
hardly any one in the land who is not more or less
indebted to the restriction which fence round the
sane from the dangers which may assail them,
their friends, or their connections, thr ugh the igno-

rance and designs of misinformed and prejudiced
persons. But it must be borne in mind that the
good of these reforms will be greatly hindered from
taking effect if any laxity is permitted, or mis-
management tolerated. This case, which Lord
MAL3IESBURY brought forward, is a signal instance
of wrong-doing, but it is holding out a premium to
carelessness for the Home Office to pass over so
great a derilection of duty. Lord DERBY, with his
usual acuteness, pointed out the chief error that had
been committed by the Home Office in dealing with
the affair, and said that the authorities there should
have required a distinct answer from the magistrate
respecting the two allegations, as to whether or not
he had acted upon only one medical certificate, and
also as to whether he had declared to having visited him
when he had not done so. If the Home Office had
not done so the noble earl wished to be informed of
their reason for so abstaining from the necessary
requisition. It is not a good arrangement of the
present Government, as Lord MALMESBURY ob-
served, that there is not anyone in the Upper House
to represent the departments of the Home Office,
the Board of Trade, or the Poor Law Board. In
consequence this important affair has not been pro-
perly sifted, as it ought to have been, by Parlia-
ment, and very extraordinary conduct has not
been explained. Lord MALMESBURY, however,
seems determined to keep them up to the mark,
and we are glad to see that the noble lord announced
his intention of requiring that he should be exactly
informed of what took place between the Home
Office and Col. JOHNSON ; and especially he wished
to ascertain whether the Colonel had been rebuked
or not? This is the only way to gain anything like
accurate information ; for with one , excuse and
another everything is put off, and the most impor-
tant matters are laid on the shelf. It will not do
for the Government to shirk inquiry into affairs that
are so intimately connected with the best interzsts
of the community; and they may carry their negli-
gence and favouritism a little too far, as they will
find some day to their cost. It is to be hoped that
the observations made by experienced persons will
so influence the authorities that they will make a
bona fide inquiry for once, and allow justice to have
full play in a matter of such vital interest. It is
true that the sufferer has passed away ; but, though
dead, he yet speaks to us of his wrongs, and the
affair must not be neglected.

A question of some importance was discussed last
night in the Commons when Mr. MALINS called
attention to the condition of the upper part of the
River Thames. It appears from the petitions of the
General Committee of the Thames and Isis Naviga-
tion and the Mayor and Corporation of Walling-
ford that the upper portion of the river has fallen
into decay, and that the navigation is seriously
affected. The profits of the river companies have
seriously diminished since the introduction of rail-
ways. The revenue, which, in 1845, amounted to
£14,000, was last year only £3,097, and conse-
quently the Commissioners have been unable even
to pay the interest of their debt, to the great dis-
satisfaction of their creditors. They have further
been compelled to discharge their workmen for lack
of funds, and 170 miles of the river have fallen into
decay. The locks are out of repair, and several
towns and places along the shores of the river are
liable to be flooded should there be a great increase
of water. Under these circumstances, the Com-
missioners, in despair, petition Parliament, and Mr
MALINs, who has previously interested himself in
the matter, called the attention of the President of
the Board of Trade to it, and showed that the affair
was further complicated by the claims of the old
lockowners. Not much, however, was to be gained
from Mr. GIBSON, who persisted in treating the
question as a private affair of the company, instead
of a public concern. He agreed to the appointment
of a Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry, which is
likely to do neither much good nor harm, but it
was very truly said that a small Commission, with
proper scientific aid, would be more likely to ar-
rive at sound and definite conclusions. The ques-
tion is really of too much importance to
be slurred over, or put aside, and demands a full
inquiry and immediate attention. The waste of
water is to be regretted, the danger of floodings are
Ito be feared, while the costly and inefficient system
1 of navigation is prejudicial alike to the interests of
the Commissioners and the community. Mr.
MALINs said, with justice, that it would be a dis-
grace to allow this important water highway to fall
into decay, and there is no doubt that the unequal
rating of the locks and their bad state of repair has
something to do with the falling off of navigation.
Either a low county rate should be adopted, as
Colonel KNOX suggested, or the Government should
advance the money to put the locks and weirs into
proper repair, buy out the old owners, and impose
a uniform rate. The county rate would be so small,
and the advantages of the river to the counties
through which it flows are so great, that that would
perhaps be the best and fairest way of settling the
difficulty. At any rate we hope that the hon.
members who represent the interests of those coun-
ties will take care that the matter is not left in
abeyance, but that before the session is over some
active steps may be taken towards the protection of
old Father Thames.

Cardinal Wiseman's Successor.

-~s

The following paragraph appears in the 7imes of
this morning :—" A reliable correspondent, who
has recently received direct information from a
well-informed source at Rome, writes that it is there
reported that the present Bishop of Clifton, the
Hon. William Joseph Hugh Clifford, D.D., will be
immediately appointed Roman Catholic Archbishop
of Westminster in place of the late Cardinal Wise-
man ; that the Hon. George Talbot, D.D., Domestic
Chamberlain to His Holiness the Pope, who will,
notwithstanding remain in Rome, will be created
cardinal (it being held to be desirable that at least
one Englishman receives this dignity), and that the
Right Rev. Monsignor Manning, D.D., will be
nominated Bishop of Clifton, with legatine powers,
so that he will rank, after Dr. Clifford, first of the
English Roman Catholic bishops. The Very Rev.
Canon O'Neal, of St. John's-wood, will, in the
place of Dr. Manning, fill the office of Roman
Catholic Provost of Westminster. Such arrange-
ments must, it is believed, give great satisfaction to
all the various schools and parties in the Anglo-
Roman communion."