The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-14 00:00:00

On Tuesday a commission, in the nature of a writ de
lunatico inquirendo. was opened before Mr. Commis-
sioner Barlow and a jury of freeholders of the connty of
Middlesex, at the Roebuck Tavern, Chiswick, for the
purpose of investigating the state of mind of Mr.
Feargus O'Connor, formerly M.P. for Nottingham, and
a leading Chartist agitator, but who since June last has
been an inmate of Dr. Tuke's lunatic asylum, Manor-
house, Turnham-green.
Mr. Pownall, chairman of the Middlesex bench of
magistrates, acted as foreman of the jury., Mr. Donald
Nicol, and several other gentlemen in the commission of
the peace, were upon the panel.
The commission was supported by Mr. Serjeant Shee,
instructed by Mr. Marshall Turner, of Lincoln's-inn-
fields ; Mr. Springall Thompson, of the equity bar,
instructed by Messrs. Powell and Thompson, of Ray-
mond-buildings, watched the proceedings for the alleged
lunatic.
Mr. Serjeant Shee opened the case in a perspicuous
address, tracing the unhappy subject of the inquiry from
his earliest entry into political life to the month of June
in last year, when his extraordinary conduct in the
House of Commons led to his being placed in the custody
of the Serjeant-at-Arms, by whom he was subsequently
transferred, on the petition of his sister, Miss O'Connor,
to the care of Dr. Tuke. The learned Serjeant said be
should call Dr. Tuke, and from him the jury would hear
that the character of Mr. O'Connor's mind had become
completely changed of late, and that instead of the strong
mind and vigorous intellect he once enjoyed, his mind
was now absolutely null, and his intellectual faculties
were completely prostrated. Although the recollection
of his past life and the political associations he had
formed enabled him now and then to talk of things long
since past, it was not possible to fix his attention upon
one subject for any period of time, and his reasoning
faculties were entirely gone. Mr. Ernest Jones, a gen-
tleman of his own profession, who had been on very
intimate terms with Mr. 'Connor, and whom he would
call before them, would state that in 1851 he observed a
great change in Mr. O'Connor's mind. He would tell
them that, whereas up to that time he had always been
observant 'of the courtesies of life and of a peculiarly
gentle turn of mind, after that period he was in the
habit of breaking out in indecent conversation and
exhibiting other eccentricities, clearly showing his mind
to be impaired. Since Mr. O'Connor had been under
Dr. Tuke's management, he had never been violent.
On the contrary, lie had shown the docility of a child.
This no doubt arose from the moral restraint which the
treatment of Dr. Tuke exercised over him. He believed
Mr. O'Connor was not even aware of the nature of the
present inquiry, although every pains had been taken
to make him acquainted with it. The jury would pro-
bably consider the most important piece of evidence the
interview which the learned commissioner promised they
should have with the party himself, and no doubt this
would tend most materially to enable them to come to a
correct decision. The result of the inquiry was most
important, inasmuch as the small remnant of Mr.
O'Connor's property--1,3001. or 1,4001.--might, with
proper care, be so disposed as to provide the unfortu-
nate gentleman with all necessary comforts for the re-
mainder of his days ; but if the protection of the Court
of Chancery were not thrown round him, there could be
very little doubt he would end his days in a workhouse.
The Commissioner here asked Dr. Tuke whether he
considered Mr. O'Connor could be safely allowed to be
present during the inquiry. If so, it would be desirable
he should be sent for at once.
Dr. Tuke feared his presence in that room would ex-
cite Mr. O'Connor overmuch. He would himself greatly
prefer that the jury should visit him in the' asylum.
The Commissioner said under the circumstances they
would certainly do so.
Mr. Ernest Jones was first called.—He said he was a
barrister, and since 1845 had been intimately acquainted
with Mr. Feargus O'Connor. From 1845 to 1848 wit-
ness considered his mind to have been of the most vi-
gorous character. Mr. O'Connor devoted himself to
political questions, and among his plans for the amelio-
ration of the working classes was a land scheme, which
fell into difficulties in 1849, and was brought before a
committee of the House of Commons by Sir Benjamin
Hall and other members. Witness had observed the
pre-occupation of Mr. O'Connor's mind by this scheme.
He never talked of anything else from its foundation
up to the year 1848, and he always spoke pf it in a
joyous manner. He said the money was coming' in
very rapidly, and he spoke of the great things he
intended to do when the scheme got into full work.
After the committee of the House of Commons had
been appointed to inquire into the scheme Mr. O'Con-
nor's mind became perfectly prostrate— his memory
failed—and in conversation he would tell the same story
over and over again. 'Before this period, in 1848, wit-
ness had observed a great change in Mr. O'Connor's
writings in his newspaper, the Northern Star. One
week he would recommend a particular course of action
on some particular question, and the next week, writing
on the same subject, he would lay down totally different
rules for the guidance of his readers. Mr. O'Connor
was on terms of intimacy with witness's family, and his
conduct when visiting them was always marked by strict
propriety. After 1849 witness had no opportunity of
judging of his conduct for two years, but last year he
was much struck with his change of manner. His con-
duct in society was then free and indelicate. and at
length became so bad that when he visited witness's
house Mrs. Jones and her children were compelled to
remain in privacy. About this time Mr. O'Connor
made several speeches in public in a very loose style of
oratory, occasionally interpolating them with highly in-
delicate anecdotes. At Halifax he spoke of the Queen
in a manner which proved him to be insane ; and at
other places, instead of keeping to the object of the
meetinc, at which he was speaking, he would burst out
in a violentb personal harangue and recount to his hearers
the number of honourable members whom he had knocked
down in the House of Commons. When visiting wit-
ness Mr. O'Connor would occasionally burst into a vio-
lent fit of laughter, and then into a flood of tears, with-
out the smallest perceptible reason for either. Occa-
sionally he would declaim on the ingratitude which he
said had been shown to him by those whom he had be-
friended, but never in a connected manner. He some-
times put his hand to his head and said, " Oh my head !"
and again he would roar like a wild animal for an hour
at a stretch. Witness had seen Mr. O'Connor three
times at Dr. Tuke's asylum. He recognised witness,
but had not the slightest knowledge of a gentleman who
accompanied' witness, and who was one of his oldest
friends, and had carried his election for Nottingham.
Witness considered Mr. O'Connor to be of unsound
mind.

Mr. Dougal M‘Gowan, printer, of Great Windmill-
street, was next called. He had been on terms of personal
intimacy with Mr. O'Connor, and had printed all his pub-
lications for some years past. Previously to 1846 he
had a powerful and vigorous intellect, and a strong
and retentive memory. In 1851 his memory failed al-
together, and he was quite unable to fix his mind on any
one thing. Witness was present before the Master in
Chancery when the affairs of the land scheme were being
wound up, and saw Mr. O'Connor there. His conduct was
perfectly ridiculous and that of a madman. The ac-
counts of those proceedings which appeared in The Sun
and other papers of that date were not at all exagger-
ated ; in fact, only the more prominent points were no-
ticed, and where Mr. O'Connor was stated to have
threatened to throw books at the Master's head, once
he had done so 20 times. Witness saw Mr. O'Connor
on Sunday last, and found him in a perfectly idiotic
state.

Mr. Jacob Bell, late M.P. for St. Albans, was next
examined.—Having made the usual affirmation, he said
he became acquainted with -Mr. O'Connor when he en-
tered the House of Commons in 1851. He had not known
him previously, nor had he any sympathy with him or his
opinions. His conduct was very free and familiar with
witness as soon as he entered the house ; in fact, alto-
gether different from that of other members. Witness
thought this singularity might arise from his being an
Irishman—(laughter)—and, believing him to be a good
sort of fellow, he tolerated him. Witness, however,
very soon found, from the strangeness of his manner in
the House of Commons, that his mind must be affected.
On entering the house he would shake hands with every
member who would allow him, from the bar of the Trea-
sury bench, calling each a " jolly good fellow," and gen-
erally seating himself among the leaders of the Opposi-
tion, facing the Prime Minister. Witness heard of Mr.
O'Connor's having been committed to prison for an as-
sault on the boxkeeper at the Lyceum Theatre, and be-
lieving that if he were treated as an ordinary prisoner a
great injustice would be done, he called on the Governor
of the House of Correction, rom whom he learnt that
the unfortunate gentleman had been placed in seclusion,
and apart from other prisoners. When Mr. O'Connor
returned to the House of Commons he had an alterca-
tion with Sir Benjamin Hall on the subject of the land
scheme, during which he struck the hon. baronet, who
claimed the protection of the house. The Speaker called
on Mr. O'Connor to apologise, but instead of doing so
he ran on in an incoherent strain about the land scheme,
and said he had been swindled and juggled by a number
of persons who would not pay their rents. On being
reminded that this was not making an apology, he
said, "If I must offer an apology, you are the best
"Speaker who ever sat in that chair." (Laughter.) Mr.
O'Connor was guilty of other extravagant acts of folly
about the same time ; and on one particular occasion,
when the house was in a state of intense excitement,
awaiting the explanation of Lord Palmerston as to the
grounds on which he had left the Ministry, the noble
viscount rising to speak, Mr. O'Connor, who was sitting
behind him, rose also, and patted him on the back in a
manner which had the most ludicrous effect on the
house. On the day after he had been called on to apolo-
gise by the Speaker, Mr, C'Connor insulted Mr. Becket
Denison in his place in. the house, and the consequence
was he was committed to the custody of the Serjeant-at-
Arms. Witness sugg, ested to the house that two medi-
cal men should be called in to examine into the state of
the unfortunate gent'keman's mind, and Dr. Tweedie and
Mr. Lawrence both saw him. They pronounced him
insane, and witness having reported the fact to the
house, he was releasod from custody on the petition of
his sister, who promised that he should not be allowed
his liberty during tl• me remainder of the session. Mr.
O'Connor had since remained with Dr. Tuke. Witness
had seen him frequ
.ently of late, and was decidedly of
opinion that he war
By the Commisp , I of unsound mind.
ioner—Mr. O'Connor was not aware
until a very recen
.t
period that he was under confine-
ment. He usua',ly addressed witness thus :—"You are
a capital fellow, Ben. ; I love you."
Dr. Tweedic proved having . been called in by Mr.
Bell to consrat wit' a Mr. Lawrence as to Mr. O'Connor's
state of mind. Ife first saw him on the 10th of June
l ast
'a-
year, and at. a second interview on the following day
came to the cot; elusion that he was of unsound mind,
and sired ce,,
dfiCate accordingly: Witness had visited
Mr. 0 Connor 'gime at Dr. Tuke's asylum, and con.

COMMISSION OF LUNACY ON MR. FEARGUS sidered the treatment he was under perfectly correct,
O'CONNOR. I though he entertained no hope of his recovery.
Cross-examined—The peculiar kind of mental disease
from which Mr. O'Connor was suffering was described
by writers as "moral insanity," involving a complete
perversion or change of character in the intellectual