The Sun.
London, England, 1838-08-30 00:00:00

INSANITY.

(From the Dumfries and Galloway Courier.)
Whether insanity was a disease of frequent occurrence
among our warlike ancestors in this portion of the empire, has
never yet, we believe been made a subject of serious inquiry.
But even if it had, we are not aware of any records from
which authentic information could possibly be obtained. We
are inclined to think that it was an infirmity seldom met with.
It is one of those drawbacks that most assuredly follow in the
train of civilization and mental improvement, and considering
that the Scottish people, for many centuriac, possessed little of
either, we may readily suppose they were not very grievously
afflicted with any of those " ills" that only polished life "is
heir to."

In all mountainous countries we find that congenital de-
formity of the cranium, and consequently an imperfect de-
velopment of the faculties of the mind, are, and ever have
been, of more frequent occurrence than they are in our cities
and plains ; hence the great number of idiots in all alpine
districts. This is a fact that has long been established, and,
however variously accounted for, admits of no dispute. We
find in all our histories and chronicles that every parish or
hamlet in Scotland had almost constantly one or two of these
imbecile, and (happily in most instances) harmless human
beings, who, indeed, were often considered more the property
of the whole parish than of their own families, and many of
whom have become celebrated on account of their remarkable
hut always very limited talents and sagacity. In general, they
were allowed to wander over the country, not only unmolested
but often most affectionately cared for; and yet, if they
showed a vicious disposition, or became what was considered
dangerous to the community, the law made no distinction, in
this country, between them and the most depraved criminals.
They were punished equally with other evil-doers. The im-
becile idiot and the cold-blooded murderer, were often sent
to the same prison and confined in the same dungeon ! When
the number and condition of the insane poor in Scotland was
for the first time seriously investigated, in the beginning
of the present century (and they are still alive who
began that investigation), it was found that the
number of persons in confinement in our county and
burgh gaols, as being considered
.furious or fatuous per-
sons, exceeded all previous calculation, and that many who had
been apprehended and incarcerated during a very temporary
paroxysm of insanity, and who had soon perfectly recovered
their senses, had remained as inmates of the prison for years ;
there being no friend to inquire after their health or care for
their liberation. More than thirty individuals were found in
prisons whose only crime was the misfortune of having been
born with a defective brain ; many had been in confinement
more than ten years, several twenty, and one or two nearly
forty, under, in most instances, the presumption that they were
dangerous idiots. There were several females who had been
committed under that pretence, and who, forgotten or neg-
lected for more than twenty years, had become a prey to the
bad designs of every villain whose multiplied crimes or aggra-
vated offences had sent them to the same prison ; some, it was
found, had become the mothers of more than one or two chil-
dren ; and even murder, it was suspected, might have been
added to the already proved and appalling catalogue of crimes
which, under the then--18041 I—existing system and state of
our laws, unfortunately prevailed.