The Sun.
London, England, 1838-09-04 00:00:00

CHARGES OF LUNACY.

TO TILE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
" To tame the proud, the fetter'd slave to free,
These are imperial arts, and worthy thee."—Vißci. JEN.
ESTEEMED SIR-In consequence of your forcible remarks in
your valuable paper of last evening, I deem it right, for the
sake of the general question, to state most explicitly and with-
out any qualification or reservation, that I know nothing what.
ever of Mr. Paternoster, whose case you have so affectingly
referred to. Love to my fellow beings, and a disinterested li
desire to benefit and protect all, have alone brought me into 1
the field on this subject; and I shall not be deterred by a con-
sideration of the novelty (and probably to many uninteresting
stature) of my undertaking, but will proceed under a convic-
tion of the duty I, as an individual member of society, have to
discharge to others. To be mindful only of my own imme-
diate perceived interests, and regardless of injuries inflicted on
others, never has been, and cannot be, my feelings. Those
persons who act upon such a principle are not entitled to the
benefits of society—they are the enemies of it, and however
unconscious they may be of results, hare in many things to
'experience them. All abuses and wrongs should be judiciously
sand effectually corrected without delay; but are the persons
directly affected in all or most instances in circumstances to
•!lieelt or remove the evils? Are they (I ask worthy members
of society) to be left to bear and struggle for themselves, and
no disinterested persons to interfere? Such a state of things
will not do for human beings dwelling together upon the IM-
PLIED CONTRACT of mutual sympathy and assistance in all
.great matters of right. I do
not refer to any new doctrine
Wien I advance this, but take the established and general
riainion of the rise and good cf all parties. What but this,
Hcn an exalted scale, impelled the much-to-be-revered
Howard to endure and persevere to the loss of his life? and
what is philanthropy itself (which every person would wish to
iiie thought possessed of) but ACTING as well as feeling for
tithers? There must be action to a reasonable extent to con-
pstitute this. Here I seem to arrive at the subject under our
articular attention at present, for I will press the question
hone. Is a person when charged (CHARGED it must be called)
with icaanity to be dealt with more summarily and capriciously
than the -Trettest criminal; and no persons effectually inter-
fere? Cour ..s_tuartial have been considered bad tribunals—
the Inquisition in Spain hellish—the Bastile in France a
sfel feelings of some in the form of human
Proof of the vrreter.
ft to complain only of those things 1
eings—yet are we le
-sretence must not be overlooked,
Oppression under any I
should not be per,
evasion of the constitut.'mal law
1, deliberate, and just inves-
tigation
nutted '
chicanery of any persons
in any instance ; but a mi.
(unprejudiced by sophistry o''
ef peculiar views and ,'lmuld be had, and, as in
pec;diar interests)
critnind cases, the BENEFIT OF DOUBT shonld be given to the
Person charged. Calmness is indispensab!4! to all judicial
I_ll.,cl,uirY and judgment and in a case of this na,aire it is espe-
`,',Pri!3:. so. All the circumstances, habits, prejudie,9s, and pecu-
'l2:aabi les of the person charged, with the character and pro-
t. e motives of the person making the charge,
WWI should be cau-
y ascertained and weighed, and every safe allowance made

ii favour of the person charged. If, after proceeding thus
with caution, becoming the magnitude of the question, a Jury
of intelligent men, influenced by general evidence, seen AS
WOULD BE RECEIVED IN OTHER CASES (and who have not al-
lowed themselves to be misled by any mad doctor's business
representations), on their oaths, find a person unfit to be at
large, then the restraint of the person and the associations he
is introduced to, as well as the duration of the confinement,
should be of a nature to alleviate, and not aggravate suffer-
ing. It cannot be conducive to mental, any more than bad
prison discipline is to moral improvement, to mix, irrespective
of character and state; and a Jury who would find a person
unfit for society, at the time would not wish that person kept
locked up for life in the mixed society just referred to, when,
by proper treatment and, examination as to state, at the end
of a month or two the per Son night be perfectly fit for society
again. Here I cannot avoid remarking on the natural work_
ings of INTERESTS—even in mad-house keepers, their doctors
and servants, respectable as they may otherwise be (whether
of public establishments or private, as all must feel that a
SOUNDING NUMBER of patients is no bad thing for a public
servant)—their facilities to exercise their interests to the full
extent in their CLOSED establishments, and the pitiable situa-
tion of their patients—then, to complete the misery of the poor
patients, when they do truly tell their friends (if they have
any who visit them) of the doings in such a prison—their very
friends are taught not to believe them, and the patients are
consequently left to the cruel mercy of their irrespon-
sable keepers. I have some recollection of a case where
a Court directed a person so confined to be brought
up to be examined, but the mad-house people adopted
a scheme to evade ' even the power of the invaluable
HABEAS CORPUS ACT; they alleged that the person was too
dangerous to be taken ! I will look out the case—courts
should teach mad-house people to obey in respect to alleged
lunatics in the same form as other prison-keepers; but as it was
not a crime, but an affliction, the person was charged with, a
different feeling seems to have been cherished.
I will not now adduce cases in proof of the foregoing (which
you shall have hereafter) but give my opinion that no person
should be confined except upon hearing before, and by order
of two or more magistrates (when time is an object), in the
first instance, and afterwards under the verdict of a sort of
coroner's jury. That mad-houses should be frequently visited
by a jury, without previous notice, to see what persons are fit
for liberation, and what changes in the establishments, or the
officers, are expedient. That the officers be induced by pro-
per means to keep Ole places free from unfit objects—to hasten
by attention and mild means the restoration to health, and re-
moval home of those who at one time were proper objects.
That all able and conscientious members of the medical profes-
sion be solicited to suggest freely to the public what they con-
sider to be lunacy, and anything calculated to lessen the num-
ber of lunatics, to restore them to health, or to alleviate their
sufferings.
The admissions of a " mad-doctor," at his own house, to
me, on one occasion, when I was with him on quite a different
subject, but for information interrogated the doctor, would (if
published), show how much is done by off-handed conjecture,
bow much by following statements of kin, and how little
through professional application to science. The men of ster-
ling principle and talent in the profession should exert them-
selves in preventing conduct which must to some extent lower
the professional character. Many respectable persons may
have a dislike to act in cases of alleged lunacy, but they really
should see that all their professional brethren who practice in
it, act with tolerable propriety.

The INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS TAKEN FROM THE PUBLIC PURSE,
and expended some how on Lunatic Asylums, and the number
of persons who therein (chewing the CARE of the keepers)
have destroyed themselves, shall have my attention at a
future time.

I am, esteemed Sir, your's respectfully.
HUMANITY.

A CHURCH-RATE REFUSED IN THE

EPISCOPAL CITY OF DURHAM.

It will be in the recollection of most of our readers that an
abortive attempt was made last year by the churchwardens of
the parish of Saint Nicholas, in this " Cathedral-crowned
City," to induce a meeting of the parishioners to grant a
church-rate. After the meeting had determined to take the
subject into consideration " on that day twelve months," the
churchwardens, taking advantage of a pretended informality in
the mode of convening it, called a second, at which the propo-
sition for a rate was renewed. The opponents of the rate at..
tended in a body, and after protesting against the proceeding,
withdrew from the meeting without voting on the question. A
rate was then voted by the Church party, which was after-
wards confirmed by the Ordinary, and a collection was made
under it. Several persons, however, refused to pay ; but no
proceedings were taken against them to enforce a demand
which was undoubtedly illegal, and which the churchwardens
themselves evidently deemed it impossible to sustain in a
Court of law. This was mortifying enough ; but it was only
the precursor of a heavier and more decisive blow.
The churchwardens for the current year came into office
about the latter end of last month ; and on Sunday sennight
they published a notice, appointing a meeting of the parishion-
ers to be held in the vestry-room, on Monday last, for the pur-
pose of making a new rate and passing the accounts of the out-
going churchwardens. The meeting took place accordingly,
and was very numerously attended, the small vestry-room being
crowded to the melting point. Mr. Telfair, one of the late
churchwardens, took the chair. Several items of the expendi-
ture—such as the washing of the parson's surplice, the salary
of the organist, the allowance to the pew-opener, &c., were
objected to by Mr. Gowland and others, who termed them
" abuses," and a list of them was made with a view to their
being discussed at the conclusion of the audit. It finally ap-
peared that a balance of nearly 15i. remained in the hands of
the old churchwardens. independently of the deficit in the col-
lection already referred to.
A debt of upwards of 40/. is still due to Mr. John Thwaitee,
proprietor of the City Tavern; beinc, part of a larger sum
advanced by him on the security of the promissory note of the
churchwarden for the time being, for the purpose of repairing
the belfry of the church three years ago. It may be remem-
bered that the individuals who last year objected to the rate
then proposed, expressed their willingness to withdraw their
opposition to it, provided the churchwardens would pledge
themselves to liquidate Mr. Thwaites's claim out of the pro-
ceeds. That proposition was declined. At the meeting on
Monday last, when the question arose what was to be done
with the surplus in the hands of the churchwardens, Mr.
Dodgson proposed that it should be paid over to Mr. Thwaites,
in part satisfaction of his claim, which was seconded by Mr.
J. H. Veitch. It was then proposed by Mr. Gowland that
the balance should be paid to the present churchwardens.
Mr. Telfair, in the course of the conversation that ensued,
accused Mr. Veitch of desiring to keep the money out of the
hands of the new churchwardens, and after succeeding in get-
ing it transferred to Mr. Thwaites, to leave them without a
rate. Mr. Veitch candidly acknowledged that such was his
object ; and said he did not so much mean to complain of the
appropriation of the money as to the system of Church-
rates altogether, which he conceived to be one of the
grossest of all abuses. Eventually Mr. Veitch called
upon the Chairman to put Mr. Dodgson's motion to the
meeting ; and after some controversy as to the terms in
which it was submitted, the question was put in the
words repeated by Mr. Veitch, and a great majority of the
persons in the vestry-room held up their hands in its favour.
At this period Mr. John Tiplady, Solicitor, proposed that
a Church-rate should be granted. The heat of the room had
be-eome insupportable ; and there being many persons outside
who W.?re unable to obtain admission, an adjournment into the
body of the ^Burch was proposed and agreed t. 4. When the
resumed, Mr. Tiplady proposed a rate of 3d.
proceedings we;`'
in the pound (which ;"
ould have produced 601. ), which was se-
conded, nobody kno4s by 7lioni. Mr. Veitch contended that
the sum which would be predui:."d by a rate of this, or of
any smaller amount, was uncalled for; as the Churchwardens
would possess funds, derived from Chunit' property, to the
extent of nearly 301., which must be amply sL'ilicient for all
necessary purposes. On this, Mr. Gowland moved that the
meeting be adjourned for twelve months ; which was seconded
by Mr. Webster, and on being put as an amendment an Mr.
Tiplady'; motion, was carried by more than three to one, wile
Tories voting in the majority 1 Mr. Veitch then called upon
the Chairman to declare that the proposed adjournment had
been carried by a decisive majority, and a resolution having
been entered on the Vestry Minute-book to that effect, the
meeting broke up. Consequently no Church-rate was ob-
tained for the passing year; and we venture to predict that in
this parish there never will be another.—Durham Cheonicle.