The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-01 00:00:00

/1-4 04 *
EVENING Ei)fri.,.

,teerelidire.lB2s. and sacrifice the public interests by
acts of great indiscretion, with a view to their' own.
aggrandisement.
But if all this be true of private banks, what shall
we ray of that monster of modern creation, yclept
JOINT-STOCK BANKING'CoMPANIES.--Frivate bank-
ing, as compared with this, is " Hyperion to a Satyr"—an
angel of-light to one of darkness. Instead of a responsibi-
lity concentrated in the entire fortunes of two, three,
or four individuals, whose everything is at stake, and
which of necessity engenders the very conduct I have
ascribed to the private heelers, we have here a divi-
sion of responsibility which renders anything of the
kind perfectly impracticable. Mr. Leath= has
given us a list of the trades, professions, or
quality 'of the shareholders of a joint-eteck bank
in the county of York, which is a very curious
document, and deserving of notice. At the head
stand 23 ladies—a very novel position, it must be con-
fessed. What they can know of banking, or in what
manner their interest would be exercised in the appoint-
ment of directors, &c., to manage their concerns, it
would be difficult to guess ; but in the event of the fail-
ure of the bank I would beg to inquire what would be
the condition of that unfortunate wight who would have
to sue these 23 fair dames—he really could do nothing, ' (MONDAY EVENING.)
say fleshing:, but—retire ladies—pray retire! Next TIVIES • h
.—The demand for money, which general
come 23smanufacturers, and these no doubt become in the early part of the day, but more especially in the Fe-
partners in order to make use of the common fund in reign Stock Alarket, it being the settlement of the half-
the discount of their own bills ; whether they did so or monthly account, with the fall produced by the debates in
not, or whether they became Directors, and helped the French Chambers in the Rentes, caused the English
themselves in any other way, we shall presently see. funds to assume u heavy appearance, in which condition
Then folow 13 clerks and agents, and a very fair spe- they closed. There was not much business done either
culation, gentlemen, it is on your part, to become share- in the fended or unfunded securities.
holders in order to secure a good situation ; then we The Foreign Stocks showed symptoms of decline soon
have six lawyers, all, of course, having a sharp eye to after the commencement of business, but subsequently
business, and these 65 do actually form more than rallied, and advanced above the first quotations of the day.
one-third of the shareholders of this precious concern. With respect to the adjustment of the account, money
The others are described thus :-90 out of business,
twhai.s,taithtthwehheena,thetraMnasrk:.t
ncslowsede, nodtwithstaading
18 farmers, 11 maltsters, 8 grocers, 4 surgeons, 4 drug- A " balance-sheet" of the affairs of the "g United States"
gists, 4 publicans, and the rest are sinners of every class Bank has been published, but is so little better than those
and kind, on which our friend inquires "if it is by thew of the same kind which have preceded it, as not to be
the private banker is to come to his end," and then very worth printing. Of what are termed " assets" the greater
naturally exclaims, " Ohl that I may fall by less ig- part are of very doubtful value, and to include under that
noble hands,"—from all which it would appear that he i head the value of the unexpired term of the charter is an
is of the same opinion as the barber iri " Nickleby," i absurdity. A very different account must be prepared
who, in answer to the application of a coalbeaver, in- before the deputation from Philadelphia can hope to sue-
sisted on the necessity of drawing a line somewhere, I coed in negotiating the loan which is said to have brought
and not shaving any one below a baker at his shop, them to England.
A complaint has arisen among the brokers and others
So much for the Shareholders—then come the Three-
connected with the coffee trade that they are called upon
tors ; and in this department there is a good deal of re- to pay duty upon the landing weight instead of the actual
fmement, which it is somewhat difficult for the unini- or re-weight, and as the Customs authorities possess no
tiered to understand. We have Honorary Directors, discretionary power which would in any way remedy the
Extraordinary Directors, Ordinary Directors, Managing evil, the trade have thought it right to lay the subject be-
Directors, which may be thus explained. At bead- I fore the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Board of
quarters the Managing Director does sometimes call ; Trade. To do this effectually and with the full
the Ordinary ones together to consult on whet is concurrence of the trade, a meeting was held at the
L
proper to be done, but at the branches never. London Commercial Sale. rooms this morning, at
which were present many of its leading members.
there reigns lord paramount. The Extraor-
between the iiiinowitrihke...s.weeniezi_c-Lte.lacproacoctueadlingosr thatro
dinary Directors 'are called into action vritch
there happens to be what is vulgarly called a screw loose,
weight very serious loss accrued; and in a case cited it-
that is to say when the Ordinary ones have gone some- was stated that, -in the taking out of dock 300 bags of
what out of their depth, and the Honorary betel), if coffee there was allecreaee of 3081 b., whilst in only one
they happen to be Shareholders, which is very seldom instance was there an caress, and that of not more than
the case, are summoned to the Council only once in the llb. The resolutions adopted were to the effect, that the
history ea' the. concern, and,then _merely to receive the continuance of the iiracticc had been hurtful to the trade
information, .that "if they wish -to- save their bircon, and restricted busfiye'ss, and further, that it was contrary to
they moat come down- with the -dust." the general tenotti-of the bonding laws to charge duty on
Within the-last few weeks',- I have had the pleasure wastage goods. A deputation was appointed to obtain
of meeting with 'a highly-intelligent and respected sgen• ' an interview with 'the Chancellor of the Exchequer on
tleman, who has been for some time past a Director in a I the question. .The feeling at the meeting was unani-
.clearly demon-
that he had never been calledeon to meet his colleagues,
branch bank of one of these concerns. He assured me mous' and the injustice. of the grievance so
aerated, t
cr. that it cathot fail to meet attention in the proper
nor did he know or believe that they had ever met. He guar.
had never been consulted—never seen the inside of a
hook belonging to the concern; and knew nothing what-
ever about it, or in. what manner it was conducted.
The Managing Director went periodically to head-
quarters, settled his accounts, and 'was made acquainted
with all the secrets of the prison-house ; but no tale
did lie unfold on his return, and never, to his knowledge,
had the Directors any direction in the matter. When
asked how the concern had prospered, his answer was,
" Why we- have paid up something more than, hati
million of money, and lost one-third of it." I congra-
tulated him on the lac': of their having any thing left,
for why, with such a management, they should' escape
the fate of some others, I was at a loss to imagine, the
necessary consequences resulting from such a system
being a management the most wreckless and frauthilent
that ever disgraced the money transactions of this or
any other country. Are proofs of this assertion wanting ?
Look at the Northern and Central, who lost 700,0001.,
and their Directors were found to have been specu-
lating in Railway Mares, and were the largest debtors
of the concern. Another, the Imperial Bank, advanced
to one Lancashire firm 270,0001., and having sacrificed
all its subscribed capital in bad debts, then failed, and
the Shareholders were found to be of so low a class
as to be unable to make up the loss to the public,
and unworthy of even a place in the Gazette.
Four of these banks proved under the bankruptcy
of Ilindes and Derham for 100,0001., one of theta
being for 38,0001., or within 2,0001. of their entire paid
up capital. Many other cases equally flagrant might
be quoted ; but to crown all a firm at Stockport, and
another in' Manchester, failed in 1839, and owed their
joint-stock banker& 606,000/. ! ! ! Well may it be asked,
" If these are the men to whom the Crown deputes the
privilege of coining for the realm ?" It is true, friend,
that this power has been deputed to them ; but out of
evil comes good, and I shall be much mistaken if their
days are not already numbered; and that but few re-
main thereof; for they have been weighed in the ba-
lance of public experience, and most grievously have
they been found to be wanting.
We now come to the remedy for this state of things.
Mr. Leathern proposes a variety of regulations for
Joint-stock Banking Companies, many of which I per-
fectly agree in, and should be happy to see them car-
ried into effect ; but they do not touch the cause
of the evil, and it would be like prescribing for
a pain in the finger, when a fatal disease reigns in
the heart, or training a noxious, plant in a comely shape,
whilst at the same time, the very principle of its exist-
ence is putting in danger all around it. We want a
circulating medium, secured like the property in the
savings' hanks, which has 'no ingredient that a panic
can lay hold upon, and which, under all and every cir-
cumstance of the country, may gain with its growth,
and expand and contract, not at the caprice of indivi-
duals, or their promises to pay, but in the exact pro-
portion of the Investment of real property, and of no-
thing else.
My plan for effecting this object is as follows :—Let
a Commission be appointed to take security from all
bankers issuing promissory notes for their payment.
This security should consist of either Exchequer Bills
or Consols, and the interest on these to
be received by the depositor, and in return
for this the Commissioner should cause a
stamp to be affixed to the banker's notes, certifying to
the public that Government held security for its pay-
ment. This arrangement would not alter the present
position of the parties, nor depriie the banker of the
use of his funds in the slightest degree, for at present
the public conclude that the banker has his assets
either in his own coffers or in exchequer bills, consols,
or some available security ; and the only difference
would be, that, instead of these being in his own coffers,
they would be for the future in the hands of Govern-
ment, and be would he restricted in his issues of paper
to the amount of his security, instead of being able, as at
present, to overstep this and to inundate at
his pleasure the public, ad nauseant.
The paper thus secured, I would make a legal ten-
der, as the Bank of England notes arc at present, and
at the same time enlarge the metallic base of our cur-
rency, by making silver a legal tender to the extent of
201. In these we should have two .powerful auxiliaries
to take off any demand for gold.among ourselves, specu-
lation would be restrained within reasonable hounds,
prefitsonelegitienete,teedin. inereapedrand
gt,'""L: •-•
dium could arise.
Neither could it be said to inflict any hardship on the

HONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS,

CHRONICLE.—The balance-sheet of the United
States Bank, published by us this morning, has been a
subject of very gthieral discussion among our moneyed and
commercial men. -A considerable allowance is of course
made by them for depreciation in the two principal items
comprehended in the assets—bills discounted and stocks.
Whether the latter hive been continued in the bank's
books at the cost price, or whether they are taken, from
time to time, ta the market value of the day, we are nimble
to say. It is, hoicever, satisfactory to know that, in the
bills discounted account, such reservations have been made
for bad and doubtful bills as are usually made by bankers.

SUN...The Funds were less buoyant to•day, influenced
partly by the fall in.thu Bourse at Paris, and partly by
that temporary cessation of business which usually suc-
ceeds an advance in prices. Consols for immediate
transfer have realised 90 to 904 ; and for the next ac-
count, or the 15th of January, the day appointed for the
re-opening of the transfer books, 901 to 901. The
market closed et about the intermediate quotations,
with very little doing. Exchequer Bills ranged from
45. to Gs, premium'; and India Bonds from 10s. to 15s,
discount ; Bank Stock was depressed to 1584 and 159} ;
and East India Stock from 2431 to 242 i. Tbe New
Three-and-a-Half per Cents. realized 99 to 999 ; the
Reduced Thrce!•and.a.:lialf per Cents. 971- to 98 ; and
the Three per Cent. Annuities 89td 89, Money on
stock is now worth about 4 per cent. per annum, which
shows the recent pressure to have been much alleviated.
The transactions in 'the Foreign Market have been
to .h fair extent, though .chiefly in Spanish and Portu-
guese Bonds ; the former • did not range higher than
231.0 4, while *latter was marked 354 to 354. Chi-
lian Bonds were at 58 to 59 ; Brazilian at 72 to 724 ;
Colombian at 251 to ; Mexican at 30 to s ; and
Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents. at 524 to 52.
The Share Market has been brisker to-day, and gene-
rally the principal lines in which business bee been
trantacted have improved in value. The more current
quotations have been for the Great Western 24 ; the
New 104 ; the Fifths .5 ; the South Western 1.5 i ;
and the Birmingham 78 prem. The Brighton 10,1 ;
the Blackwall 34 ; the Bristol and Exeter 241 ; the
Birmingham and Gloucester 25 ; the New North Mid-
land 2 ; the Cheltenham and Great Western 36 ; the
Croydon 1 i ; and the Birmingham and Derby 26 dis.
Union Bank of Australia shares were at 9.;! premium.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

•

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
( From the Chronicle.)
It is not our intention to enter on a defence of the pre-
sent Government of Spain, or to pronounce between the
various parties in that country, though it might not be
difficult to show that-great injustice has been done in the
Times of yesterday,,to the Juntas and td Espartcro, in an
article in which a very distorted view is taken of the va-
rious events in the Peninsula since 1836. Neither shall
we attempt to vindicate Ministers for mixing themselves
up with the extreme party in Spain. The Government of
this country owed-.it to the people of Spain to use its best
endeavours to put an end to the war excited by Don
Carlos, by which Spain has so long been desolated. But
it has never elaimed,a right to regulate the internal Govern..
scent of the country, or to mix itself up with political par-
ties. " England," says the Times, " has gradually allied
itself more and more to the extreme party in Spain. The
juntas have been encouraged ; even Yspartero has been
honoured and avowed." \You'd the Times have had the
13ritish Government to refuse to avow and to ally itself
with the men in .power, and who are in power because
they possess the confidence of the Spanish nation ? The
Government of this country are not called on to pronounce
between the different parties in Spain. The
would be
their opinions and their sympathies, but they may
have
ey
were they
assuming a right to which they have no claim,
to tell Espartero and the party withiB3i which he is con.
( , been going on
nceted--You have, . ever since
from bad to worse, and in drivingri,ril Christina out of
Spin have cbeioached or. t1,.,-
you that we ts. cf the monarchy,
and we frankly LAI
wee cwaialltohadvreivenoytohuin
do with you, but shall
hdaovewliat
power. The Frenea from to
dic-
tation in Spain, and have d been all along assuming a ,
strung disapprobation of all drawn down on themselves the
liberal Spaniards, for the bad
counsel they have give Christina. If the French Govern-
ment really wishes well to Spain, it will abstain, from
wounding the self-love
offensive claims
to of the people of that country, by
regulate its internal government, claims
utter itrceon •
_ , cilef,Ve
i Pith national inde endencr. Spain,
' ~.1 lb: • 14,4,, ,1 .. ,;f ~.,: ~t., , a,l‘,.
1 ti:, o ' 1 - ' ..!
i ~,, r.".,,,,k. v.i_t ~1,,,iL., lebeht 11.1 y itedlincllt VVIIICh 1111-
1 plies that it is viewed as a mere appendage of France.
' There has been but too much talk lately of protectorates.

~, ~ ..

i

(From the Morning Pose.) t ath
It is the duty of the public Journals to give ~ _
J iLii t
aders as full a report as they can of the debut,
.ench Chamber upon the Syrian Question; but Re mu
ut 'ln:,
nfess that in our opinion this discussion iN• all b
he pef
iligible to English understanding. What with t
v---tf,
lual departures from the main points in controvers.
cusations, the recriminations, the strange eselamf itions
id the sudden totsings up into the air of hits of ab. ;tr4.
ntiment—what with the peculiar phrases and ailus kr;
id the sectional views of a Chamber divided into (-et. r-tr

left centre, right centre, left extreme, and Vght extre' a,
we do profess that the whole thing" -passes pi air
banking interests. We have invested eight hundred 1
) English comprehension. It remands us
millions in a ,national debt, which is rapidly becoming . w-hat Chris to.
pher North described political economy 'tc viz., . s :
little better than a charity box in whicit are deposited
contributions -in trust for the poor, the needy, toe i But. confusion of ideas—the formality 'of noneens 5.'
, though it be impossible, in our opieion, Sc
n w the course of this discussion with' an:lhi* lihe e
cisidow, and the orphan, and for those that cry aloud, f"
° on inuous view of what the people' c.rigavn. in . 51
and flare none to help them. We have spent more ;i•ktyla,rldc. bet at, we yet may draw, with tolerable 'C(I t`ii‘ t lOf
than one ' hundred millions in reeking railroads, and beinith in the right, TAO er three broad and.genewil , ‘O.,- ex-
given twenty millions for the emancipation of the slave ; , sions. It the first place it is, we think. evident es that
and would it not tic an .insult that would be instantly hardly' any one who speaks in the French Ch'ember f 'Nuke
thrown back in. our teeth, were we to suggest a doubt kith fr.an'sness. It they do not state what is' not .1. 'u=• -
that 1,179 bankers of the United Kingelorn would find which we ,Fhould be sorry to say of them generally- thti. -
anyhdiflleul ty, or consider it any hardship to find seen- say only a' part of shat is true. though bearing dirt 1,....'
rity on those conditions for the paltry sum of ten Mil.; upon the matter before them. Each man is acting a i t.
lions, the amount of their present circulation. for himself. It is not as in our House of Comte( .s:
?lacing where one set of men rhea e strong prnjudiees en • x
'And iinal:y—Oagbt the public to submit to
side, e, tend another set on amsther, and men fight s' In
tim whole circulation of the country under one bank of .
milder to she fon the errors of tl k
issue ; most decidedly not—we want no Stute bank to 1 ''
Y' s • - French
. ,rty ; but in the Clrtiblr, each " C r;
make it a political engine—we want•no internieddiing ~, ~ seems to think that for the time being t'-.
of the Government in our money matters farther than eye,' of the whole world are turned on kin) alone, /Inc', he
to be stake-holders of the security—we want no one cams forth his own peculiar pearls for thin world's ao.nir ..
, go ti'vzssp:as%et.iate.af.o
ree wholly
need deelestairtnu
etesso
tf
oticiaotlkhcoriveegte,;;;,,it.Y hEff,,ia)..,...**
..,
bank of issue to cramp that freedom of action which is lion -the result being a perfect hash, or radio- olla podsic., -!-
essential to the health of any system, and the Hank of
man tells' just so much of what he krows as wii! tell w,
England first taking credit for its debt due from the
Government, and its stock of bullion from time to time,
ought to be placed on the same footing as all other banks, fe.r himsei i,- and keeps the rest under a cloud. Souls all':
i',l,lllZOt are verhaps exceptions.ri
.Tplioecinaoset ldt:,:stlia,roattsblilachtihlloiiirr,_ . 4."
There is no deiiht the circulation of' the Bank would he , too well the' Witirtest road to
self with - finesse,\And M.. Guizsot.
materially affected by the change, but then the trade
phical morality weltiela sets him abotPe the ;(;;ItionP of ..,,- trt
of the country would no longer be bandied about be-
tween those conflicting interests, as ,it is at present, actor. Next, we mays conclude, that of all the Enio, . .:
nor the land convulsed from one extremity to the other and wriggling creeturookewhielt issued out of ,th evil:- '
by the failure 'of country banks—the mismanagement refuse of wrelied revoliztion in France, M.. a
of joint-stock companies, or the frequent application of is the one which most deserves to he erushe , under
the screw (as it is called) of the Batik of England. the stamp of honest John Bull's indignant` foot.. Hip
speeches in the Chamber show that he is embned v.'s; l.? al,
A sound state of currency, like ' the vital air we
the bad and
hateful quaLaies of thO source from tehie. a b,
breathe, is essential to our commercial existence, acrd .
, I springs. Extravagant 'in his views—unuriacipled ii,-. tc
anytbine short of that is a licence for the aommission
the means by which they are to be attained—ain'oit'n. '-',
of fraud. Take'air-itY froth 'it the 'eleirierr:A. of :mistrust s- -- e . -
without travery—eager without enthusiasm, he would en e '
and dishonesty, and you will relieve the country of an etreavent nations by auch means as a-small attorney mig.'at
incubus, which, at present weighs down its best ever- , use to get the better of a gang of swindlers, whom he 01
gies, you will restore the most perfect harmony of ac- i wady to joie or to punish according to circumstances.
zion to its_hest interests, and give vitality and strength who would any one have thought of such a person a.
to all its amazing industry ; And if a cloud of doubt or Fetiche, aping the views of empire possessed by heir
of difficulty should-then press against the horizon of master .ICfsapoleon ? Such a man is M. Thiess. As far
England's prosperity; which no human prudence could as Eng7arni is concerned he has been baffled, an?
either foresee or prevent, we might have a Well-founded
hveir to Franca,
ef"w aI.
that *he may be despised; but ire is a serion
hope to say with the poet—
evil there it seems te he still bas iefiu-
Think'st thou, fond sanguine man, enee. That he shn;ild have any, after all .the mortification
That yonder glorious orb is quenched by thy breath ?
which his short-sighed folly has brouett upon France
To-morrow he repairs his golden flood,
within the last feet etherths, is a proof lesiev little the
And warms the nation with redoubled rays. • French have yet learned to look at facts- pNinly., and t
' 'A COMMERCIAL TRAVELLER. form a cool judgment upon- them. Next, use reedy se-
plainly "enougir from the avowals in she Chamber Nha: tht:
Manchester, Nov. 9.4, 1840,
real views of the French Government were under :le di.
e-
rrine preceding letters of this writer appeared in The rection of M. Thiers. The object unquestionably aas t
Sun of July 9th, 16th, 30th, and September 18th. Er- establish a new and a formidable Power in the Lever'
rata in letter of September 18th, in the ninth line froni under the influence and protection of France—a Pot.;
the beginning, instead of "15 per cent." read "a small having a considerable navy in constant exetcise, and in a
ft convenient situation to combine with that of France, ii-'per centage. ' - • . order that the two together might successfully cope with
the navy of England.
(From the Morning Herald.)
The speech of the Duke of Buckingham and Chanclos,
at the farmers' ordinary, at Aylesbury, will be read with
interest and satisfaction by all who delight to see the lin:
of kindly intercourse preserved unbroken between t.
, landlords of England and their industrious tenantry. -a-r.:
here see a landlord in the very highest rank of the no-
bility—a ware " Plantagenet"--sitting down', with the
farmers, at their market-dinner, in friendly mid familiar
intercourse, tied pleading with them in the eaL•nest and
eloquent language of the . heart on behalf of the laihouring
population, that portion of the people whom " Whire'Phi-•
losophers" would grind in the dust, and whom -I.7hiess,
aristocrats wolikal not allow to " come between the tr:nd
and their nobility." it is certain from what was stated est -
that dinner that there are a great many willing and'
able labourers unemployed. These are all, according to
Whig legislation unpitied objects for the application
of the penal test of destitution, with its degrad. ~
ing badges of pairperism and its semi-starvation diet.
Toe Duke ot' Buckingham wishing, as far as his own its
finance and example,extends, to prevent any application-o-
the principle of false economy to farm-labour, has writtet
to all his tenants to ascertain-how many labourers they err
ploy accordiag to the average,of their farms, arid when h
receives the rkturns lie will, no doubt, act upon the inform. •
ation which he obtains for the benefit of the humble he.
useful class of, men, in whose fate he takes so deep a
interest. Letjhe great Millewners "go and eo like
wise."
,But between that class of employers and the:
won kmen there exists in general no other feeling tha
that which exists between the worshippers-of were Mani
mon and the human " machines ", by which capital is pr
duccd. No kindly intercourse—no morel ti", binds th.
relation of the employers and employed. Mere are ex-
ceptions, but, like all exceptions, they peeve the genera;
rule. Many millownera are horrified by tin very notis•
of black slavery abroad, who practise tha'neorst sort
whi.s:.lu.sery at liorae ,Wojkste.hothepecies4,f,lavery—the.
black tied white. But' the latter nil} never 'he eradicate
until the teillowners take the same view of tl intereattro:
their workmen as such landlords as the Duke'krf Bucking-
ham take of the interests of the farming labor. Viers.
I
(From the Times.)
We anticipate much advantage to the pullie from the
discussion which has recently arisen in our ettalunaes and
elsewhere, as to the treatment of the insane in Aunatie asy-
lonig. The Learned and indefatigable Chaffisiataoof the
.Middlesex Sessions is entitled to the thanks of every one
who is capable of appreciating the importance sett the de-
fleecy of this subject, for the attention which he bas bee
stowed upon it. Every lover of humanity must wish ti
be persuaded that what is called the "coercive system"
may be safely and beneficially dispensed with : and when a
man so able, so judicious, so accustomed to weigh the
value of evidence, and withal so disinterested, as M. Ser-
geant Adams, comes, after a careful and deliberate inves-
tigation, to the conclusion that this revolting method
of treatment is not only unnecessary, but positively
mischievous—when, in so doing, be is supported
by high medical authorities, and appeals to_ the expe-
rience of the largest as)lum in the kingeom—i-
seems almost a supererogatory caution to withhold,
even for a moment, our assent. The subject; how-
ever, is one on which we would religiuusly abstain frote
anything which could be construed into a precipitate cx
pression of opiision. At present we shall only say, the,
every attempt which has been made to displace the state
meats made by the Learned Sergeant, at the recent meet-
ing of the Middlesex Magistrates, has tended, in our judass
ment, to establish their accuracy. Upon the whole, it
appears very plainly that even those who protest against
the total prohibition, under all circumstances whatever, of
physical restraint, abandon as incapable of defence the
whole system of wholesale coercion: and while they qua. -
lily the practice they recommend by the epithet mild, in
directly reprobate every treatment to which suei
a term cannot with propriety be applied. We truss
the same humane and disinterested zeal which has
prompted Mr. Sergeant Adams to take up athis sub-
ject will induce him to pursue his researches, and
collect as complete a body of facts as passible, fo -
the guidance of the public, the faculty; and (it
necessary) of the Legislature itself. There is another
and a kindred topic which we should be glad to see rescued
from the coarse and vulgar exaggeration of certain perio-
dical writers, and examined by some careful and unpreju-
diced mind, having access to good sources of information:
We allude to the facilities which the present due of the
law does undoubtedly afford for the improper conffhement ,
under pretence of lunacy, of individuals who are not veallc
lunatics. There is no profession in which the standard;
of honour, humanity, generosity, and every other virtue
is higher than in that of medicine ; but among alli'classes of
men there must be some individuals who are accessible to
base
twom nt ipvheys
s,
iaciiiadn
se,a pbaybtl
bee
inf:
mereims actionscer certificate,`
eay tc. d W enable
,
dep!fe 2
mita of personal liberty and all its.indidents, 'Without lac)
v ,
procCs3 of public investigation, argues an "indiscrim; •
pate and pverweeeing confidence, which . we are
sure the memb:Te of that high-minded profession would
not wish to have repOSed in them. It may be said, indeed.
-
that any flagrant case of :metession under this law would
by the Commissioner?
probably be discovered and reit/edict:s
of Lunatics within the limits of their superintendence, c.
by visiting magistrates elsewhere. We thine; otherwise.
Those who visit lunatic asylums go there (verY's;,'adearally
and reaeonably) under the impression that the inmates are
really insane, and are apt to recognize insanity in ever)
look, word, and gesture, of those whom they see therm_
We remember to have heard it said by an acute observer.
that upon emerging from an asylum into the public scree.
he fancied every countenance which he saw wore the pe-
culiar expression of madness ; doubtless because, when
within the walls, he had identified with mental disease the
common features of humanity. hiring also be remembered
that those who are really insane have oaten lucid intervals,
in which they complain of their confinement; so that the
fact of a man conversing rationally in the presence of an
occasional visitor would be a very precarious, ground, on
which to build the conclusion that he was improperly con-
fined. We fear, therefore, it must be taken as a. matter
of fact, that our present laws upon the subject of !Linsey
are much more capable of being perverted to ncfariou"
purposes than could be desired ; and if it be true that there
t
is a wide difference in the proportionate numberfo
profitable and of unprofitable lunatics, and that of
auwho.
are are possessed of property few in comparison
enoughle ' the thosecur cures o
after once entering it, if this be true, 't
it highly expe-
dient a jealous investigation, and to
make
be taken in the
dient that additional precautions should to chal-
a distinction in those
persons. The difficulty is to
inquisition
which the fin--
cases; for the same process ofeasily
bear might obvi-
ouslyfirst instance against the unnecessary confinement of such
tunes of wealthy lunaticsfor t would
he circumstances of the poor;
be too expensive
would render a most lin-
fraudulent deprivation of liberty,
to another.
ortant charity inaccessible .
p
and what might be necessary to protect one class from i
-the public
attaehMent to,
Tire i,
.S
n(oFfrlft trihigehAft,°ilnmanng aAbdleverarht.sicerie.,) strenuouilv
contends that though the deafening clamours in favour es'
minoonuthtsago streets,
car, arc
its principles is as strong and general as ever. Our Con-
temporary adds, that though the advocates of the Charter
Chartism,
no whieh
longer-heardfwelve
are less noisy now than before, they are still as zealously.
and actively engaged in the propagation of their principle'.
as they were at the time they produced such fearful:ap • t
prehenshans in the country. 13 Perhaps the statemeut of ou ' r
Centemporary is somewhat overcharged ; we
'l3§A,Spit'
,- ~..,, .., t!i, !-,L',1.,- ... .• . :lit:: area thd instifutiona o the,
country, that it is. Still we have reason to believe that a , ,
strong under-current of discontent runs through the minds -
of the working classes at this moment; and that they arc