The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-22 00:00:00

(LEFT SPEAKING.)

THE INTENDED NEW LUNATIC
ASYLUM AT BIRMINGHAM.
The asylum is intended for 300 patients, 150 of each
sex ; being completely separated. The principal and
most novel feature in the plans for the asylum is an in-
spection passage, which, from the entrance, traverses the
whole extent of the main wings, and communicates with
the end of each gallery or ward for patients, so making a
ready complete means of inspection and channel of com-
munication between every part of the building—that ap-
proaches to the patients, the governor and matron's resi-
dences, the kitchen, and washing departments,;the chapel,
and, in fact, to every part of the house. From the inspec-
tion of the passage, before mentioned, the galleries or
wards (each for one class of patients), branch off at right
angles, each gallery being complete in itself, with its
own day-room, airing courts, sleeping rooms, bath, store,
and attenda9t's lodging room. Each gallery being for
one class of patients, noisy, expileptic, &c., as the case
may be, and having no communication with any other
gallery except by means of the inspection passages, the
disturbances which often occur in asylums, and which is
detrimental to the patients, will be prevented, and those
who may become violent or noisy, may be readily re-
moved to their proper department. Separate sleeping
rooms have been provided in the proportion of one-third
of the total accommodation, and in the associated sleep-
ing rooms the number of beds will vary from three to
nine. The air will be warmed before admission into the
different rooms, by means of a steam apparatus, and ar•
rangements are made for an effectual method iummer
ventilation. Open fire-places are provided in the rooms
where the patients sit, and this experience has proved
to be very conducive to the comfort of the unfortunate
inmates of an asylum for lunatics. Appropriate resi-
dences for the medical superintendant and the matron
have been provided, together with a room for
magistrates' meeting, the necessary office, and a hall
for recreation, in which it is proposed to have meetings of
the patients for music, singing, or other such amusements
as may seem proper. The chapel is so placed as to be
conveniently approached from both the males' and
females' departments. Workshops have also been pro-
vided to permit of the employment, in their own trades,
of such of the patients as may be in a fit state of health,
and many others can be employ ed in the grounds.
Every arrangement has been made to provide for the
constant occupation of the patient, to preventing that
fatal brooding over their painful state, to which many
persons of unsound mind are particularly subject. The
building will be in the Elizabethian style, of plain cha-
racter ; the materials will be brick, with stone dressing
to the door and windows, and quoin stones at the angles
of the entrance buildings, which will be approached by
a drive, and are raised on a terrace. The tout ensemble
will be at once cheerful, neat, and substantial, ana the
building will be an ornament to the town.—Birmingham
Herald.

PRICES OF POULTRY, GAME, AND WILD FOWL AT
PARIS ON THE 17TH INST.—Chickens, 3 francs 10 sous to
5 frans 10 sous each ; geese, 5f 108. to 7f. 15s. ; ducks, `2f. to
3f. each; wild ducks, 3f. 10s. to 4f. a couple; red partridges,
4f. 10s. to sf. 10s. the brace; grey partridges, 3f. 10s. to
4f. 10s.; woodcocks, 4f. to sf. 10s. the brace; hares, 3f. 10s.
to .sf. 10s. each; wild rabbits, lf. 10s. to lf. 12s. each;
Nantes chickens, 2f. ss. to 2f. 15s. each; pheasants, 16f.,
17f., and 18f the brace.
We read in a letter from E4ribos (Greece), of the
25th'uit.:—" There is in the whole of Greece only one guil-
lotine. Wherever an executiou is to take place, therefore,
the guillotine must be taken to the place. For some time past
this instrument had been stationary at Athens, as there were
a great many brigands to decapitate who had been taken in
the environs. Tne guillotine is now making the tour of the
provinces, and is at this moment at Egribos, where it has
just served to cut off the heads of eleven persons, one of them
a priest, who were condemned to death some time ago for
piracy. Although a great portion of our population do not
regard piracy as a crime, and have a profound veneration for
priests in genera!, whatever their private conduct may be,
there was no manifestation at the place of execution in favour
of the curiosity. The number of persons present to witness
the execution was about 12,000."

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, Jan. 21.
OPENING THE PORTS.

On the motion of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, the House
went into Committee, to consider the propriety of tem-
porarily suspending the laws relating to the importation
of corn ; Mr. GREENE in the chair.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said—Mr. Greene, so favour-
able a feeling was shown by the House on Tuesday
night to urge adopting the motion I am about to make,
that I will not trouble the House with any lengthened
detail upon the subject. I will, however, state, as well
as I am able, what has heretofore been, and what is now
the general prospect of the country with regard to a sup-
ply of food, and the reasons why I propose to advise the
House to suspend the corn-laws. The same reasons may
be urged with equal force for suspending the navigation
laws, the two subjects being closely connected together;
and immediately after Mr. Speaker resumes the chair it
is my intention to propose that the House do
resolve itself into a Committee of the whole
House to enable me to move the suspension
of those laws. With the permission of the Committee, I
will now proceed to state what were the results of the
last harvest. Upon the termination of the harvest state-
ments were made that the crop, with regard to corn, would
be considerably below the average, while the produce in
barley and oats in parts of England was very deficient.
But the greatest calamity with w hich we have been
visited was the failure of the potato crop, which has
been most considerable in extent in Scotland.
It has been stated to have extended to three-
fourths of the whole crop, but the exact amount
cannot be correctly ascertained, yet I have no doubt
in
saying that it has extended to considerably more than
half of the whole produce of that country. Of course,
Sir, this great and general failure of the potato crop has
had a material influence upon the prices of food. It was
impossible not to expect that the prices of corn required
for consumption in Ireland would be materially affected
by this failure of the potato crop. But, on the other
hand, there was, in the course of last year, a very large
importation of foreign corn, and of corn and flour
from the British dominions. The amount alto-
gether so imported appears, by a return which will
slim-fly be in the possession of Honourable Mem-
bers, to amount to the large quantity of 4,800,000
quarters. This is a very large supply, but it did
not for some time come into consumption, notwithstand-
ing the reduction of the duty to 4s. on the passing of
the corn-law. It was for this reason that there
was not;,, a very considerable rise in prices