The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-01 00:00:00

COMMISSION OF LUNACY.

Yesterday morning a Commission of Lunacy was
°pond at the Sun Hotel, Dednom, near Colchester,
before William Sparliog, Samuel Watticy, and W. W.
Francis, Esquires, Commissioners of Lunacy, to inquire
into the state of mind of Philip Constantine Bolton
Hitch, Esq., and, if insane, from what period. The
Jury was composed of the most influential freeholders,
ineludimt several Magistrates of the county of E3sex.
Mr. STARLING, who presided as Chief Commissioner,
addressed the Jury at considerable length, fully explain-
ing zbeir duties.
Mr. Singers, who appeared on behalf of the Rev.
• Wortham Hiteli, and others of the finally, at
le,'!use instance tile Commission was issued, said that the
present proceedings had been instituted for the personal
protection of the unfortunate young geniteman, and also
.of property, and not from any hostile feeling to-
wards him on the part of his family. He was about
twee ty-seven years of age. and had been at school nearly
the whole of his life, but had learned nothing ; he had
scarcely the capacity of a child. He (Mr. Singers)
would produce evidence to show that Mr. Hitch had
bean 4f an imbecile mind from the earliest period of
his life.

The Rev. J. W. Hitch stated that his brother had
not been in a right state of mind from his infancy. _

Henry Horatio Bidwell, surgeon, deposed that
although Mr. Hitch was twenty-seven years of aze, his
intellect was not equal to that of a child ten years old.
Mr. Corder Platter said he was master of the Eng-
lish school in Dedham. Mr. Hitch, the alleged lunatic,
had been with him for eighteen years. He is not able
to count coppers up to is.

.. -
The Jury, after a short consultation, returned the
following verdict :—" We find that Mr. Philip Constan-
tine Bolton Hitch is of unsound mind, and incompetent
to manage his affairs, and has heenLso from the 26th of
November, 1837.

WEST SURREY ELECTION.—The election of
a Member A Parliament for this division of the county took
place yesterday, at Guildford ; and, there being no other can-
didate in the field, John Trotter, &q., of Epsom, who started
in the Conservative interest, was proposed and seconded, and
declared to be duly elected.

Y`v
THE NORTH WESTERN BOUNDARY.---it
may suffice to state, as the result of the labours assigned to the
Commissioners, that they have satisfactorily ascertained by a
strict investigation of the face of the country, by an industrious
perusal and comparison of charters, treaties, transfers of ter-
ritory, and other historical records, the absolute and indisputable
conformity between the intent and spirit of the treaty of 1783,
and the demarcation of territory originally contended for by
Great Britain ; that no portion of the " disputed " districts ever
could, under the authority of that Treaty, or with any colour
of justice, have been claimed by the United States ; that the
award of the King of Holland, which transferred to the Re-
public about three-fifths of the " disputed territory," was
founded on erroneous data, and on entire igLoranee of
the filets which have been subsequently developed; that
the award of that Sovereign if accepted by the part es,
could nsever have been executed under any circum-
stances, the structure of the country interposing thereto
physical and irremoveable obstacles ; that, so far from the
smallest fractßin of the disputed territory falling within the
line of the Uoited States, a rigorous construction of some
authoritative documents would actually prove a just title on the
part of England to a portion of what has heretofore been re-
garded as part of the State of Maine itself ; and that, in fine,
the conclusions upon which certain "official agents of the re-
public have rested the American case, instead of being the
legitimate results of practical investigation, are unsubstantial
inventions brought forward in the absence of all real investiga-
tion, conveying erroneous ideas of the nature of the country,
and calcolated to mislead not only their own authorities, but
public opinion in the United States and in Europe as to the
merits of the question."-- Timm.