The Sun.
London, England, 1840-10-30 00:00:00

TREATMENT OF LUNATICS.

A report cf the Cammittee of the Visiting Justices
of the Henwell County Lunatic Asylum, with the spe-
cial report of Dr. Canelly appended to it, was brought
up and laid before the Court.
Same conversation then took place about a suicide that
had occurred in the institution, in the course of which the
Rev. Mr. TRIMMER s.lid he was of cpinion that
the present system at Hanwell was calculated to effect
more mischief than it was likely to do good. It had
been stated, when they proposed to abolish restraints
that suicide would be more prevalent among the patients,
and it has turned out to be the fact. It was not long
since a man, who had been discharged cured, imme-
diately afterwards destroyed himself. Mr. Trianuer
proceeded to censure various parts of the prevalent sys-
tem, and amongst other things adverted to the case of
Fanny Ayton, who was discharged from the Asylum a
short time ago, and in his opinion she was no more fit
to be set at liberty than the worst maniac. He had
seen her in the Asylum for many years, and he saw by
the newspapers that she was placed out at service by
means of the Adelaide Fund. And how did she show
her cure ? Why, she heated a poker, and threatened
to run it through the heart of a man—and, suiting the
action to the word, she nearly committed serious mis-
chief. He did not wish to cast unnecessary pain upon
the Visiting Justices, but he was desirous that the Lu-
natic Asylum should be restored to that excellent con-
dition that it was in when it was under the superintend-
ence of Sir %V. Ellis. . . .

Mr. TULK said the present system pursued by their
excellent medical superintendent, Dr. Conolly, was
merely carrying out in an extended form the plans of
Sir Wm. Ellis. With regard to the case of Fanny
Ayton, the Rev. Magistrate must have read the news-
papers strangely indeed, when he says that she sud-
denly seized a poker. The fact was, that she got
drunk, and they knew that in cases of drunkenness
those things would happen without reference to a party
hating been in an asylum or not.
Mr. GIBBON said that ho sincerely regretted to be
ohliged to Ob.. plaj.vs- 41r.va. - lives Megi.ermtes
darkness of w hat took plum io. Coo County- Asylum.
The patients, be had been informed, were locked up for
months together in dark rooms, and this Court never
heard anything about it ; indeed, he believed the resi-
dent physician was ignorant of it.—(Hear.) At the
same time he did not relieve him from blame, but it
arose perhaps from a want of energy, arising out of the
miserable state of health he was in. lie (Mr. Gibbon)
did complain that the Court was nut fairly treated. He
should not be considered desirous of putting an end to
the present system, as he believed the superintendent
was a most humane and talented man ; but he felt that
many facts were hidden from this Court—and, upon an
investigation being entered into, circumstances would
transpire that would startle the members of it.
Mr. HEISSELTON wished to ask a question in justice
to himself. He desired to know if it was true that the
Visiting Justices intended to discharge one of the As-
sistant-Surgeons of the Institution, and if they had ad-
vertised for a successor ?

Mr. Tut; said it was in contemplation to have a dis-
pensary, with a gentleman on a reduced salary ; but,
owing to Dr. Conolly's continued illness, it had been
thought advisable to defer the alteration for the present.
The CHAIRMAN said, that Dr. Conolly had been
violently attacked with rheumatic fever, and Sir James
Clark, who attended him, did his utmost to prevail
upon Dr. Gollob), to have a second medical assistant
at the Asylum, or his hea!th would break down. Find-
ing this to be Sir James Clark's opinion, he (the
Chairman) certainly used his influence with Dr. Co-
nolly to endeavour to get him to consent to a second
medical man being elected.
Mr. SERGEANT ADAMS said the system Low esta-
blished was as superior to that of Sir William Ellis's as
the sun is to derkness. Since be had been a Visiting
Magistrate he had been on the Continent, and had had
an opportunity of comparing the Hanwell Lunatic Asy-
lum with similar institutions, and he could fearlessly as-
sert that the system adopted in asylums in France,
where restraints were abolished, was superior to that of
the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum. He was bound to say
that Dr. Conolly's system was far superior to that of Sir
William Ellis's. The Learned Gentleman, after some
further obssrvations, referred to several instances of pau-
pers eating their own excrescences in the night, and said
that instead of Dr. Conolly coercing them, he humanely
and philo.rophically suggested that a large piece of bread
should be placed by the bedside, which was done, and
snce then no case of the kind had occurred. He had
conversed with several eminent surgeons, who had ob-
served that if the Magistrates failed at Harmed in carry-
(g out the new system, they would rivet chains upon
the unfortunate pauper lunatics throughout the country
for 20 years to come. He had seen a man with his
elbows fastened to his side, and his hands brought up
together in front of his breast ; and that was called a
mild restraint. In another place he had seen three
young women lying on boards with iron rings fastened
to them, through which their arms and legs passed, and
that he was told was a mild restraint.—(Hear.) He
also saw a man whose legs were manacled, and who said
he had been in that state for ten years.—(Cries of
' Shame.") They told him it was necessary, because
he was raving mad, and h id bitten off the nose of some
young man. In another asylum he saw a man who had
ben chained four and a half years in the same room for
striking his keeper, and his door was not left open.
Sir C. Fonens B.ild it would be but fair to other
asylums if the Learned Sergeant named those places.
Mr. Sergeant Aneets continued—He had Go objec-
tion to do so. It was in the Isle of Wight and at
Maidstone. The Learned Gentlemen then detailed a
number of other cruelties which were practised under
the name of " mild restraints," and said that in Sir
William Ellis's time there were forty coercion chairs
in the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum, which he was happy
to say had been broken up, and now formed part of
the flooring of the carpenter's, shop.—(Hear, hear.)
Ila did not mean to say they were employed
by Sir William Ellis, nor did he intend to biome that
gentleman, for Dr. Conolly was now carrying out
what Sir William Ellis began. Mr. Sergeant. Adams
then referred to letters he had received from Montrose,s
Leicester, and Gloucester. In the two former Asy-
lums they had abandoned restraints, and in the latter
there were but two cases. The change was represented
by the medical officers to have been attended with the
most beneficial results; and the Learned Gentleman said,
that as Middlesex had taken the lead in prison disci-
pline, he also trusted that the Metropolitan Institution
for County Lunatics would be looked up to as an ex-
ample to others.—(Hear.) He thought they should
give Dr. Con* a fair trial, and not listen to the re-
marks and insinuations of subordinate officers.
After Mr. Laurie, Mr. Roche, Mr. Wilks, and Sir
James Williams, had severally spoken, it was arranged
that the reports be received, forthwith printed, and cir-
culated among the Magistrates, previous to further con-1
sideration.
The psesent number in the
,House of Correction ape
. .ee Vaitiee Je:ersee ei,
0,4
viz. : males, 68.5 ; ternale.is! and 18 children.
The report of the Visiting Justices' of the New Pri.