The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-26 00:00:00

the natural reward of his wretched work. Yet the mine, and
the railway, and the harvest field of Englard show that
there are motives which can incite him to strenuous labour.
Why not try upon this singular people, whom English Go-
vernments have hitherto found so wayward, and English
employers so docile, the virtue of a system which, whatever
be its faults, has the one uniform result, wherever it has been
established, of inspiring men with a spirit of indefatigable
industry? Now 'that an extraordinary emergency authorizes
and necessitates a great refurm, and when the existence of
extensive improvable and long-neglected wastes present the
in,lautetsn,
ce why h
to
o Laoruul dp
onot t
hteh ed
aasseido occasion
obcei a taken
lsystem t bring o
of
a Ireland n e w?
There is but one obstacle in the way of so great a good. That
obstacle is—the Irish landlords.

CAMBERWELL-HOUSE LUNATIC

ASYLUM.

In consequence of the want of room and proper accommo-
dation for lunatics in the workhouses of the metropolis, and
throughout the country generally, the above establishment,
standing upon ten acres of ground, tastefully fitted up, was
licensed and opened about twelve months since, for the recep-
tion of pauper lunatics, for whom the several parishes_ pay so
much per week for their keep, clothing, &c. The asylum is
built for 300 patients, male and female, and there are already
270 within its walls, under the care of Mr. J. 11. Paul, the
resident medical superintendent, and Mr.J. F. Reece, resident
surgeon, exclusive of Dr. Dickson, the visiting physician.
The system of treatment is quite opposed to that severe
restraint to which lunatics were formerly subjected, and
which, instead of abating, aggravated, and often confirmed
permanently, the fearful malady of its sufferers. In Camber-
well-House, mildness, kind treatment, generous living, and
the abolition, as much as possible, of all personal
or bodily restraint, are the means adopted, and
most successfully, to compose and Booth its
afflicted patients, and to restore reason to its throne.
During the day the patients are allowed to roam at
pleasure, under the supervision of well-disciplined keepers,
throughout the extensive grounds, and when fatigued from
exercise, or if they wish it, they have large spacious halls,
to which they may retire and enjoy themselves as their
whims suggest. In the men's day-room there is a large
billiard-table, and in the women's room a bagatelle-board,
with which they amuse themselves. Besides which there is
a library well stocked with general and popular literature,
and the several newspapers, but from the latter the slightest
allusion to suicide is cut out, lest it might suggest the idea
of self-destruction. Once a week, during the last few months,
the patients have had a dance, in which the males and fe-
males joined, one of their companions playing the violin,
which he does remarkably well. The dance is invariably
conducted in the presence of the medical officers, or of Mr.
Gibson, the steward. This amusement had such beneficial
effects upon the inmates, that the heads of the asylum re-
solved to give them a public ball and supper, which they did
on Thursday last. On that occasion the gentry of the neigh-
bourhood were invited to attend. The hall in which the ball
came off was most tastefully festooned with flags, banners,
artificial flowers, &c. At one end, and over the orchestra, was a
likeness of her Majesty, with a tastefully decorated crown
suspended above, and encircled with a scroll inscribed with
the words, " Long may she live." The floor was hand-
somely chalked by the patients, who described upon it the
royal arms, those of the Prince of Wales surmounted by the
plume of feathers, and several other national devices.
Shortly after seven o'clock the ball-room was opened to
visitors, and at half-past seven the inmates, male and female,
headed by the medical officers, and accompanied by their
keepers, entered the room, and, having taken their seats,
the musicians commenced playing the most enlivening airs,
which afforded great delight to, the patients, who evinced
their pleasure by their gestures and their beating time to the
music with their feet. The visitors and patients then par-
too{r of coffee together. The latter were not only ex-
ceedingly. mild in their demeanour, but joined with the
greatest earnestness in the general conversation of the
evening ; and this, although there were amongst them
men and women who were the most violent when
they first entered the asylum, and some, who had
even several times attempted suicide. Coffee over,
the dance commenced, in which the medical gen-
tlemen and their ladies, and the visitors, had, as their
partners, the patients. The correctness with which the in-
mates went through the several figures, and the mazes of
the dance, was truly extraordinary. Having indulged in
the amusement to a very late hour, supper was served up
to the visitors and the patients, who, having done ample
justice to the good things provided for them, the latter re-
tired to their apartments, highly delighted with the plea-
sures in which they had participated, and with countenances
beaming with gratitude to those who so kindly afforded
them an opportunity of enjoying themselves. The visitors
were astonished at the pleasing spectacle which they had
witnessed, and expressed an ardent wish that they would
soon again enjoy a similar exhibition. Dr. Dickson and Mr.
Paul assured them that they would, as they were fully con-
vinced that nothing was so eminently calculated to restore
their afflicted patients to their senses and society, than
such indulgences and relaxations. What a contrast to the
bolts, the bars, the chains, and corporal punishment which
were formerly resorted to, for the purpose of frightening
(that must have been the object), insanity out of lunatics,
although bitter and melancholy experience proved that such
an iron-and-chain sytem had quite the opposite effect.—
_Dispatch.