The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-28 00:00:00

THE HAYDOCK-LODGE LUNATIC

ASYLUM.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SOW.

Sra,—You will greatly oblige me by allowing; me to
correct an error which appears in the newspapers, in
the reports of the speech which I addressed to the House
of Commons yesterday. I attribute no blame to the
gentlemen who wrote those reports. In addressing so
few Members as were present on that occasion, during
so long a period it is difficult to sustain the voice at a
pitch which will enable the speaker to be heard in the
galleries. In the absence of a large audience the neces-
sary stimulus for loud speaking is wanting. The error
to which I allude refers to the relative positions of Mr.
Coode and Mr. Mott, as they have been described in
their own statements before the Poor-law Commission-
ers and the Lunacy Commissioners respectively—state-
ments quite distinct, and made at different times and
places. My information on the subject was derived
from two official documents: first, the minute of the
Poor-law Commissioners, dated June 13th; secondly,
the report of the Commissioners of Lunacy, dated
July 23d.
(Extract from the Minute of the Poor-law Commission.

ers, June 13, 1846.)

" It appeared from Mr. Coode's explanation that his
legal interest in the establishment is only that of a land-
lord; but, inasmuch as he stated that the actual lessee
(in whose name the license is taken out) is a person
nearly connected with him by blood, the Commissioners
thought that the arrangement was, on the whole, not
compatible with his office of assistant-secretary."
(Extract from the Report of the Commissioners in

Lunacy.)
EXAMINATION OF MR. MOTT, ON THE 15TH OF
JULY, 1846.
"Mr. Mott, the Superintendent of the asylum, was
also afterwards summoned to attend the Commissioners
in London, with the view, chiefly, of their ascertaining
what portion of his time and attention was devoted to
objects unconnected with the asylum. Mr. Mott attended
before the Commissioners on the 15th of July instant,
and, in answer to their interrogatories, informed them
that he had been appointed, in the month of October,
1845, auditor of certain poor-law unions, and commenced
his duties regularly at the end of March last, and that
finding the labours involved in his appointment were
inconsistent with his duty as Superintendent of the
Haydock Lodge Asylum, he bad resigned the latter
office in favour of Mr. Whelan (formerly steward of
the Hanwell Asylum), and that he should continue to
exercise the duties of Superintendent of Haydock Lodge
only until the license of that house could be legally
transferred into Mr. Whelan's name."

These papers must speak for themselves.
I have the honour to be, Sir, your very obedient see•
vent, THOMAS WAKLEY.

33, Bedford•square, Aug. 27, 1846.

TRIAL OF • JOSEPH HENRI FOR
THE ATTEMPT ON THE LIFE OF LOUIS
PHILIPPE.
PARIS, AUG. 25.—The trial of Henri having been fixed
for Tuesday, 25th inst., the preparations were made in
the Chamber of Peers, which had constituted itself into
a court of justice. The excitement in Paris was very
trifling, and the tribunes in the Chamber were but mode-
rately filled with spectators. At a quarter past twelve
o'clock the Peers took their seats, and their names were
called over by one of the secretaries. The same arrange-
ments were made as during the trial of Pierre Lecomte
on the 4th and sth of June last.
.the prisoner Henri is a pale, short man, fifty-one
years of age. His forehead recedes considerably, and
his nose is large and projecting. He wore spectacles,
and was dressed in black. His appearance resembled
that of a respectable mechanic in his Sunday attire. His
demeanour, on taking his seat, was perfectly composed,
and when questioned by the Chancelier Due Pasquier,
he replied with calmness and in a loud tone, and whilst
the act of accusation was read he paid great attention.
The act, after giving the details of the attempt (which
have already appeared in our columns) urged that Henri
was in full possession of his faculties, and was as sane
as he had been during the thirty years he had been in
business as a maker of fancy articles in steel. He was
interrogated at length by the Chancellor, and replied
without reservation to all the questions, stating that he
" he fired at the King in consequence of the great mis-
fortunes he had suffered. For six years he had medi-
tated suicide; and unable to kill himself, he had tried
some means by which he should be killed. He made up
his mind to fire on some distinguished person, but did
not mean to kill, only to touch (que je touche), to bit,
and, when be fired he said to himself, Fire—touch or
not touch, it will be all the same.' " No one knew his
intentions but himself. He premeditated the two
shots. His pistols were charged with slugs in each,
the powder being rammed down with a strong wad
of white paper. Had intended to fire on the lit of
July, when he mounted guard in the Legion (7th) to
which he belonged, and took his pistols with him, but
afterwards delayed it, being unwilling to throw a stain
on his company, and from respect for the National
Guard ; then resolved to fire on the King on July 29,
and did so. He stated, with much emphasis, that though
he had worked hard and never done the least wrong, yet
he was unsuccessful in business, in debt, and miserable ;
and he thought of this attempt as the best way to get
rid of his life, which was a burthen to him. And as he
could not kill himself, he resolved that men should kill
him. He had foreseen all, and had not failed in his
desire. He did not wish to live longer, but to be de-
stroyed (aneunti). This portion of his statement he
made with excitement and gesticulation, and he conti-
nued for nearly an hour to explain his motives, and all
he had suffered for six years. About two o'clock, when
he seemed exhausted, a basin of broth was brought to
him, which he drank eagerly, his hands shaking very
much. He then took a pinch of snuff with much gusto, and
again replied to the questions of the Procureur-General,
Hebert, with the same readiness he had displayed towards
the Chancellor ; bat when the Procureur used the word
" kill," he said, " You always use the word kill, (taw),
I meant only to fire at (tirer sur) some great person-
age." The Procureur-General then read to him some
extracts from a manuscript found at his abode, and
which was entitled "Premeditation "and which extended
to 220 closely-written pages, as well as other papers, all
of which formed a thick " blue book" when in type. In
these works there were such passages as " When a man
is determined to leave this life, the plan is to fire at some
great personage, end kill him, or be killed." The Pro-
cureur pressed him closely on these words, and his ex-
planation was by no means clear ; but he persisted in
saying he meant to hit or wound, but not to kill. Other
passages, quoted by M. Hebert, he combatted by saying
he had changed his views since he wrote some of those
passages.
The Marquis de Boissy then remarking that the ac-
cused seemed fatigued, proposed a short adjournment,
which took place for half an hour. At three o'clock the
interrogatory was resumed, and at half-past three the ex-
amination of the witnesses commenced, and continued
when the express left Paris.
It is expected that the trial will conclude to-morrow.

REGISTRATION OF THE CITY OF LONDON.—Tho final
address and advice of the council of the Anti-Corn-law League
to attend to the forthcoming registration has been promptly
responded to in the City of London. the labours of the
League in this department and locality having been secured
and continued by a few of its local and most patriotic friends
ere there was time to arrange any new association for this
purpose; and great seems to have been the need, if we may
judge from the results; since, in spite of the ascertained
numericalinferiority of the Tory interest on the existing
register, which we have good authority for stating to be up-
wards of 2,000, they seem determined to contest the battle
field in the Registration Court with more zeal than ever,
inspirited perhaps by the dissolution of the League, the con-
dition of parties being such that with vigilance of the
Tory agency, and with abeyance of that of the Reformers,
the City might possibly be secured in their favour.
The number of notices of objections which have been
posted on both sides, but especially on the part of
the Tories, considerably exceeds that of any former occa-
sion, and in the course of Monday and Tuesday (the
two last days for serving such notices) there was
posted by the Reformers close upon 1,800 objections, house-
hold and livery, and on the part of the Tories nearly 4,009.
The disparity of these numbers shows most strongly the
peremptory necessity of energy on the part of the Reformers,
not only if they wish to secure the vantage-ground they at
present possess, but if they would save the great commercial
citadel of the world from being carried by assault. The fluctu-
ating character of the constituency of the city of London is
seen by the present state of the lists of the household voters,
there being 1,665 of the names on the existing register
omitted from the new lists, being upwards of 13 per cent. on
the whole. The total number of names on the new list of
household voters is 14,258, of which 3,364 are new names,
being nearly 231/2 per cent. of the gross number, but which
number will, of course, be considerably reduced on the
bearing of the objections. The Reformers have likewise
made upwards of 300 claims to be registered.
EXTRAORDINARY S ITICIDE.— WO :inf., lay considerable
sensation was cccasioned at Clapham, in consequence of a
young man named Reynolds, assistant to Mr. Powis,, a sur-
geon, committing suicide by taking prussic acid. The cir-
cumstance excited more than usual interest, from the fact of
the deceased, who was the son of parents of humble circum-
stances, having been taken out of the streets by Mr. Powis,
and educated by that gentleman. The deceased, who was in
his 18th year, and generally of a cheerful disposition, was
left by his master in the surgery about three o'clock on
Tuesday afternoon to prepare some medicine, and, on his
return, in a short time afterwards, Mr. Powis found him
lying on the floor dead, with a bottle conta.ining some prussic
acid lying by his side. Several letters were found in his
pocket, one from a servant
girl to whom he bad been paying
his addresses, requesting him to think no more of her • as also
letters to his father and mother, and master. In her;
of
which he speaks of taking poison. He had also sent a letter
to the young woman alluded to; all of them are rhapsodical,
and exhibited a decided alienation of mind. Information of
the circumstance his been forwarded to Mr. Higgs, the co-
roner for the district.
THE LATE ACCIDENT ON THE BRIGHTON AND
HASTINGS RAILWAY.—FLIRTHER PARTICULARS.--The gen-
tleman who had his leg fractured turns out to be a clergy-
man, the Rev. Mr. Brown, of Tonbridge, who at present is in
possession* of 42, Marina, Hastings, with his family. There
were in the train two medical gentlemen—viz., Mr. Wotton,
of kiterov-square, London, and Dr. Hamilton. With these
gentlemen's assistance the limb was set, and he was con-
veyed to Hastings by a special train in the evening, and is
doing well. The stoker is in a very bad state. The engine-
driver, to whose negligence the accident is attributed, has
absconded, and has not since been heard of. There were
about forty passengers in the train.
-
T RE PRICE OF LuxuntEs.—R has become a subject
of considerable complaint that the price of the aristocratic
amusement of knocking down a London policeman has
latterly being quoted as high as hi., a sum which, considering
the ordinary quality of the article assaulted, is generally
thought to be very exorbitant. The extravagance of the
price is the more striking when compared with the much
more reasonable rate at which the same sort of amusement
may be had in the provinces. We find, from a police case at
Devonliort, that the sentries on duty there may be knocked
down fo,, Is. each—that being the fine imposed oa some one
who treat. td himself to a little pugilistic pastime. We have
no doubt t bat they might be knocked down all round for
sorhething h mss, as there is always "a reduction on taking a
quantity." Perhaps, however, the liberal principle of
charging a si. vie sentry at the wholesale price, may be
adopted oy the Vagistratee.—Punch.