The Sun.
London, England, 1848-10-12 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.

(Before Mr. Sergeant ADAMS, Assistant-Judge, and a
bench of Magistrate.)
Yesterday, Thomas Barker, a very respectably-dressed
young man, was indicted for having stolen a carpet-bag,
containing various articles of wearing apparel, of the
value of 31., the property of Thomas Waters.

. . -
Mr. Horry detended the prisoner.
It appeared that the prosecutor arrived in London on
the 28th ult. by the North-Western Railway, and took
up his quarters at the Drummond Coffee-house, near
Euston-square. In the course of the same day the pri-
soner paid a visit to the same establishment, and having
written, he took up the carpet-bag in question and
walked off with it. Ile was pursued, and ultimately
taken into custody.
Mr. HOBBY, in an address on behalf of the prisoner,
said that this was a most painful case. The prisoner
was extremely well connected, and had held situations
in several of the first houses in London, and amongst
others at the banking establishment of Messrs.
Twinings, in the Strand. During the last twelve months
hewever, the members of his family had entertained a
fear that he had become the subject of mental de-
rangement. In last July the prisoner was attacked by
small-pox; and, from that period until the present mo-
ment, he had exhibited demonstrations of insanity, to
such an extent as to induce his medical attendant to re-
commend that he should be placed in an asylum. Some
short time subsequently to this advice having been
given, it was suggested to his friends that he should be
sent upon a long sea-voyage; whereupon it was deter-
mined, as he had a brother who was settled at Sydney,
that he should be sent out to him. A passage-berth
was accordingly taken for him on board a vessel which
was announced to sail on the 30th ult., so that, had it
not been that this transaction had come to pass, the un-
fortunate man at the bar would have been on his out-
ward voyage at the present moment. On the morning
when this offence was said to have been committed, the
prisoner left his brother's house very lightly clad.
He was, moreover, labouring under the delusion that
he was about to be married to a young lady with
whom he was acquainted, and to whom he bad
written many letters upon the subject, some of which
he should feel it to be his duty to place before
the jury. As they had already heard, on the morn-
ing in question the prisoner had written another
letter at the coffee-house, which letter he should pre-
sently produce. It was, as the jury would at once sup-
pose, extremely painful for him to plead insanity as an
excuse for the offence which the prisoner had committed,
but under the circumstances he was compelled to adopt
that course. The question then became this, whether,
in the state of mind which he was in, the prisoner might
not when he took the bag have been under the delusion
that he was setting out on his journey, and bad thus
carried off the bag with the impression that it was ,his
own ?

Alfred Barker, the brother of the prisoner, said that a
more affectionate or a better conducted young man there
could not be, but during the last twelve months he had
greatly changed in his manners, and had manifested un-
usual irritability of disposition.
Mr. Pottle, the medical gentleman who had attended
the prisoner in his illness when attacked by the small-
pox, stated that since that period he had manifested
every symptom of mania.
The jury Acquitted the prisoner on the ground of in-
sanity.
It having been ascertained by the Court that the bro-
ther of the prisoner was unable to defray the expense
which would be consequent upon the latter being ;,placed
in an asylum,
The Learned JUDOE said that this was one of those
cases which showed the dreadful want which existed of
an asylum for the reception of 'lunatics who were one
or two degrees removed from pauperism. The know-
ledge he had himself :personally acquired of the want of
such an establishment had been the source of more pain
to his feelings than could be imagined. In his judicial
character many very pressing cases had occurred where
such an asylum would have conferred the greatest be-
nefit. Take the present case. Here was a young man
of respectable connexions, but who did not possess the
means of maintaining him in one of the existing asy-
lums; for his brother was probably in the receipt of a
salary not exceeding 1501. or 200/. a year, with a family
of four or five children to support. It was therefore im-
possible that such a mon could place the unfortunate
prisoner in an asylum, of which the cost would
at least be 50/. a year or more. If, therefore, same
institution, supported partly out of public funds, were in
existence, wherein persons of the station of life in which
the unhappy prisoner stood could be received, it would
be one of the greatest blessings that could be obtained.
Ho was aware of cases where the fathers of families were
often put in the most painful situation. In one instance
there was a man who was earning 255. or 303. a week,
and had five children, of whom one was an idiot. Well,
such a man was not able to pay 15s. or 203. a week for
the maintenance of that idiot in an asylum. That was
quite manifest. In numerous other cases he had re-
ceived letters, pr( ssing upon his notice the necessity of
such an asylum, from respectable tradespeople whose
wives were labouring under this lawful visitatiop. To
such persons it would be absolute ruin to send their
wives or children to one of the present asylums. It was
a lamentable fact that, notwithstanding this country
abounded with institutions of almost every
.descrip-
tion, yet there was not one which was applied to
these unhappy cases. There was, it was true, Bethlehem
Hospital, where there was a fund for incurable cases;
but at that establishment the patients were discharged
every year, for if that were not the rule, the place
would soon become an asylum. If all the cases which
had coma under his judicial notice were to be put into a
calendar, they would constitute such a list as would at
once prove how necessary it was that an institution of
this description should be founded. With respect to this
prisoner, he would give an order for his reception into
llanwell, inasmuch as it was very probable that he would
be restored to health in two or three months, when he
could be handed over to his brother for the purpose of
his being sent to Sydney.