The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-06 00:00:00

LON DON,

instance failed to discover the existence of the abuse,
and reported favourably of the asylum. These, and
many other instances of a similar nature, the society
are prepared to prove before a Parliamentary Com-
mittee, should such be granted. Again, in 1845 we
were in ignorance of the state of the law of lunacy in
other constitutional countries ; now we know that in
no constitutionally governed country, except England,
can a person be incarcerated as a lunatic without pre-
vious inquiry. In France, if any member of a family
is alleged to be of unsound mind, the juge de la paix
summons a council of six members of the family, over
which he presides in person, and if six members of the
family cannot be summoned, the judge fills up the
number by respectable inhabitants, of his own selec-
tion. This council, having heard the patient and the
evidence respecting his conduct, determine, accord-
ing to the merits of the case, whether he shall
be set at liberty, or deprived of the adminis-
tration of his property, or personally confined ;
and in the United States, upon the allegation that
any party is spend-thrift or insane, the chief men in
the town in which he is residing, either on the appli-
cation of the relatives, give notice to the alleged lu-
natic, and appoint a day for examining him and
confronting them together; or upon the information
of other parties, give notice to the relatives and to the
alleged lunatic, and summon them to appear before
them, and then proceed to examine into the case,
as is done in France. For these reasons we contend
that no legislation on this subject can be satisfactory
which is not based on previous inquiry before a Par-
liamentary Committee, and we therefore cordially con-
cur in the prayer of the petition of the members of the
Alleged Lunatics' Friend Society to the House of
Commons—
" That this society do therefore humbly pray that
your Honourable House will appoint a Committee to
inquire into the whole system of the seizure, confine-
ment, treatment, visitation, and undue detention of pa-
tients, confined in the lunatic asylums of these hingdoms,
with a view to placing the law upon sound foundations of
justice and humanity."

It is said that the Poor-law Boards throughout
Ireland are not disposed to follow in the track en-
tered on by the guardians of the county of Mayo,
but that they are disposed to seek the postponement
of the demand until the arrival of a more prosperous
season may enable them to liquidate it with less incon-
venience than at present, rather than make any
attempt at repudiation of the entire claim.

This is as it should be. It is the course indicated
by the PREMIER in his admirable reply to the Earl of
Lucax, as chairman of the Mayo recusants.
Whenever a sufficient case can be made
out for either a total or partial postponement of the
collection the indulgence will be freely and willingly
conceded. It is neither the desire or the policy of
the Government to press to an undue degree those
who would pay if they could, or to reduce any cf
her MAJESTY'S subjects to a state of bankruptcy. If
the petitions be couched in proper terms, and sup-
ported by unquestionable evidence, cases may be
made out, not merely for extending the period
for repayment, but even, where the facts justify
so great a variation from the established usage, of a
remission of the particular instalment claimed ; but,
as we have already stated, the argument must be ad
misericordiam and not in terrorem. The time for
bullying has gone by; the representative of the
Imperial Exchequer cannot be kicked down stairs
with impunity, or treated according to the approved
fashion of dealing with an importunate creditor
westward of the bridge of Athlone. He must be
received with respect, and if he does not return with
cash in his pocket, some adequate, or at least some
plausible reason, must be assigned for the deficiency.
It is but justice to state that in almost every in-
stance the advances from the public purse have been
repaid with as much punctuality in Ireland as in any
part of the United Kingdom. Whatever unworthy
sneers may have been indulged in against the honesty
of the Irish character in that respect have been hitherto
utterly unwarranted. We believe that wherever there
was the ability, the will was not wanting. We should
therefore behold any determined or general effort at re-
pudiation, involving the loss of the fair fame which our
Irish brethren have hitherto maintained in these par-
ticulars, with the deepest regret. We know the nature
of the feelings which it would occasion, and the in-
calculable injury which it would inflict upon the sister
kingdom. The drab-coated Pennsylvanians have long
since discovered that " honesty is the best policy"—
a great truth, which is at length beginning to be
appreciated by the Spanish hidalgos. Our Con-
naught friends should not, through any hastiness or
want of consideration on their part, suffer it to be
said that they required to be reminded of the truth
of the ancient adage. There are unquestionably
some cases which, if judiciously managed, would
have the strongest prospects of ultimate success, if
not of the immediate receipt of favourable answers
to their applications.

The extraordinary circumstances under which
the liabilities were contracted are too well known to
need repetition. At the time when the mysterious
visitation of Pr.ovinErice first reduced the chief
food of the people to a mass of putrid rottenness,
the support of the able-bodied poor was not legally
a charge upon the property of the country. What-
ever might be the moral claims of the unemployed
labourer, he had none which he could enforce at
law, and if he could not obtain his own sub-
sistence by his own exertions, he might
have perished by the way-side without any
person being responsible for his untimely and
melancholy fate. There was nothing, then, which
could enable the afflicted nation to bear up under the
weight of the fearful calamity that fell like a thunder-
bolt amongst its inhabitants. Notwithstanding the
extraordinary and generous aid afforded by this coun-
try, myriads of the devoted and long-suffering peo-
ple perished miserably either from the famine or its
twin-sister, the pestilence that followed in its
track. Eight millions of pounds sterling were
advanced by way of loan from the Imperial
Exchequer to meet the emergency, in addition to
the large amount of private benefactions, which proved
beyond the possibility of doubt the good feeling of the
English towards their Irish brethren. It is now, we
believe, generally admitted that the enormous amount
was not laid out as judiciously as it might have been.
A greater amount of good might, undoubtedly, have
been effected at a less expenditure. But can it,
for a moment, be asserted with anything like
truth, that no advantage was derived from the
expenditure ? By no means. It is universally ad.
mitted that without it three millions of hu-
man beings must have perished, whose lives
were saved through the outlay. The Execu-
tive, admitting their error, and compassionating
the distress of the country, remitted one-half of the en-
tire demand. This should have more than satis-
fied all complaints as to the mal-appropria-
tion of the enormous amount allocated by
the Legislature to the purpose, and should
have prevented some of the arguments put for-
ward by the Earl of LUcAN. We most sincerely
hope that we may hear no more of such appeals to
the PRIME MINISTER, but that all future applications
may be placed on very different grounds from those
already alluded to, which must be condemned by
every impartial hearer.

THE CLOSING OF THE NEW•ROAD.--In conse-
quence of the contusion and danger to the public, arising
from the diverson of the immense traffic of the New-road,
by the closing of the thoroughfare for the purpose of repaving
with granite, from St. Pancras Church to King's-cross, the
Metropolitan Police Commissioners on Saturday issued pla-
cards, which were posted at convenient places in the district,
of which the following is a copy :—" Metropolitan Police-
°Mc% Whitehall.—Regulations.—To prevent obstructions
by carriages during the repairs of the pavement in the New-
road, between St. Pancras Church and King's-cross : Route
to be observet - Carriages going westward will turn into the
St. Pancras-road at King's-cross, and proceed along the at.
Pancras-road to Aldenham-street, along Aldenham-street
and Grenville-street, and down Sey
road. Carriages v Seymour-street:into the New-
street, and proceed—oupf
jlreertward will turn into Seymour-
and Aldenharn-street, to Stville-street, along Grenville-street
Pancras-road, and out at King's-
cross.—(Signed) Ricuaitrk MAY IR, Commissioner of Police
of the metropolis."
CABINET COUNCIL.—The Ministers are all ex-
pected to be in town before the
meting of the Council on
the 14th instant. Lord John Russell
expected to arrive
at Richmond the latter end of next week. The Lord Chan-
cellor is expected to arrive in London for th
seatChan-
cellorfromThehis
in Yorkshire the end of the next week. Sir George Grey
e
(whose health is greatly improved) is expected to be present
at the Council. Mr. Labouchere is expected to
return from
Cabinet the Continent, and the other Members of the
are
also en route for town.— Sunday Paper.
DEATH OF MRS. SHERWOOD.—The death of this
well-known authoress took place rather suddenly at her re-
sidence, Yelverton-piace, Twickenham, on Monday, the 22d
ult. This venerable lady was in the 77th year of her age.