The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-30 00:00:00

of Englishmen, to one of the bitterest and dead.

1 liest foes of Great Britain anywhere to be found
in all this present generation. Particularly
so soon after the miserable close of a
war of which he most among living men, was
the instigator ! A war growing out of the Pride of
his dead father, and out of his own lawless Am-
bition A. war prolonged chiefly through his
instrumentality—and one which, during its bloody
continuance, desolated so many of our English
hearths—laid so many brave hearts low in a fo•
reign land—made so many little children orphans,
and so many young wives widows. Silence, we
cannot tire of saying, stern and profound silence,
is of all welcomes the fittest welcome to be
accordedby Englishmen to
,that deadliest foe of
Englishmen, the Archduke, CONSTANTINE.

It is difficult to conceive a more distressing and
heartrending state of affairs than that relat-
ing to lunatics in Scotland, to which the
Honourable Gentleman the Member for the St.
Andrews Burghs last night directed the attention
of the House of Commons. Those unhappy
beings, who are sustaining the most grievious
affliction to which human nature is liable, should
be objects of the greatest sympathy and kindness.
No pains, no moderate expense should be spared
to alleviate their fearful lot, to restore them, if
possible, to reason, or, if absolutely incurable,
to render their condition as tolerable as possible.
So far, however, from this being the practice,
there is a tendency to treat them with the greatest
brutality, and to exhibit towards them a combi-
nation of
.cruelty and neglect sufficient to drive
even a rational man into insanity. This too fre-
quently results from the inherent depravity of
human nature. Those who undertake the ardu-
-0113 duties of attendants on, or keepers
of, lunatics, are more disposed to com-
mand than to persuade, to terrify than to
coax. They prefer driving to leading,
and, even under the most favourable circumstances,
the utmost care and vigilance is required to
guard against this unfortunately natural dispo-
sition; but when a cheeseparing and parsimonious
economy is added, when the miserable beings are
farmed out, at a price less than they can be sup-
ported at, to parties whose only object is to
extract unhallowed gains from their sufferings,
the case assumes a truly terrible aspect. There
may be some trifling savings, but surely there is
not a single rate-payer who would not gladly
contribute a trifle more, to be certain that those
wretched creatures for whose support he was
partially responsible, were properly cured, and
received all practicable comforts.
Nor is it only the public establishments that
require notice, or pauper lunatics that must bo
looked after. There are still greater grievances
prevailing in private houses, twhere a constant sur-
veillance is not maintained. It is not metely that
obsolete instruments of torture are resorted to,
which experience has proved to be very injurious,
aggravating the disease, and preventing the
faintest hope of a
permanent cure, but the grossest
neglect is habitually practised. Instrumental
restraint is the panacea, and those who do not
require coercion are badly fed and worse lodged,
without the means of cleanliness, or free ventila-
tion.

The revelations made by the Commissioners, to
alluded in his
whose report Mr. E. ELLIC; jun.,