The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WE

R. KAHN'S ANATOMICAL MUSEUM,
D
3, TICHBOURNE-STREET (Opposite the Hay-
market).
Open daily (for Gentlemen only).
LECTURES at Four and Eight o'clock, on important and
Interesting topics in connection with ANATOAIY,
PHY-
SIOLC VrY, and PATHOLOGY (vide Programmes).

Admission ONE SHILLING.
DR. -KAHN'S NINE LECTURES ON THE PHILO-
SOPHY OF MARRIAGE; sent post free, direct from the
Author, on the receipt
.of twelye stamps.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ROOMS, High
Holborn, formerly Casino de Venise.—This establish-
ment, pre-eminently distinguished for the elegance and
matchless beauty of its dee.orations, combined with the per-.
fection of its management, is OPEN every EVENING.
The celebrated band, under the direction of Mr, W. M. Packer,
plays a nightly varied_ selection of the most approved classical
and modern music. Doors open at half-past 8; overture at
9 ; closing at 12 punctually. Admission Is. N.B.—Mr. W.
M. Packer's grand Annual Benefit Bal Masque is fixed for
Thursday, 17th March.

ARGYLL-ROOMS, Windmill-street, Piccadilly.
These popular and celebrated rooms are open every
evening, with R. It. Bignell's Grand Orchestra, conducted by
that great composer, Mons. Antony Lamotte, of Paris.
Leader, Charles Hall. Mons. Boulcourt, the celebrated cornet-
a-piston player, performs nightly, with other talented
artistes. Selections from Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata,
Huguenots, Robert le Diable, and the new opera Martha.
Manager, R. R. Big-nell. Doors open at half-past 8, close
ten minutes before 12. Admission, is. to Promenade.
N.B.—All applications for the above band for Concerts and
Balls, to be made to Mr. William Price, treasurer, at the
Rooms.

HOWES AND CUSHING'S GREAT
UNITED STATES CIRCUS.—The ALHAMBRA
PALACE, Lelocker-square.
The Morning Performances are particularly recommended,
as the Pantomime can be seen with the same effect as at night.

Sprites of the Silver Shower each performance—The cele-
brated horse "Cruiser" will be exhibited, as tamed by
Mr. Rarey.—" Black Eagle," the horse of beauty.—The
educated mules, " Pete " and " Barney."
Pit, Is. ; Boxes, 2s. ; Reserved Seats, 35.; Stalls, 55.; Prriate
Boxes, .£2 2s. Children under Nine years of age, half-price.
Gallery, 6d.
Two Performances Daily at two and half-past seven p.m.

pcoNomy.—A TEN GAL-LON CASK
(equal to. Five Dozens) of the finest SOUTH AFRICAN
SHERRY, for Four Guineas, or 20s. per Dozen ; best PORT,
245. per Dozen. Cask or Bottles and Case included. Three
Dozens Carriage Free. HENEKEYS', ABBOTT, and Co.,
Importers, 22 and 23, High Holborn, London, W.C. Esta-
blished 1831.

TTENEKEYS' COGNAC, 'a pure FRENCH
-LX BRANDY, Pale or Brown, 20s. per Gallon ; 425. per

Dozen.
HENEKEYS' LONDON BRANDY, Pale or Brown, 14s.
per Gallon ; 30s. per Dozen.
HENEKEYS' LONDON GIN, as from the Still and the
Strongest allowed, sweet or dry, 12s. per Gallon ; 265. per
Dozen.
Packages to be returned within Three Months, or charged
ls. per Gallon. Six Gallons, the cask included, and carriage
paid.
Country orders must contain a remittance.
HENEKEYS, ABBOTT, AND CO.,
Gray's Inn Distillery, 22 and 23, High Holborn, London, W.C.
Established 1831.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY).
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

- PASSING TOLLS.
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY asked her Majesty's
Government, whether it was their intention to introduce
any measure in the present session of Parliament to relieve
the shipping interest from passing tolls and other burthens
The noble lord complained of the manner in which the
memorials and petitions agreed to at many influential
meetings of shipowners had been treated by the Govern.
ment.
The Earl of DONOUGHMORE said the Government
were not prepared to introduce any measure on the subject
referred to by the noble lord, because they could not see
that it would lead to any satisfactory results. Ho thought
their lordships would agree that the Government had acted
wisely in not taking up an ill digested and hasty measure,
which had been under the consideration of the late Govern-
ment.

THE SLAVE TRADE.
Lord BROUGHAM, in the early part of the evening,
postponed the presentation of a petition which he had been
entrusted with from Jamaica, in consequence of the absence,
of the Bishop of Oxford. Shortly before six the rev. pre-
late entered the house, and the noble and learned lord
rose t• present the petition. It was intimated to his
lordship that the standing orders of the house prevented
him pursuing such a course, but after referring to the par-
ticular order, it was agreed that the noble lord should pro-
ceed. His lordship said the petition he held in his hand
had been agreed to at a meeting held at Spanish-town,
which was chiefly attended by tree negroes, and they
prayed that immediate steps might be taken to put a stop
to the Cuban slave trade.
Their lordships then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—(YESTERDAY.
The SPEAKER took tho chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The following private bills were read a second time and
ordered to be committed :—Burton-upon-Trent
.Rail-

way ; Cowes and Newport (Isle of-Wight) Railway ;
Hooton and Neston Railway ; London and North Wes-
tern Railway (Arrangements) ' • Malden and Sheen Valley.
Drainage; North Eastern and Bedale and Leyburn Rail-
way Companies Amalgamation ; Ringwood, Christchurch,
and Bournemouth Railway ; Sevenoaks Railway ; Stock-
ton and Darlington Railway • Tyne Improvement ; Wans-
beck Railway ; Bridport Rahway ; and Carmarthen and
Cardigan Railway ; Hertford, Luton, and Dunstable Rail-
way ; Isle of Wight Ferry ; Leominster and Kington
Railway ; Lymington. Railway ; Red Sea and Indian Tele-
graph Company; and Richmond Improvement.

CITY OF LONDON UNION BILL.
Mr. CRAWFORD moved the second reading of this bill,
the object of which, he stated, was to make the 89 parishes
of the City of London supply the defalcations that had
taken place in certain city parishes instead of those being
borne by a few parishes.
Alderman COPELAND moved the second reading of the
bill that day six months. He considered that if there were
any legislation on the subject, it should be by a general
measure, and not one limited to London. He was of
opinion also that the collectors and tradesmen in the neigh-
bourhood were equally responsible for the defalcations of
the officers.

The house divided, and the numbers were—
For the second reading
Against it B9
Majority —32
The motion was accordingly negatived.
MERSEY DOCK AND HARBOUR BILL.

On the motion for the second reading of this bill, an
amendment was moved that it be read a second time this
day week.
After some discussion, the house divided, and the num-
bers were—
For the motion lBl
Against it
Majority
The bill was then read a second time, and ordered to bo
committed.

vernment had been directed to the subject of the charge-
ability of poor rate on -Government property ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that
it was the-opinion of the Government that some legislation
was required on that important subject, and his right hon.
friend the President of the Poor-law Board would take an
early opportunity of introducing a bill with that view. -
TREATMENT OF LUNATICS.

Mr./FITE moved the appointment- of aulectcommitted
to iminira info the operation ofthe lawS regulating the care
and treatment of lunatics, especially of 'those found' to .be
lunatics by He stated that there were now
23,000 lunatics of . one kind or another in England. There
were the pauper lunatics, the number of whom was stated.

in the la.st -year's repo;t of the Commissioners at 17,572,
having in one year increased to that number from 16,637;
and there were about 5,000 lunatics of other kinds. They
were subject to three jurisdictions—firstly, the Commis-
sioners of Lunacy had the charge of the pauper lunatics and
of private asylums ; secondly, the • Chancery lunatics were
under the charge of a board of visitors, with a distinct juris-
diction ; and the third class was that of the criminal lima-
tics. The laws relating to this subject were conflicting. In
1828 the first law of an extensive scope was passed ; it was
amended in 1832, again in 1835, and in 1838, 1841, 1842, and
lastly in 1845 it was entirely remodelled: In 1853 the act re-
gulating the Chancery lunatics, or those found so by inqui-
sition, was passed, an act drawn up by Lord St. Leonardo..
Last session he (Mr. Tite) drew attention to the operation of
that act, which he behaved to be inconvenient and oppressive.,
The number of lunatics under the care of the Court of Chan-
cery was 1,600, and the total amount of their property
under the control of the court was upwards of £200,000.
The act of Parliament drawn up by Lord St. Leonardo did
not repeal preViou.s acts, but referred to them, and the pro-
visions relating to lunacy were to be found in five or six
separate acts. With regard to criminal lunatics also, it ap-
peared that some provision was necessary. There were now
six or seven hundred of them. He thought, as a criminal
lunatic was not regarded as morally responsible for the act
he had committed, when he was restored to health he should
be restored to society. At present there was no power to
do tWs, except by the judgment :of the Home Secretary,
and ifia was very seldom exercised in the matter. Another
.large :class of lunatics consisted of those who were just
above the condition of paupers. In Scotland, in every large-
town, there was an asylum for them ; in London there were
two'great foundations, St. Luke's, which only took their
for one year, and Bethlehem, which took them only under
particular circumstances. He hoped the committee would
consider whether it was not possible to do something for
that large class, who suffered extremely, as well as their
families, whenever that distressing disorder overtook them.
What was wanted was a more complete supervision ; and
the measure now required was one for the consolidation of
he law, defining the functions of the several boards, which
had now a distinct and divided action.
Mr. WALPOLE said it was true the hon. member had
got a kind of pledge from the Government that they would
not oppose the inquiry, if it were so conducted as to lead to a
practical result. There were four classes of lunatics, namely,
the criminal lunatics, the lunatics who had been found so by
inquisition under the Court cf Chancery, the lunatics con-
fined in private asylums, and those in county or borough
asylums. As to the criminal lunatics, he thought there 'could
not well be any material interference; but with regard to the
second class, he did think some amendment might be made
in the law in two respects. With reference to the manner in
Which inquisitions were held, and inquiries conducted, ex-
tending- over long periods of time at a great expense, and to
the great affliction of many people concerned in them, a great
improvement might be made. He also thought that with
reference to the inspection and personal superintendence of
the treatment of those lunatics, it might be provided for in
a more careful and consistent manner than at present. The
other two classes were those in county or borough asylums,
and those in private asylums. Since.the notice of motion
was given last summer, he had made some inquiries on the
subject, and he would now state the results. He found,
upon comparing the number of lunatics in 1852 with those
in 1857, that in the former year the total number was 17,412,
exclusive of the pauper lunatics in the union workhouses.
There were 4 ,430 in private asylums, of whom 2,336 were
males and 2,099 females. In the county and borough asy-
lums there were 12,982. In 1857 the total number had
increased to 22,310; and of these, there were in private asy-
lums 4,732, being 2,502 males and 2,230 females. There
was a great increase in this period of five years—an increase
of more than 5,000. This increase, however, was in the
county and borough asylums; the increase in private asy-
lums was hardly perceptible. He believed that increase was
owing partly to the legislation by which so mush better pro-
vision was made for the pauper lunatics and those in public
asylums, the result being that greater care was taken of them,
and their lives were prolonged. The most important distinc-

tion, however, was between the curable and the incurable.
There were, out of 21,311 patients in 1857, only 3,327 curable,
and 17,984 stated to be incurable. Of those in private asylums
one-fourth were curable, whilst in county and borough asy-
lums there 'were but one-tenth curable. This was a most
painful state of things. It was a serious thing to reflect that
we had now one in 836 of the population of unsound mind,
and that this proportion was increasing at a great rate. He
had given notice of two bills on the subject, which he pro-
posed to read for the first time that night. One of them re-
lated to county and borough asylums, and the other to
private houses. He proposed now, with an alteration of the
terms of the reference to this committee to accede to its ap-
pointment, and lay the two bills before it, in order that the.
committee might have something practical and tangible to
deal with. It had been said that there ought to be public
asylums for all classes of patients, that they should be
registered, and not confined without a public inquiry. But
if that were attempted, great evils would inevitably follow.
Many of those afflicted with this painful malady would, in
order to avoid this publicity, be sent to some private recep-
tion houses, where there would be no superintendence over
them. It should be considered that this distressing malady
was often caused by accidental circumstances. It was very
often not hereditary in its character, and did not recur when
once it had been cured. Suppose the case of a person in
business, who had been thus afflicted in consequence of
great mental anxiety or exertion, or of some physical
ailment ; he might be cured within a few months, and the
world need not know that he had been so afflicted ; but if a
public inquiry were to take place, the patient would be
looked at with suspicion and uneasiness when he went back
to his home and business, and the consciousness of this
would tend to prevent his cure. The objects now to be
aimed at by legislation were these. Firstly, there should
be a proper guarantee, previous to the confinement of any
person, that this did not take place without due cause ;
secondly, the houses of reception should be suitable for their
accommodation; thirdly, they should not be confined there
longer than was necessary; and fourthly, their treatment,
whether curable or incurable, should be the best that could
be obtained. The bill which he proposed, with regard to
private asylums, would have these four objects in view. In
the first instance, he proposed that no person should be put
in confinement without a notice being sent to the commis-
sionen within twenty-four hours. The justices of each
county should appoint medical examiners in particular dis-
tricts, and when the commissioners received notice of any
person having been put under constraint or in confinement,
they would send down to the medical examiners to visit the
person, and inquire into the case. The commissioners
should have power thereupon to report to the justices of the
county, and call on the proprietor or superintendent of the
house to giVe further explanations. With regard to the house
itself, the plans and estimates for it were to be laid before
the commissioners who might report upon them to the ma •
gistrates, so that central superintendence and scientific
knowledge would be combined with local experience. He
was bound to say that the condition of private asylums was
not 'always satisfactory, and the accommodation provided in
them was incommensurate with the payment required. He
proposed that in addition to the four regular inspections now
made each year, the commissioners should, either by them-
selves or by some authorised person, pay three visits to the
house, and that they should have power to call on the pro-
prietors of the house to show their accounts for each patient,
proving that the allowance was properly applied for his
benefit. With regard to the fourth point, some provisions
were necessary to secure that the patients who recovered
should not be confined a day beyond the time when they
ought to he discharged. He proposed that in every instance
a commissioner should go and visit the patient within three
months of the time when he was placed in confinement, and
report specifically upon the progress of his case. The
keeper of one asylum should not be allowed to certify that a
person was of unsound mind in order that the person might
be transferred, with that certificate, to another house of con-
finement. It was, moreover, provided that notice of the pa-
tient's recovery should be immediately sent not only to the
friends' but to the commissioners, in order that they might
take action upon it. He hoped that these provisions would
surround the unfortunate persons thus afflicted with every
check and guarantee that could he provided. Power would
also be vested in the commissioners to allow patients to be
out -Upon trial, in some cases with a view to ascertain
whether their restorationto liberty. under proper restrictions,
would be salutary. He now proposed, as an amendment on
the hon. member's motion, that a select committee should
be appointed to inquire into the operation of the acts of par-
liament for the regulation of the care and treatment of
lunatics, and their recovery. He intended to refer the two
bills to this committee, and the Solicitor-General had an-
other bill in preparation relating to those found of unsound
mind by inquisition. If the result of this inquiry were to
improve the condition of those afflicted people, ho should
be highly gratified. (Cheers.)
After a few words from Mr. DRUMMOND,
Mr. TITE agreed to accept the amendment of the govern-
ment for the epointment of the- select committee in the
terms suggested.
Mr. PACKE expressed his opinion that the deliberations
of the select committee should also be extended to criminal
lunatics who wore confined in the public asylums.
After a few words from Sir G. GREY, expressive of his
approval of the course suggested,
Mr. TITE withdrew his motion, and a committee was
appointed in accordance with the suggestion of Mr. Wal
pole.