The Sun.
London, England, 1844-11-30 00:00:00

SPIRIT I

£31,334,352
tSHALL, Chief Cashier.
ember, 1844.

COMMISSION OF LUNACY.
Yesterday forenoon, at eleven o'clock, a commissioo
de lunatico inquirendo was opened before Mr. Commis;
sioner Winslow and a jury of_fifteen gentlemen, of winc?
Colonel Gant was foreman (and which also consisted of
several magistrates of the county of Middlesex), at the
Manor House, Green-lane, Stoke Newington, as to e
state of mind of Mr. George Porter, aged 46, f
a merchant carrying on business in the City of London,
but described in the commission as late of Tottenham'
and at present residing in Phillip-street, Kingsland-road'
The commission was sued out at the instance of 31
Porter, the wife of the alleged lunatic, and was supporte
by Mr. Bateman, of the Chancery bar. Mr. Porter was
unrepresented by Counsel.
Mr. William May, a member of the Society of Veil
was first called, and said he resided at Tottenham, ati
had known Mr. George Porter for seventeen years.
first attended him on account of his mind in the ran
of Mai, 1837. When he saw him he found his princiPl
delusion was that he had a few days before, whilst sit'
ting in his apartment, seen two tablets similar to thcle
on which the ten commandments were written ;
12
churches, appear in a flash of lightning on the Rau,
and on them he saw inscribed words from the IND
chapter of Hebrews, 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th verse
°'
which he repeated with great fluency. Ho had
never known Mr. Porter free from that delus;,
''7
since. Shortly after he was taken with this malady he
saw Mr. Porter, with Dr. Sutherland, sen., and .eind
six months he was removed from home and plat
under the care of his cousin, Mr. Samuel Porter. "„',
saw him in July last in Phillip-street, and on being i,°;
troduced Mr. Porter suddenly rose as he pat outiani
hand to shake hands, and exclaimed, "No, no, luifr;
May, you have been the cause of my being here.'' '11"
subsequently became more reconciled, and in converse'
tion repeated the delusion about the wall, and said lide,
had lost his soul ; and that in consequence of the
on the wall he knew that it was cast into utter perditifd:
w
Another delusion was, that his brains no longer exist
but that there was a bird inside his head which "'
communicated with by a gentle spring from his bears'
and which was acted upon by the fiend. He would
declare that his tongue had been melted out of
mouth, in consequence of his blasphemies. He invariabl
believed that the writing on the wall was his condemns'
Lion. and his mind has in consequence become in fe
morbid state.

By the ComtismNtn—lle enjoys good health, a?
is rational in other respects. He admits his own 11,
4,
capacity to manage his affairs, and I believe him who')
incapable of doing so.
Mr. Samuel Porter, the cousin of the unfortunateil
gentleman, deposed that he would sometimes say 1.",;
vessels in his skull had burst. There was a fiend ins'
u"
him who pulled a string and kept his heart in motion
Further evidence having been given by Dr. &the"
land, and the unfortunate gentleman having been ill:
duced to the commissioner and jury, the jury ultimate,
returned a verdict, " That Mr. George Porter is of 111,
sound mind, and incapable of managing himself or 41'
affairs, and has been so since the 10th of June, 183

HE CASE OF STABBING A •
LIVERPOOL CAPTAIN.
Yesterday, a middle-aged man, named Samuel Drove
a sailor, was brought up before Mr. Rushton, chalet
with having, on the morning of the 18th inst., stou.4
Captain Launcelot Reed, cf the ship Sir Charles NsPi"
while on her voyage from St. Andrew's to this Pert'
about 700 miles to the westward of Cape Clear. elf
It appeared from the evidence of the cook, stescaro
and a gentleman of the name of Porter, a passengers st/lbe
part owner, that between four and five o'clock 00 tg
morning in ° question, the captain requested Browo.,
haul in the mainsail during a squall. The prisoner $
fusing to, do it, an altercation ensued, whereupon
captain pushed him and was struck in return. The Or
tain then caught hold of Brown to place him in confine
4
ment, and was struck several times, receiving no s'eti',
serious injury, but, when they had got as far aft as
.J
mainmast, he felt a sharp instrument pierce him, 1-1/
called out, "I am stabbed—l am killed." The Crisy
being immediately aroused, he was conveyed to,
cabin, when it was found that a deep wound had bees"k;ch
dieted on the lower part of the stomach, through 01
his bowels protruded, and two other wounds, though li.
dangerous, on the left side. On Wednesday last,
vessel arrived in this port, and a warrant was usual
the apprehension of the prisoner. • of
From the evidence of Mr. Deane, surgeon, the life
the captain appears to be in extreme danger. tbs
On examining the clothes worn by the captain atop
time the affray took place, which were produced in 040
eight distinct cuts were visible in the jacket, and one
the trousers.
The ease was remanded till to-day, to await the sop
deuce of the captain and one of the crew, who was
watch at the time of the occurrence.
bale`
The captain (who went out as mate in the Sir Ce-eo
Napier) resides in Charter-street, and from the Ares
os
precarious situation in which he is now lying, it was cop
sidered necessary to take his testimony inmedist
Mr. Rushton, accompanied by Mr. Ellis and Mr. Deso!
proceeded to his residence for the purpose yesterva
afternoon, when the.statement of the captain was 1%1
in presence of the prisoner. His evidence did not r
materially from that given by the witnesses. A' till
The prisoner, on being shown the knife, imule"ls,ed
after being taken into custody, admitted that it belop
to him, and at the captain's examination did not
.101
any of the statements which were then made.— Live"
Mercury of yesterday.