The Sun.
London, England, 1845-10-17 00:00:00

SOUTHWARK.

ALLEGED CONFINEMENT OF A SANE MAN AS A LUNATIC.
—Just at the close of the business in the afternoon, a young
man, of gentlemanlike appearance, entered the Court, and,
addressing Mr. Trail!, requested his advice under the follow-
ing circumstances : _

The applicant said that in 1843, -while a graduate in Tri-
nity College, Cambridge, intending to take clerical orders,
he had a dispute with a clergyman, which was ultimately
refernd to the Bishop of Norwich for his decision. He had
an interview with his Lordship on the subject. Shortly af-
terwards, however, to his (applicant's) surprise, a consulta-
tion of medical men was held, and a certificate obtained, cer-
tifying that he was of unsound mind. He was accordingly
brought away from college by two keepers, and placed in a
private lunatic asylum, although he assured the Magistrate
that he was as sane and as capable of conducting his affairs
at the time as he was at that moment. After remainirg in
the asylum—during which period he had nothing to com-
plain of but the circumstance of his being deprived of his
liberty, and taken away from the pursuit of his studies at
college—he was transferred to Bethlehem Hospital, where
he was also confined for some months, and from which insti-
tution he had been recently discharged. Since the latter
occurrence he had been residing with a gentleman named
Buckley, at Peckham, who maintained him up to the present
period, although he received no emolument, his (applicant's)
affairs being in such a deranged state, owing to the conduct
pursued towards him, that he was totally incapacitated from
supporting himself by his own exertions. The object, there-
fore, of his application was, to ascertain if lie could have re-
dress against the authorities of Bethlehem Hospital for de-
taining him there, which he considered was a gross infringe-
ment of the liberty of the subject, particularly as he was not
of unsound mind, and then discharging him from the place,
although he made no remonstrance at the time for that
purr ose.
Mr. TRAILL told the applicant that it was a question with
which he could have nothing to do. From the applicant's
own admission, it appeared that the proceeding of which he
complained had not been adopted until the certificate of two
medical officers had been obtained as to the condition of his
mind ; that he could not at all perceive that a charge of such
a nature as that alluded to by applicant could be alleged
against the directors of the admirable, institution where he
had been confined, and that previously to his admission the
necessary forms had been complied with, and as soon as he
was considered convalescent he was permitted to leave the
place. The latter circumstance must convince the applicant
that the authorities had no inclination to keep him there
longer than they considered necessary.
The applicant said that he was most unwilling to be living
on the bounty of the gentleman who had acted so con-
siderate a part on his being discharged from Bethlehem—that
the fact of his being taken away from college under the cir-
cumstances already described had the effect of blighting his
prospects, and that it was with the view of convincing the
world how unjustly he had been treated that made him
anxious to adopt proceedings against those who had thrown
such serious obstacles in the way of his advancement in life.
Mr. TRAILL having repeated that he could not see any
just grounds the applicant had for complaining against the
authorities of Bethlehem Hospital, the applicant retired from
the Court.