The Sun.
London, England, 1826-11-17 00:00:00

ment of the profliglastonst Itly*gr but the beat act Obis
public life—that ace' wit r 14* name innzicirtal se a
Statesman, and beloved as a Cifilstian—Was the 1 111 Which he
got passed. for the establishment of County Lunatic Asylums in
Ireland. Amidst all the active labour which the political con-
cerns of that distracted nation imposed upon him, as Chief Se-
cretary of the Government in Dublin, he found leisure, not only
to have the state of pauper lunatics examined into, but to prepare
a Bill, and have it palmed into a law, compelling the Magistrates
of the several counties in Ireland, at the command of the Govern-
ment, to build asylums for their insane poor. The state of Ire-
land, so different front that of England, made compultion in some
measure necessary in the former kingdom when it was not con-
sidered so iu the latter ; yet I confess,.from the lukewartonsa
with which many county Magistrates have treated this sacred
trust, so committed to them by Mr. Write,' Act, I liavr often
lamented that, in the various amendments it has subsequently
undergone, a clause was not introduced, similar to that iu Mr.
Peel's Irish Bill, which makes the measure imperative.
I trust, Gentlemen, I shall have no occasion to lament the
want of such a clause, in as far as you are coneerned ; and, if the
matter has not already been decided upon, that you will lose no
time in taking measures .to, investigate in what part of the county
it may be proper to build.
The treatment of insanity is row so well understood, and the
requisites for tenpin a perfect,asylum, or hospital, 1044 step-,
tion of insane patiebts so fully ascertained by experience, that they
admit of very little iliscusmion; and no county in England iambs
so many facilities for forming a must perfect establialtment as
Middlesex.

Your asylum should be at such a distance front the metropolis
as to afford suffiCient Space ; yet not so distant as to ineke it in-
convenient for the patients' friends, or the parish physicians, to
visit it frequently, or to be beyond the bounds of the Loudon
police. Good air find plenty of.water are also of primary impor—
tance ; vad all these are tobe amid within twelve miles of Hyde
Park Corner. When your,plateb, however, ark more in train, I •
will enter upon the incialitiea with more ttfinntentsa.; and, in all
that reiter de either, the. plan pt the ii*voineut of any); 'auitykon,
1 humbly offer you the benefit of all the experience I have gained
by time and travel.
The agitation of the question of lunatic asylums, during the last
twenty-five years, has obtained for medical science a great and de-
cided victory over all the prejudices and metanhyrical sophistry of
your ancestors. The language of the schools bad brought into
common use expressions and terms which led to' the grossest errors
both in theory and practice. ' Insanity had muse to be considered
a disease of the mind, unconnected with the body,-madness was
railed " mental derangement." And mind being constdered
something beyond the reach of pill or draught, the unhappy maniac
was at once consigned by friend and doctor to the dungeon keep
or cheerless cell, where, loaded with , fetters, he was lift, uncared
for, to endure a state of often long-protracted :stiffernigs, until
death put •an end to the scene. A
temporary ailment was
soon converted into a permanent disease; and the " doge in
the kennel" were certainly more attended to' than the helpless'
madman. Thank (lad it is now known, that insanity hilts curable
as any disease to which mankind are subject ; that it arise, From
deranged bodily functions—not mental affections; and that, by
kindness and proper medicine, there, is often less difficulty in re-
moving this malady than Many others of whom juster notions have
long been entertained by the faculty. Hence, Gentlemen, you have
another, and, if I may ado speak, a still more sublime inducement
for you to enter upon your task—that the sufferings of human
nature May be alleviated, as well as a public duty performed. In
proportion as proper treatment is adopted, the number of the in-
sane will diminish, and -the expellee of - their maintenamst be
lessened ; you cannot, then, grudge the lisle extra trouble by
which so much goad is to be accomplished ;—you cannot hesitate
for one moment, in carrying into effect a measure which, hub,.
pendent of future advantage, is immediately to relieve the county
of a very heavy expenditure. True it is, that the establishment
of such an asylum as is now called for, will affect seriously the
private interests of many madhouse keepers, who live by the present
system, and have many inducements for wishing it to be continued ;
but I should feel ashamed to think, that there was one among
your whole number that could he guided by any such views; or
who would dare to oppose a measure which is So much called fur
by the numbers and condition of the insane poor in this county.
I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
Your very obedient Servant,
ANDREW HALLIDAY, M.D.
Hampton Court, 9th Nov. 1826.