The Sun.
London, England, 1845-07-12 00:00:00

COURT Cl'lcU

The Queen and Prince Albert rode out on hors,.back yester-
day moaning, attended by the Alaid of Honour and the
Equerries in Waiting.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfied,
the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, were taken an
airing yesterday in are open carriage and four, accompanied
by the Dowager Lady Lyttelton.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert presided yesterday after-
noon at a meeting of the Commission for promoting and enaou-
raging the fine arts in the re-building the Palace of
Westminster.

His Royal Highness arrived at Gwydyr House at a quarter
before three o'clock, attended by Colonel Bouverie. Equerry in
Waiting. The Commissioners present were the Marquis of
Lansdosne, the Earl of Lincoln, Lord Colborne, Lord Mahon,
Sir Robert Peel, Sir Robert Harry Inglis, and Mr. Benjamin
Hawes.

'I he meeting broke up at half-past four o'clock, when Prince.
Albert, attended by Mr. Eastlake, the Secretary to the Com-
mission, and Colonel Bouverie, honoured Sir Robert Peel
with a visit at his residence in Whitehall Gar,:ens. Some of
the Commissioners also visited the Right Hon. Baronet after
the meeting.
The Queen and Prince Albert, and their M ,jesties the King
and Queen of the Belgians, honoured the performance of tic
French Play with their presence yesterday even►ng. 'I he royal
suite included the Viscountess Jocelyn, Bareness d'Hoogh-
vorst, Earl of Morton, Colonel Buckley, Colonel Bouverie,
and Major de Moerkerke.
Sir George Hayter's picture of the Christening of his Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales, in St. George's Chapel at
Windsor, was removed yesterday from Buckingham Palace,
previously to its completion for engraving.
The Queen inspected, on Thursday, an entirely new descrip-
tion of waterproot cloak, which was submitted by Mr. George
Doudney. Her Majesty was most graciously pleased to express
her approval.
Her Majesty the Queen Dowager left her residence, Marl-
borough House, in a ccrriage and four yesterday morning,
for Bushy House, Bushy Park. Her Majesty was accom-
panied by their Serene Highnesses the Duchess Ida of Saxe
Weimar and the Princesses of Saxe Weimar.

Their Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had
a dinner party yesterday evening at Cambridge Howe. The
company included the Prussian Minister and Madame Bunsen,
the Duke of Buccleueh, the Earl and Countess Delawarr, the
Earl and Countess of Dalhousie, the 'Marquis and Marchioness
of Westminster, the Marquis of Granby, Earl Cadogan, the
Earl and Countess of Jersey and Lady Clementina Villiers,
Lord Ossulston, and Baron de Talleyrand.
Dispatches from the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope
were received yesterday at the Colonial-office.

LUNATIC ASYLUM for the MIDDLE

CLASSES.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sra,—Having attended the meeting for promoting an asylum
for the insane of the middle classes, I was prepared to support
the pro ject with the utmost of my ability, if I found that this
new institution was to be conducted on the opposite principles
of the present system of the private lunatic asylums; that is, if
the interest arising from the detention of the patients should,
by the regulatiiins of this new institution, be severed from that
of the proprietors or governors, or, in other words, that a
patient should be received with a view to effect his cure, and,
as soon as that could be effected, or he became so far coeval s.
cent as to give a fair and reasonable expectation of his final
recovery, he should be discharged. The new institution should
not he conducted in the manner of the private asylums at pre-
sent. Under the present system, it is hardly caricaturing the
principle on which they are conducted to say, if a patient when
he enters be not mad, he shall quickly be made so; if he be
mad, he shall be kept in that state until he be incurable. I
appeal to the return of the very few casts of cures from 'he pri-
vate lunatic asylums for the truth of this startling pr. position,
:rid I can prove it by my own observation.
When 1 offered myself to the meeting, the Noble Chairman
put me down ; he would not hear a word—he chose to assume
that I must be opposed to the new institution. For once Lis
Lordship was in error. Neatly five years of unmerited con-
finement, passed under his Lordship's surveillance, in five pri-
vate asylums, has not steeled my heart nor rancoured my breast.
I was prepared to support his Lordship's views, if they were to
be carried out on a just, liberaL and humane system.
Allow me to ask, why is his Lordship so sensitive and deter-
mined to stifle all public discussion on matters of lunacy? and
why will not his Lordship acceae to an inquiry before a Com-
mittee of the House of Lords or Commons previous to further
legislation, and hurry on both Houses to legislate without the
information that has been proffered to them by those best ac-
quainted, by practical experience, with the subject ? Your
obedient servant, WILLIAM BAILEY.