The Sun.
London, England, 1829-11-04 00:00:00

at Constantinople.

The chief topic of public conversation in
London since yesterday morning has been the
extraordinary arrest of a gentleman named ,
DERDON, by order of a Physician, at the desire
of his brothers, upon a presumption of insanity.
The report of the affair appeared in our Paper
of yesterday, but to elucidate our remarks the
more clearly, we shall give an abstract of it here:—
Mr. FRANCIS ANDERDON is a gentleman of for-
tune, residing at I\o. 2, York-street, York-road,
Lambeth, and is the brother of Messrs. ANDER-
DON, pm triers in the firm of ANDERDON and BOSAN-
QUET, the bankers, of Lombard-street, in whose
hands he lodged some portion of his property, and
they had been in the habit of taking his cheques,
and otherwise acting as hii bankers for the last
eight or nine years. On Friday last, however, Mr.
F. ANDERDON having sent a cheque to the house in
question, the firm refused to cash it, and, it seems,
assigned no reason for the refusal on that occasion.
Upon Mr. ANDERDON being apprised of the cirtfum-
stance, he immediately determined on withdrawing the
balance of his account (ruin the banker, amounting to
,040/., and for this purpose drew out a cheque for that
sum, which he presented himself on Saturday last; the
application met with the same fate as on the pre-
ceding day, the clerks refusing to give cash for the
cheque. Under these circumstances, Mr. ANDER-
DON immediately proceeded to his legal adviser, Mr.
TRUWIIITT, of Cook's-court, Lincoln's Inn, to
whom he gave instructions to commence law pro-
ceedings against the firm, for the recovery of the
balance of his account then in their hands. Mr.
TRUWEIITT, however, wrote to the firm, giving
them previous intimation of his client's intention,
and stating that if the cheque for 1,040/. was not
paid by eleven o'clock on Monday, proceedings
would be instituted to compel them. In reply to this
communication, it appears, no answer has been re-
ceiVed. Things remained in this situation. tua
Sunday evening, between the hours of seven . and
eight o'clock. While Mr. FRANCIS ANDERDON was
sitting at home, two men entered his parlour; and
having stated that they belonged to a Lunatic
Asylum, said that they were sent there for the pur-
pose of confining him to the house, adding, that
if restraint were found necessary, they were pre-
pared with the necessary apparatus to enforce their
orders. Mr. ANDERDON having expressed the
utmost avonishment at what he bad-juAt heard,
immediately inquired of the men by what autho-
rity they presumed to enter his house for such a pur-
pose. Upon which one of them drew out a paper,
and handing it to Mr. ANDERDON, said, ".That is
our authority for confining you to your house—don't
alarm yourself, for we are not going to take you
from hence." Mr. ANDERDON lead the contents of
the paper, which was to this effect :

" 13) the directions of Messrs. A. and J. Anderdon, I
authorise the bearers to take charge of Mr. F. Anderdon,
he being insane, and to confine him to his house, No. 2,
'York-street, York-road.

(Signed) "G. M. BURROUGHS, M.D.
" No. 17, Montague-street, Russell-square."

This is a statement of the case. Mr. ANDER-
DON, however, had sense enough to send the
" keepers" to the watch-house, and next day
appeared at the police-office, accompanied by a
host of neighbours of the first respectability,
who bore ample testimony to his sanity. Mr.
ANDERDON himself admitted that he was

eccentric in his trimmers ;—wore a straw-
hat, and shoes different, perhaps, from other
people, but that was his whim, and was
he for that to be set down as a madman ?
" Ile had also purchased pictures, considering
himself a pretty fair judge of paintings ; and if
he had on one or two occasions laid out his
money to a disadvantage on a speculation of this

description, it would be hard indeed if on that
account he were to be deemed cracked in the

(rain ; for if that were the case, many individuals
n London, who considered themselves connois-

seurs in the art, and had been unfortunate like

himself in the purchase of some paintings, must
of course be classed, as he was, in the list of
maniacs." All this appeared to be the head and
front of Mr. ANDERDON'S offending.

Now let us see how stands the case with
the Medical Gentleman who decided upon his
insanity by proxy. Dr. BURROUGHS admitted
before the Magistrate that he granted the order
for confining Mr. ANDERDON at the instance of
his brothers, without having first seen the " un-
fortunate" gentleman, as he was in duty bound.
He sent the keepers to take care of him " until
he, the Doctor, called to ascertain the true state
of the case."

Now here ilia confession which, if correct, is
a fearful example of what Medical Gentlemen
may do—and where is the responsibility attaching
to this dread power in their hands ? Is any man
safe under such circumstances ? May not Dr.
BURRouGHs issue an order to his myrmidons
to put us under safe keeping to-morrow for
writing this article to-day, should any
willing take it into his head to suppose that
we are a fit subject for the exercise of a sanatary
cordon? Dr. Bußßoucus may have been
misled—in fact he admits it ; but what are we
to say to the state of the law which delegates
such irresponsible power to any set of men,
however respectable—and Dr. BURROUGHS be-
longs to a class of the very first respectability ?
We do not write so much against the Doctor, as
against the possible abuse of the power entrusted
into medical hands. A medical gentleman
may be very complacent, as in truth the
faculty all are, but it is carrying compla-
cency rather too far to grant licences of in-
sanity upon the disinterested representations
of friends or well-wishers. It is even worse to
send keepers, without a previous examination ;
for supposing theta, like other ardent professors,
to have an interest in propagating their peculiar
belief, the keepers might make the unfortunate
object of their care a confirmed maniac by the
time the Doctor pays his first visit to ascertain
the true state of the case.

The state of the l►►w in this free country with
respect to insanity is as deplorable as the
disease. And if the power be really as great as
it would seem to be from the practice in this
case, no man is safe. Every man of eccentric
habits is at the mercy of his more prudent
neighbour or friend. Why all the gene-
ration of Quakers might be visited with
strait waistcoats because they wear broad-
brimmed hats—or the new police might take
it into their wisdom to take up every man who
did not wear a regulation coat in conformity to
their own. The bare contemplation of the
thing is not more monstrous than alarming.
In the calendar of crime there is a gradation
from petty larceny to the grand climacteric of
murder—but in the vocabulary of insanity, or
mental hallucination, there is no medium. A
man who may be only a little touched is
liberally allowed full credit for having ar-
rived at the last stage of insanity—and the
reasons for such are frequently more cogent in
proportion to his means. Money is the standard
in England for all things. It is otherwise in
Scotland. When a man dies there, the first
pious ejaculation is for the salvation of his
soul, but in money-making England, the first
inquiry is " How much was he worth ?"—and
in exact proportion to the amount is his charac-
ter estimated. So in insanity. If he be a per-
son of harmless propensities, and worth
nothing, such as a poetical lunatic, he may
rhyme along the road to ruin to his
favourite measure, but if he happen to be
Worth anything respectable, then indeed, he
is too warm to be left alone,—his friends
with due consideration will take care of
him till he has found leisure to come to himself.

In making these ha Ay observations, we do
not mean to throw any aspersions upon
the motives of any of the parties in the pre-
sent case. We only express our alarm at the
power in the hands of medical men, and
that it ought to be regulated so as to afford some
security to personal liberty.

The following are extracts from GermAl
Papers of the 28th October

VIENNA, OCT. 22.

The following are the contents o f the decree of
the Fourth National Congress of Greece, dated 13th
August, respecting the Civil List of the President,
and the answer of the latter :—Considering that his
Excellency the President, as well before as since his
arrival in Greece, has devoted to the service of the
country the remains of his property, amounting to
above a million of Turkish piastres; considering
farther that his Excellency, in consequence of the
deficiency of the public resources, has not accepted
the 12,000 tallaris (Spanish dollars) which the Pan-
hellenion offered him for his annual disbursements ;
sensible of the necessity of furnishing his Excel-
lency with the indispensable means to maintain the
dignity of his station, and to defray the charges of
his household, the Fourth National Congress de-
crees :

" Art. I. There shall be assigned to his Excel-
lency the President, J. A. Capo d'lstria, for his an-
nual expeticee, the sum of 180,000 phoenixes in the
national coin (30,000 Spanish piastres) from the
public treasury.
" Art. 2. The present decree shall be inserted in
the codes of the decree., a..,1 after being confirmed

transmitted to the Government, to be printed and
carried into effect.

" Argos, Aug. 13, 1829.
(Signed) " fhe President of the Assembly,
" SISSINI.
" The Vice-President, C. MAURONIATTI."
(Here follow the remaining signatures.)
ANSWER OF THE PRESIDENT.

" ARGOSY AUG. 16.

" The decree, No. 9, of 13th August, which
the Congress has transmitted to me, fixes the in-
come of the head of the State.

" In the same decree the Congress has regard to
the little which we have been able to do personally,
in order to prove that the Greeks should raise them-
selves by sacrifices, and not by personal advantages,
to the rank which the national independence and
liberty promise them,
" We esteem ourselves happy that we were al-
lowed to deposit the remainder of our small pro-
perty for so sacred a cause on the altar of the
country.
" We are very far from not hoping that the na-
tion will one day be able to make it good to us,
hut till that time shall come we shall carefully avoid
burdening its finances, by requiring the repayment
of the sums advanced by us.

" We shall also decline to accept now the sums
assigned for the disbursements of the Chief of the
State ; and so long as our pri►•ate property shall
suffice, we shall abstain from touching the public
money for our wants.
" If the entire failure of our resources should com-
pel us to it, we shall have recourse to the public
treasury, but burden it with those expences only
which the exercise of our functions renders neces-
sary. We have hitherto practised the strictest eco-
nomy, and shall continue to do so, for we could not
prevail on ourselves to procure even-those cemfo. ts
of life which suppo.e a state of prosperity, while
we stand amidst ruin, and zare. surrounded with
whole classes of population languishing in the pro-
foundest misery.
" You, Gentlemen, participate in these senti-
ments, and have just given a proof of it by serving
the nation in the character of its Representatives
without any remuneration.
" We flatter ourselves with the hope, that those
among you, who in the provisional administration
take a share in the Government, as well as other citi-
zens who may be called to such functions, will per-
ceive with us that the public officers under present
circumstances, cannot nceive salaries comnr,easurate
with their rank or their servicts, but that such
salaries must be strictly regulated according to
the pecuniary means which the Government can
command.

" The Pree'dent of Greece,
(Signed) "J. A. CAPO D'ISTRIA."
VIENNA, OCT. 18.

The new loan, at four per cent., was yesterday
cmitracted for by our Government, with the houses
of Rothschild, Geymuller, Arns•ein, E'ke!es,
and Sins. The amount is said to he 25 millions of
florins. The primitive price is stated to be 86 per
cent., with the advanta,re of the coupon attached
to the obligation ; so Sat the contractors do rot
pay more than 81 1-3 per cent. Notwithstanding
this, and though 88 were immediately offered on
'Charge, the ho:ders would not part with any. It roust
be acknowledged that circumstances are extremely
favourable to them, as the rising of the four per
cent. bonds of Bethtnan, as well as the interest of
the holders of Bank Shares, &c., must be favour-
able to the new paper currency ; for the higher that
is, the more will other stork be likely to rise.
FRANKFORT, OCT. 27.---Exchange on London,
150 ff.

We have this morning received the Jamaica
Papers to the Bth of September, from which we
give the following extracts :

(From the Jamaica Courant of Sept. 3. )

We understand it to be the intention of the Lords
of the Admiralty to join the North American and
West India naval stations under the command of a
Rear-Admiral—Bermuda to be head-quarters; but
as the dock-yard there will not be ready until next
year, it is reported that Admiral Fleming has •had
the option of remaining twelve months longer, but
has declined. The command of this station was
offered to two distinguished Admirals, both of whom
declined ; the principal objection made by these
officers was, the ruinous state of the Admiral's Pen,
which induced the Lord High Admiral to direct
that the present Naval Commander-in-Chief should
not make a permanent residence in any particular
island, so that the benefit which Jamaica has hither-
to exclusively derived by the residence of an Ad-
miral will now be shared by the other islands.
(From the Jamaica Courant of Sept. 2.)

CURACOA, AUG. 29

The Barham will be ready for sea about the
middle of' next month. The Mersey came in from
Antigun and Martinique two days ago; she is going
to Trinidad with the Grasshopper. The Rayner
goes to Maracaibo, fur documents, requested by the
Kingston merchants, and will proceed with them to
Jamaica. The Icarus takes this; she has been over
to St. Thomas's to inquire after the pirate that plun-
dered the Admiral Beam in February last. It is
reported that the vessel which committed that out-
rage returned to Guadeloupe two months ago, with
a cargo of slaves, and from that went to St. Bar-
tholomew's, the receptacle for ill such ruffians.
When the literacy was at Martinique, the new Go-
vernor, Admiral Freipenerte, arrived there, and ,aas
very well received. After the high mass at church,
he is reported to have thanked the people for his
flattering recepti3n, and told them that he seas sent
there to bring them back to the obedience of the
laws, and reminded them that although they were
colonists, they were still French citizens, and must
obey the laws of that country in the same man-
ner as if they resided in one of the departments.
He is reported to have ordered the Procureur de
Roy to confiscate all the slaves not registered,
which will amount- to about five thousand. If the
penalties are exacted, they will amount to an im-
mense sum of money. The Governor of Guade-
loupe is likewise recalled. If the French will put
down the Slave Trade in earnest, the Spaniards and
Portuguese will soon give it up, and the commerce of
the world will be free from molestations, to which
it is now subject from the demoralized marauders
engaged in that infamous traffic.
(From the Jamaica Courant of Aug. 4.)
MONTEGO BAY, AUG. 1.
On Wednesday,about two o'clock, this town
neighbourhood was visited by a sudden squall, ac-
companied by rain, from the north-east, which
broke down several maringo fences adjacent to this
office. The vessels in the harbour sustained some
injury. The brigantine Ranger broke adrift, and
the Mary Ann was damaged. Almost every vessel
started from her moorings.

(From the Jamaica Adrertiser of Aug. 3.)

We understand the Law Officers of the Crown
have given opinions that some of the Islands, not
having complied with the terms of their Charters,
have lost their right to them; but having been
given by the King in Council, the difficulty will
now be as to the mode of Parliamentary interference.

The following is from our Paris Correspon-

dent :

" PARIS, OCT. 31.

" Your respectable correspondent Modera-
tor' seems to me to have hit the happy medium
in forming his opinion of the Treaty of Adria-
nople, which is equally opposed, on the one
hand, to that view of the subject which sees
nothing in the conduct of Russia but rapacity
and ambition ; and, on the other, to the
praises applied ad nauseam to the Emperor's
generosity and moderation. The one extreme
is, doubtless, as far distant as the, other from that

statesmanlike and rational system of policy which
has latterly characterized all the measures of
Russia. But it does not follow, that because
the present views of this Power are moderate
and reasonable, that all the world should sit
down with their hands across, and witness the
immet's'.! and rapid strides which Russia.is
making to pre-eminence and power, without
some attempt at preparation for\ the possible con'
tingency of another Catherine arising, with
equal ambition and the power of aggrandizement
immeasurably increased, to lay Europe Pls'
trate before the Russian eagles, and for a season
to disturb the peace, if not to destroy the fiber'
ties, of the world.
What is to be done with Turkey, is the
question which perpetually arises whenever our(
views are directed to the present posture 0
afnirs in the East. It is admitted on all hands
that this barbarous Monarchy can no longer
maintain the semblance of that power which it
has hitherto been supposed to exhibit. Every
day discloses some new source of weakness, or
sonic circumstance to prove the utter impossibi'
lity that the wreck of the Turkish empire should
hold any longer together. Like a sheer bulk on
the water, every succeeding wave will serve to
separate her parting timbers ; and the present is
evidently the proper moment to provide for the
future consequences of an event which is t 0
affect sit many interests, before the wreckers are
at work, and the spoil is irremediably appr""
printed. •
" Mehemet Ali, the wily Paella of EgyPt, is
said to have resolved to secure his independence
by a surer and safer course than an appeal le'
arms. Availing himself of the financial diffirni.
ties of the Porte, he has 'offered the immediate
advance of twenty millions of dollars, as the
price of his separation from the Turkish empire'
With all his cruelty and barbarism, it is ad'
mined that Mehemet has noes enough to see
that the habits of his countrymen, and the insti'
tutions under which he lives, are totally blow'
patible with the advanced state of civilization
throughout the rest of Europe ; and it is he'
lieved that he has even had the dexterity to re
vide for the payment of so large a sum to the
Sultan, by the arrangement of a loan which je
about to be negociated on some of the great Er
changes of Europe ; a member of the Diva"'
who is also an intimate friend of Ibrahim, hsr
ing engaged to make the proposal to the Sultan;
and to insure his acceptance of it. It is evee
hinted that Egypt will speedily indemnify itself
~
for so liberal an advance, by the employment 01
the troops which have thus been spared from II
struggle for mere independence in taking po,
session of some of the fertile provinces of Der'
bary, hien touch the Egyptian boundary.
" Since the date of my last letter two other
manifestoes have appeared, both dated from Sl'
Petersburg!' on the 15th instant, the one re"
clueing the levy, ordained by the decree of the
22d of August, from three men to two on ever/
five hundred of the population ; and the other
directing that two-thirds only of the recruits'
which had been levied for completing the crews
of the Imperial Navy, should be placed at the
disposal of the General Staff of the Marini
but that the other third of the recruits shout"
be incorporated with the land forces of the 0;
pire. The peace with Turkey is assigned, an
no doubt truly, as the cause of these alterations'
but it is not to be denied that two men on ever/
500 of a population like that of Russia, is rather
a formidable addition to a peace establishment.
The policy of Russia seems still to be Ji;
rested with unceasing care in conciliating the
affections of the inhabitants of the provinces °i.
Wallachia and Moldavia. Their sufferings dur;
ing the late campaign must no doubt have he",
considerable, after making every allowance I°
the rigid discipline maintained by the invading
army. Their roads must have been cut up and
ruined by the movements of the troops, and tlle
cattle of the country, although punctually Po
for at the ordinary prices of former years, esiv
not now perhaps be restored with the sums re:
ceived fur them. For such reasons it is °IL
nounced that a loan is to be negociated for sae
Principality ; that of Wallachia being 1,000,Us
and that of Moldavia 800,000 ducats; both lob
being effected under the guarantee of
" An alliance offensive and defensive is sr
kfq
of in the last letters from St. Petersburght
about to be formed between Russia and Fn.
which seems to be founded on certain statelye°
of
which have lately appeared in the
,Journelema
Poland, announcing that the Emperor r
agreed to remit 12,000,000 of rubles of the aid
indemnity, which had been stipulated to he Pthis
by Persia in terms of the last treaty. if on..
statement be true, it seems to afford a fresh by
firmation of the view which has been taken ° '
•
your correspondent Moderator' and myself,
i"
the general system of policy which is now po
sued b) the Government'of RUssia.'
ario•
" It is mentioned in private letters from Piti/.,ed
of the Bth inst., that Admiral de Rigny had arri6
there on the 2d, and, after holding a conferetybo
with General Schneider, had departed again on „iv
4th for Egina and Smyrna. It was believed ajtl
varin that the French troops, which had beef Greece, would be sent in the spring to Algiers The
attack on which had been finally decided on• in
troops at Navarin expected to form the vanguari."obi,
this attack, from their having been ,so long " the
tuated to an eastern climate. The day after
departure of Admiral de Rigny, the Triaelilol
Fiend' ship of the line, with Admiral "de RP: cy
on board, had anchored in the roadstead of Ps,ce.
rin; and on the 6th, the brig Le Loiret, fool
goo
n dos, and a sloop of war from Malta, had
made their appearance.
" Every day produces some frtsh rumour t:ft.:
change in the French Ministry; Tut such rcre:ay
have already been so often falsified, that 1 ant
ashamed to repeat them, although convineed,lf"ool
abstract, that a change before long will be
unavoidable. St. Charles's Day, the 4th of
to, 01
vember, which is celebrated as the Fere';oolB
Charles the Tenth, and is usually marked by
measure calculated to promote a general feeliflod for
pularity, is now pointed to as the probable perg hide
the expected change. Some say that the chide
will be radical and total ; other's that the, r• the
de Polignac will receive a fresh order I:ifinee
reeonstructure of the Cabinet, in which theA•
fah
himself will alone remain; while it is stAte,"Peo
third party that it is only Messrs. Bourmo"tvet♦
Bourdonnaye, and Montbel, who are to re_.,01740
ibeing the most violent and unmanageable. °''