The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-05-15 00:00:00

COMMISSION OF LUNACY

On Tuesday a commission of lunacy Was held at. the Sheriffs'
court, ited Lion-square, before Commissioner (I. K. Murray', to
inquire into the state of land of Miss Hariet James, an imitate
of Fisher-house Asylum, at Islington. and daug.hter of a scheol-
master who realized .a handsome fortune, but who has been dead
ih,he'years.
Mr. Austin, of the Chancery bar, attended on behalf of the
commission, and. described the extraordinary nature of the de-
AU* laniA had been laliourin;; fiir a period
of nearly twenty-seven 7yeari: The commission, it appeared,
had been instituted- new in consequence of,the decease of her
brdth&r, who diM sprite time biek at 'Florence, arid who acted
as guardian or trustee of his sister's. prolierty. The following
witnesses were tlien called:—

tir; Seth Wind Stated that Miss James had been an inmate
of,Fisherfhouselinee the 16th of Septetnfrer,. 1806, and that he
attended her twice a-week at the asylum during that period—
' thitt4heh she was fitst received into the asylum, she .laboured
• undarlfte•delusion that she bad the innate power 'or creating all
things, and that in fact she was the supreme being. For the
first year she treated everything and everybody with suspicion,
and Wa.s..particiihirly ear6fur Wheii takiiiir her Meals to endea-
vour if she could det9ct anything of a poisonous description in
her victuals. • Tins reeling, however, she got over, but was still
impressed with the idea tti&t She Wits the Creator; arida clinStan t
expression she was in the habit of using *lien any person ap-
' proaChed her Wei, in-a haughty and imperious tone of voice ant
manner, " Dissolve out of my presence;" and thiSdeltisionWaS
so strongly implanted in her mind tivit she could not be prevail-
ed tiPon to enter into conversation with those about her. Know-
ing that she was accomplished and that She had a taste ter
drawing and painting, the doctor endeavoured to induce a con-
versation with her on those subjects,' but she shook her head,
a,nd in a deep tone of voice said" dissolve out of her presence."
.She would talk about her omnipotence, and at other Hines
refer to her brother and sisters, the first of.whoin she deSigriated
the archangel Michael, and one of her sisters she called. the
Duchess of York; and, although she admitted she had a brother.
and sisters, yet she said that they. were merely, human beings,
but that she ,was omnipotent. fhe character' of the disease
under which she had laboured for so long a period hid Under
gone no change, for, when the doctor saw the unfortunate lady.
in the ante-room of the court that morning, she addressed him,'
expressing her astonishment that he shouloi have sanctioned her
being brought to such a place, and she immediately relapsed'
into her former state Of mind with' respect to her innate creative'
powers. She was utterly incapabie of the management of her
affairs: The doctor, having mentioned the chief characteristic
of the malady under which Miss James laboured, added that her
bodily health was excellent; and although :not in the habit of
conversing with otheis,_she_was fond.of talking to herself; and
alWays appeared happy, her disease not at all.partaking of the
syinptoins which denote madness( of the melancholy mind.
Mr. Turner, one of the commissioners for regulating lunatic
asylums, had visited Miss James at Fisher-house several times,
and on ode occasion he conversed with her for nearly half an
hour,-the greater part of which time she. was speaking about her
creative powers; and Of her being
;the divinity. She said that
all the gold and diambnds in the world were of her creation,
and although she had'a brother and sisters, 'yet they were only
the figure of herself. Mr. Turner said that his two brothers
Went to the school kept by the lunatic's father upwards of thirty
year& ago, and although such a length of time had elapsed,
when`he spoke to heron .the subject she said that she remem-
bered the circumstance, and actually mentioned the christian
names of his two brothers. The witness added that upon every
occasion he saw her she exhibited the sytnizotoins of insanity
described by Dr. Sutherland,
The lunatic herself was now brought into court, and on enter-
ing she gazed. around, and, on being invited tti sit' down, she
was questioned by, the learned commissioner, who explained to
her the purpose for which the commission was instituted. She,
notwithstanding,. appeared. to be quite! Unconscious of wbacyas
passing around her, and in -a. few moments began to riatti in
the strain already described.
The, ury Vitiirneir i'ierclfct that Miss James had been insane,
without lucid intervals, since the lOth of September, 1808.

.11••••=1/11111 1••
THE TEA. TRXDE.-LONDON

Among the merchants connected with the tea trade the
change of !ministers appears to have caused considerable appre-
hension, as doubts are entertained whether Mr. Spring Rice
'will consent to a fixed duty, to which Sir Robert Peel is said to
have been all but pledged, particularly as the necessity Of, it is
made more apparent in every fresh arrival bythe conflict of
opinion between the brokers and the government inspettors ;
and what makes the change to be at present more 'de-
plored is the uncertainty Whether any decision Will be
come to upon the subject before the orders for next season are
sent out. It might have been expected that some time would
elapse before the tea trade, now divided into So many hands
and scattered over eight'or ten ports, wculd become settled like
other articles of iinport, but the 'present feverish state of the
market could hardly have been contemplated, and can arise
only from erroneous calculations on the subject.
1 he East India COl:twiny have limited their sales to 1,000,000 ,
of pounds quarterly, which extends them fin. the remainder Of '
their stock to eight quarterly sales from thii period, first
commencing in June next, and the last being in March, 1837;
so, that they will have disposed of the whole of their stock
before the ships of the season 1836-7 begin to arrive. The cod;
sumptirin during -the above period may be safely taken at
36,000.00014.'f0r the first year, and 39,000,0001 b. for the second,
being tegether 75,000,0001 b, of which the East India Company
supply 33,9(0,0001b. ( present stock unsold 32,681,1481 b.)
leaving 420)°,(XX)1b. to be 'flirnished by the free trade, the
imports' of which, in round nbinbers, may be stated to be, at the'
,opening of the trade, 4,000,009 lb.; the season 1834-5, according
to the estimates of a house at Canton, made from the qUantity
cf tea brought dotvn, and remaining, and checked by the ton-'
nage of-the season, 26,000,00 alb; ditto '1835.6, 26,000,00010.
adding to-which the present stock of ithe Company's 'tea sold,
5,000,00016. makes 61,000;000lb. leaving 20,000,006 lb. or Writ.
year's consumption, 'when the ships of 1836-7 'begin to arrive,
!while the 'Standing stock Of coffee and other articles of current
'use is nearer that Of a WhOle year. The plain question, there-
'fore, is, who must take the plate of the company in keeping a,
standing stock—the merchant or .the wholesare dealer ?I'm;
Speculators cannot be expected to embark in an artiele of which
their knowledge must be but limited. The general feeling, how-
ever, appears to be, that at present it must be divided between
the •tnerchant and Wholesale dealer, although the circuin-'
stance of a whole year's 'supply of this 'article arriving at once
leads to the conclusion that the dealer must ultimately hold a
greater proportion than in other articles. In either case it is
stated 2d. per lb. would be ample interest for the outlay of
capital, while within a fortnight teas have fallen 4d. to6d. per lb.
The price it is 'supposed will be still loWer, leaving remune-
rating profits to the importer and dealer, while the 'quantity
imported this season is 'represented as eqnal to the Company's,
and much fitter for use than tea which has been front' two to
three years in the warehouse. -