The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-04-05 00:00:00

ANIMAL MAGNETISM

On Friday evening a lecture was given at the Medical Hall by
Mons. La Fontaine, who some time ago appeared before the Liver-
pool public. But very few persons were present: amongst them
were several medical gentlemen. W euot iced Mr. Nottingham. Mr.
Brett. Mr. Currie, tec. Mr. La Fontaine delivertil his lecture in
the French language, Mr. Le Febre, Mr. Nottingham, and other
gentlemen occasionally interpreting. Mr. La Fontaine stated, that
from the interruptions he had met with the last time he appeared
in this town, and the misrepresentation he had undergone, he came
forward on the present occasion, in the hope of setting himself
right on the subject of animal magnetism. He had lately lectured
in Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, with great success, and
had there been listened to with politeness and attention, and those
who did not believe, at any rate retrained from interrupting. He
had restored the blind to sight at Birmingham—as was stated in the
papers of that town—and at Leeds he had performed several cures.
A young 1 ady was here introduced, upon whom the expert.
ments were to be performed. Mr. La Fontaine, in continuation,
said that animal magnetism was a phenomenon of which we could
not as yet give any explanation ; we Could only shew the effects.
and he aid so on the present instance that medical men might apply
it to their patients. Mr. La Fontaine now proceeded to mesmerise
the patient, and in the course of a few minutes he placed her in a
state of somnolency. Mr. La Fontaine's mode differed from Mr.
Braid's. although the principle is no doubt the same, both fixing the
patient's eyes on an object—Mr. Braid held up his lancet case—Mr.
La Fontaine kept the patient's eyes rivetted on his own. The lec-
turer said he should divide his lecture jnto three portions. He
would first experimentalize on the subject before them ; he would
then answer any questions asked ; and thirdly, would perform on
any person present. If any one intended to interrupt him he would
beg them to retire. He begged that the judgment would be sus.
pended until they had seen his examples. At this stage of the pro-
ceedings two or three individuals, who instead of coming to listen.
evidently made their appearance for the purpose of throwing an air
of ridicule over the proceedings, indulged in unseemly and rude
laughter, which the lecturer checked by,stating that he was not to
be put down by grimaces. He appealed to the good sense of the
meeting, whether he should not be allowed to go on without inter-
ruption.
Mr. La Fontaine said, that at BirMingham he was listened to
with great attention, and societies had there, as well as in Man-
chester, been formed for the purpose of investigating the subject.
Dr. Leveson and Dr. Elkington had both been present, who were
sceptics. Dr. Leveson had been sent to sleep under the magnetic
influence. An observation was here made that the patient appeared
sleepy before she came into tire room. Mr. La Fontaine said, if
he had previous to the lecture drugged his patients with opium or
other narcotics, how could they speak,act. or walk at his bidding?
Mr. Currie here stepped on the stage and commenced feeling the
patient's pulse. He declared it to be 102. Considerable confusion
took place in consequence of several persons putting questions to
. the lecturer, and some unseemly deinonstration occurring from
several parties,

NoTTINGnAm begged the meeting to give Mr. La Fontaine a
.tearing. He was deserving of it at their hands, not only for
sake of science but as a foreigner.
The LsoruitEa said, that while questions were put to him so
thickly, from the left and the right, it was impossible to goon.
Mr. NOTTINGHAM suggested that Mr. La Fontaine should meet
them on another evening, and that it Should be understood that he
was to be allowed then to go on without interruption.
Mr. Currie then stuck pins in the patient's legs, arms, and head,
but no symptoms of pain were exhibited. He also tickled the soles
of her feet, without the slightest indication of annoyance being
felt. She was partly demesmerised, and again magnetised, until
thrown into slight convulsions. She was then demestnerised. Her
arms and shoulders were then thrown.into a cataleptic state, when
experiments were tried with a galvanic battery.
A great deal of interruption took plate, when the lecturer begged
that on Tuesday (he having previously announced that he would
meet the present company on that day. giving them a free admission)
some medical men would bring the blind, deaf, and dumb, and allow
him to operate upon them. He had that day operated on a man at
the infirmary who had been troubled with the rheumatism, and had
enabled him to lift up his arm, which he had long lost the use of.
The patient, ou being tried with the galvanic test, said she felt
the shock in her shoulder, her arms only being mesmerised. Mr
Currie here appeared sceptical as to the administration of the shock
being so forcible as it was supposed, but he contented himself with
the doubt, rather than testing the effect of the shock.
Mr. LA FONTAING asked if Mr. Currie had ever galvanised a
- He must be aware that the arms were thrown, up in a con.

vulsed state.
A very irregular conversation then ensued, the upshot of which
was, that Mr. La Fontaine selected a gentleman out of the audience
to try his powers upon. Mr. Currie whispered something in the
ears of the party, which Mr. La Fontaine requested might be spoken
up. After some hesitation, the gentleman stated that Mr. Currie
told him not to shut his eyes unless he was asleep. Mr. La Fontaine
said if he succeeded with him he need not fear that, for he should not
take that ti noble. Alter a lapse of fifteen minutes no ellect was pro
duced, and Mr. L. said he could not succeed with him. Be could
not succeed with every body.
Mr. CuluttE said he had considered the subject, and that he came
there with an idea that animal magnetism was absurd, and nothing
he had seen that night had tended to alter his opinion.
A gentleman, who appeared in a great bustle and excitement, at-
tempted to move a resolution, to the effect that the meeting con.
sidered the subject a humbug, but it was rejected unanimously,
and an amendment of adjournment proposed.
We may here remark, that the young lady (a native of Man-
chester) hela her legs in one position, namely, extended, for 1 hour
and 38 minutes, until they were dernesmerised. Another meeting
will take place this evening.

[As public journalists, we have devoted some space to this subject,
but without implying our belief or disbelief in the matter. We
were present at a private meeting at the George Hotel last night,
at which Mr. La Fontaine magnetised one of the servants of the
establishment, and placed her in a somnolent and cataleptic state.
She presented precisely the same appearances as the young lady
at the lecture on Friday evening. Mr. La Fontaine also operated
upon a person who, we believe, is connected with the Apotheca-
ries' Company. He stated that he did not feel any effects, except
a sleepy sensation, and that he could have roused himself at any
time. He, however, presented all the appearances of a person
in a deep sleep. He described Mr. La Fontaine's action of pass-
ing his hands down his face as if pins were slightly pricking him.
—ED. L. S.]

very select ; and in conclusion, we may be allowed to remark that
however disinterested some Mesmerists have been or may be, to a
few just now famous, the words of St. Paul would apply .
Quos oportet redarqui, qui universos domos—subvertunt,
doceutes quce non oportet turps lucri gratia.

MEDICUS

Since the al:ove letter, which] isithe production of a gentleman of
eminence in his profession; was iu type, we have been favoured
by Mr. Hugh Neill (who, however, we may observe, is not our
correspondent " Medicus ") with a sight of the work alluded to.
—ED. L. S.]

QUALIFICATION OF SHIPMASTERS AND MATES

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SIR,—Two letters inserted in the Albion, signed "
have excited much attention ; permit me to offer one or two
remarks on them. The real opinions of "J." I cannot
make out, further than that he is decidedly against the for-
mation of the proposed board ; but whether he is against all
exertions for improving the situations and elevating the mo-

ral tone of our mercantile marine, I am unable to make out.
From his second letter I should say not; and if I am right
in so thinking, why dOes not " J." point out the defects of
the proposed bill, and suggest those improvements that he
may think it requires?' Gentlemen who step forward with
pure motives, to render what they deem will be an essential
service to the country, should be met in the same honoura-
ble spirit, and not with vituperation.
The following extract from " J.'s " first letter, I think
every candid reader will allow, conveys a slur, which, though
it may be beneath the high-minded gentlemen it affects, to
notice, may not be out of the way for a humble individual
like myself to comment on : _ _ _

" Let us see whether the proposed enactment is founded
on any thing like common sense, or where the argument lies
for special surveillance. In the first place, I can say from
experience, and I am certain I speak the experience of the
larger portion of respectable shipowners, that proper pay-
ments, proper inquiry, and the ordinary thinking that any
man ought bring to a business in which he has a right to ex-
pect he will succeed, leave shipowners using such means in no
difficulty about securing masters and mates competent in
every way. If, however, a class of shipowners should not
bring such appliances to bear, what other result than failure
can be expected ? And the cause of failure in this is now
wished to be made different from the cause of failure in other
matters of business, namely to be transferred from the prin-
cipals to the servants, in other words, the masters and mates
to be punished in the place of the shipowners."
Now, sir, 1, for one, require something more than assertion
before I can even entertain a suspicion of the honouroble dis-
interestedness of the public-spirited gentlemen who have
stepped forward to carry out this noble measure; and when
I sven attempt to think of the desire here imputed to them,
by J., of wishing to shift their responsibility to the shoulders
of their servants, it seems so ridiculous, that to give it seri-
ous attention is out of the question.
As for J.'s monthly or periodical examination into charac-
ter, I have read the printed rough draft of the bill with much
attention, and have been unable to find it ont. find a
clause, indeed, for depriving them of their certificates in case
of gross misconduct; but that could only come under the
cognizance of the board (except in special cases of public no-
toriety) by the special complaint of their employers, *hose
servants the board will really be. They are to be elected by
them, and the same power can eject them. How, then, the
board can ever become the dictators of the shipowners, as J.
seems to imagine, I am at a loss to conjecture, unless, indeed.
the board should discover the longitude ; and even then I
doubt the shipowners' gratitude will fall considerably short
of the surrender of their rights.
In J.'s second letter he asks this question—" What would
be said to a board being appointed to examine engineers, en-
gines, or axles on railroads, each time they start, to prevent,
as far as possible, the risk of accident, and loss of life?" In
reply, I have to observe that this principle is acted on in the
navy, and the result has been most beneficial ; and that so far
from the proposed examination reducing shipmasters and
mates to the level of ticket porters, as he assumes, its ten-
tency will be to elevate them in the scale of society with the
liberal professions; and I doubt not, in a few years; if this
great national measure is carried, of finding the honorary
distinctions of our scientific " societies" as prevalent among
the shipmasters as other denominations of gentlemen.
The fact is, Mr. Editor, that it is requisite for our mer-
cantile welfare, and national honour, (as I will endeavour to
shew in a future letter,) that our mercantile marine should
never in anything fall short of our rivals, who are striving
hard to outvie us. This measure will go a great way to pre-
vent such a catastrophe. Let, then, every patriotic heart
rally in remembrance of " by-gone days" of England's
fame, sound the supporters of this great and good measure
with their counsel and their influence, till it is firmly estab-
lished a monument that our enemies may fear and our country
for ever venerate.

In conclusion, Sir, I would with due humility suggest to
the framers of the proposed bill, the advantages likely to
accrue by giving the Board the power of investigating into all
cases of shipwreck.

1 remain, Sir, your obedient Servant.
B. W. TRACEY, Lieut. R.N.
Mates' Association, 11, Duke-street,
March 31st, 1842.
[We insert Lieut. Tracey's letter, without committing
ourselves as the advocates of either side of the question.

JUDICIAL' DISCRIMINATION

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SlR.—There are few exhibitions in life more imposing,
both in their aspect and their consequences, than the crim-
inal trials in our courts of justice ; and there are few positions
more honourable, and at the same time more responsible,
than the office of judge. The administration of justice in
England, civil and criminal,has for a long series of years been
so impartial, that men have a decided objection to question-
ing its decrees. It is, on the whole unexceptionable, and an
example fit to be imitated by all the other nations of the

world.
But uprightness of intention, profound learning, and years
of experience can never overcome the infirmities of nature;
and therefore it is no reflection upon the purity of the ermine
to say, that individual and isolate decisions or sentences are
either above or beneath the merits of the particular case. It
is with these feeling that, using the undoubted privilege of a
subject of England, I take leave to examine two sentences
passed upon two convicted prisoners at the present assizes,
by Mr. Baron Rolfe.
The cases came before the learned Baron in the Nisi Prius
court on Thursday last. In the first of them, a young per-
acsstge)o a
county,
horse, the
resid-
ingi
per-
con, whose name i do not recollect, wee indicted for having
wilfully and maliciously
waand
Ristolceirrla angdi (bytiate of
fbbthire stabbing)
The prisoner was property
commit-
ted for trial, Foxholes,and near d
after he had been in prison nearly a month
he was admitted to bail by Mr. Justice Pattison. Mr. Baron
Rolfe after his conviction, sentenced the prisoner to one
month's imprisonment in Lancaster castle—a prison in which
the discipline is considered to be, at least, much severer than
Kirkdale, or any other house of correction in the county.
The horse which was stabbed by the prisoner was not mate-
rially injured, and at the time the offence was committed, Mr.
Entwistle was with his hounds trespassing, in violation of a
notice to the contrary, upon the farm lands of the prisoner's
father.
The second case was one of manslaughter—a very grave
crime in the eye of our law, for our law is more jealous of hu-
man life than the law of any country in Europe. I know well
that manslaughter is a crime the absolute degree of which is
to be estimated by circumstances; but still it is a branch of
our criminal proceedings that receives the greatest investiga-
tion. The prisoner in this case was an ex-pugilist, a reformed
boxer, named Sampson, and be was accused of having killed
a man named Ireland, by throwing him twice down upon the
flags of the causeway, opposite the door of his own (Samp-
son's) public-house. It was alleged, in extenuation, that the
deceased had used language of a disgusting nature towards
Ale and daughter of the prisoner; but whatever the lan-
guage was, it was not proved, and Mr. Baron Rolfe justly
remarked—that it would have been infinitely more satisfac-
tory if some evidence had been adduced in support of the
allegation. It was not, however ; nevertheless, the learned
judge gave the prisoner the benefit of it. The deceased died
in less than twenty-four hours after the violence had been in-
flicted upon him. The sentence on the prisoner was that he
should pay a fine of jive pounds to the Queen.
These cases have suggested one or two considerations to
my mind which, without attributing any improper bias to
Mr. Baron Rolfe, I shouljl wish to mention in your columns.
The first is the obvious disparity in the punishments directed
to be imposed for these offences. One case involved the
wounding of a brute animal, and the other the death of a
human being—a fellow-creature. The man that would stop
to make a comparison between the value of the two I shall
not allow myself to describe ; but as Mr. Baron Rolfe, in
administering the law, has apparently invited a comparison
between the two degrees of punishment, it may be worth
while to make it. _ _ _

....
Mr. Entwisle's horse was not permanently injured; and,
at the time it was injured he was in the comm;ssion of an
unlawful act, by trespassing upon another's land. Ireland's
life was sacrificed .to the unrestrainable vengeance of the
moment for using offensive expressions ; for which any other
but a man of ungovernable anger would have contented him-
self with calling in the police; and if that had been so,'Mr.
Rushton would have dealt with the offender as he deserved.
Unfo-tunately, the man's life was the penalty be paid for
his offence.
Who will say, under these circumstances, that two months'

imprisonment for wounding a horse is a just punishment,
five pounds are sufficient to wipe out the guilt of killing
man ? The disparity is too apparent to be enlarged upon.
Another consideration which these cases have suggested,

the effect of pecuniary punishments, so to speak,-for such
weighty offences against life as manslaughter. Merely to
fine a convicted party is not to punish him, especially if he
can afford to pay ; and I apprehend that the original object
in prescribing punishments was imprisonment. I have no
objection—on the contrary i think it highly salutary because
the tender point is reached by it, for fine and imprisonment
go together; but I do protest against nominal fines being
imposed for such offences as manslaughter.
In short, my high regard for Mr. Baron Rolfe's character
for just intentions and for impartial iidmluistration :of• the
law, cannot alter my opinionitilit in these two cases he has
not sufficiently discriminated the circumstances of each.
Sampson has, at least, escaped remarkably easy; but Mr.
Entwistle has the enviable satisfaction of thinking that the
offender against him will have been confined nearly twice as
long as his horse was, and that although the case of the
horse was not sufficiently important to call in the aid of a
veterinary surgeon to the animal, the accused felt his liberty
sufficiently important to him to spend not far short of twenty
pounds in endeavouring to obtain it,—besides making an
abject apology.—l have the honour to be, sir, your obedient
servant, PEN SATORE.
Great George•street, April 2.

Mr, Charles Pearson, the city solicitor, is likely to be ap-
pointed town-clerk of London. There are many candidates
for the former situation.
Several Irish families are already on the move from
England, to avoid a property tax.
The other day, at Oxford, a man was tried for stealing a
bee-hive. The hive was produced in court, covered with a
in order to be identified by its marks, but on
white napkin;acTouittof it
s being filled with bees, the jury did not venture
to examine it, and the man was acquitted for want of evidence.
The number of bodies thrown on the coasts of France,
from Boulogne to Dunkirk, in consequence of the storm of
the 10th inst., amounts, says the Courrier du Nord, to 150
(Flintshire) assizes on Friday, Robert
CONVICTION FOR, MURDER, AND SUICIDE OF THE CON•
indicted for attempts to murder his wife
.awiotlillosdn of arsenic. lie was found guilty and
vbp
yti
ec
trThc.
ee- —At
dit
nh2i es4t,rs
sentenced to death. On the following morning, when the
gaolor entered the condemned cell of the convict in the Cas-
tle of Flint, he was found suspended by the bars above the
door. The body was nearly cold when discovered, and it is
judged that he had been dead some time. It appears that
he formed a noose of his braces, and having attached them
to his neck and fastened them to the bars, he placed his
feet upon an earthenware. utensil and a Bible, which he
kicked away, and thus left himself hanging. The unfortu-
nate man confessed to having committed the crime for which
he was convicted, on the night after his condemnation.

Another "delicate affair" came before one of— the— police-
offices, Dublin, ou Saturday. Mr, F., a gentleman of pro.
per ty, charged Miss M., a lady, with a conspiracy to rob his
house. The prosecutor did not appear to support the charge.
Miss M. then explained, that Mr. F. had been paying his
addresses when she found that he was already mar-
ried,.the intercourse. He then proposed to
-ayear upon and to marry her after his wife's
o od tobr
oke her,
oft
settle £l,OOO
death, should that occur within a certain period, upon con-
ditionsshe indignantly repelled ; and in revenge be
instituted
dhitchhe
present accusation. The lady was discharged
i
from custody.