Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1842-02-03

~, OIL whom elghty-four per cent. have recover
ed; result which we confidently believe viii
bear honorable comparison with that in any othe
institution in existence, and one which SHOULD
speak trumpet-tnngued TO those misguided ind
vlduats, who, notwithstanding the lights which
have been shed upon this important, subject " it'll
mi lew years past, obs'inately persevere in re.
tanning their insane friends at home, or in si,ua
tons equally unfavorable, until their malady be-
comes confirmed, and they are rendered, 70, lie.
me victims OF insanity, it may be in some one OF
its most aggravated and distressing FORMS"
Table 10 shows the number of patients in the
institution atpublic expense, and of those whose
expenses are betrayed by themselves or their
friends ltappears from this table tina, SO have been
maintained at the cost Of the Commonwealth, and
81 by private means. Tho amount paid by the
la'ter has varied according to the mode in which
each has been accommodated, sand in this (says
the reporD we have b, en- regulated chiefly by the
former habits OF the pa,ient-liis present cond-
on-and his ability to meet the pecuniary labi-
lilies incurred. Some Of those, too, who are in
cluded among the State patients, although unable
to pay their board, yet having been accustomed
10 a more genteel and costly style of dress than
we would feel at liberty furnish from the funds
OF the institution, are Supplied will! TER apparel
by their relatives or friends"
'As insanity is a disease CONTINUES the rcport)
not alone confined To the poor and the iunorant
nut embracing amongst its subjects many of the
weaithy' The educate and refined, il Is surely
dcsideratunI, both on the score of humanity and
economy, that asy lums for this class OF uniortu-
mates be so conducted to afford to the latter, no
less than the former, pleasant retreat i'm their
aHiiction, where they can be subjected to the
necessary restraints and avail themselves of the
proper aids to recovery, whilst they are permit
tea To ENJOY the comforts, and even the luXurcs,
which 'hey may be able to procure, and to which
they hau always been accustomed. In this re-
spect, we flattcr ourselves that there has been
decided improvement in our institution during the
last hve years-partlcuury Since wise and hu-
name Legislature enabled us to provide games
musical Instruments, library, carriage and horses,
ana those other attractive means embraced in our
system OF moral machinery. Until then, no one
scarcely who WAS able To support his insane rea-
i've at home, ever thought or dreamed OF SENDING
LIN to AN asylum; and even when at leno TN some
such institution had to be resorted To, either for
inc purpose ol cure or restraint, he forced by
a cruel necessity to 60 beyond the cdnliues Of his
native State, In search of some one more liberal
~ endowed than either Of the two he had left be-
""u hihis anu lot the support Oh which his
perty was annually taxed
Table Il presents statement Of the per CEN
tage Of cures effected in some of the best onduct
ed institutions in Europe and America, with
which we Me Hipi'y ~ Sro IS .,.> in-
sttution here bears highly honorable and flatttr-
ing comparison. The whole number admitted
into this asylum since July 1886, Gas appears by
Table l2) has been hundred and thir,y-of
whom ifty-one have been cured-1wcniy-one d.
ed-and ten otherwise discharged.
Table l3 shows the number of recent cases adj
United into the Institution in the same period
(since July lS36)-which has been 55-of whom
AZ recovered were relieved, is uni,n proved,
and S have died.
Table Ii shows the number Of deaths that have
occurred annually, and the per centage of these
TO the whole number in the asylum each year
from which it appears that during the fourteen
years 1t has been in operation the annual per
centage OF deaths averages only five.
Table 10 exhibits the cost of number Of the
asylums for the insane in different scctious of the
Union, with the extent Of accommodation afford
ed by each. We cOnimend this TO the especial
attention Of those who have been finding fault
with the supposed extravaganza of the institution
here.