New-York tribune., 1868-08-08
THE NEW.JERsEY LUNAnC ASYLUM.

DR.. II. A. ButtOlph, Superintendent of the
NcwJersey state Lunatic Asylum, has published letter
viudcatng tho institutions officers In the case OF Mrs
Merritt recently patient there. After remarkng that
many reports-includug that which was printed in The
atlantic AonF ARE erroneous II not exaggerated, Dr.
Buttoiph says:
Mrs Merritt was admitted to the institution the
18Th day Of July on the application OF the Hon. Edward
t. Price member Of the Legislature from Newark In this
state brother of the patient, who furnished an am
dayit from yscian OF her insanity and who executed
bond for her support slghed also ny eAp0V houhah
NJ Price another brother and by Mrs PRICE, her mother
These are the usual preliminary fors to the admission
private patients required by the rules oi the hsut
ton and statute laws OF the state To these papers ref
erence is made In the Of the Superintendent to
the wilt OF habcas corpus as MS gIohhd Ol @
retaining her afterward, as stated in your quo,
atOn from The Times article; for the latter aduitlOai
want least Tor large portion OF tho time she re-
nancd the 2ll OF July, four days after Mrs Mer-
corpus isued by Judge }edo Of the supreme Court ON
application Of Col Merritt husband OF lne patent 10y
IL Hudson CITY IN this state on the oath two days after
Ia show why she was restrained, &c by agree
meut Of te parties aud consent ot te JGuec' hoHeNoI
her presence ~ court dispensed with' aud the an
had been detained thus for The short period OF IOuf aays
by virtue OF compliance on the part O Hlehus,"th tno
required prcimatrics before described As the parties
were uot boh prepared to proceed WIN tho , & o
application for delay the Judge pos,poned tne iurer @ M
dered that Mrs Merritt should remain uhder
in the Asylum during the interval AT the nearing on
tho 4h of August, Judge De.le AiIo"cu h mo 10 70
make an amended return 10 the writ, which was
tu tile effect that after observing Mrs Merrtts
symptoms and condition from the time OF her al,
mission TO that date viz from the nth Of July TO the Sd
Of August had formed the opinion that she was not n-
sane On this return the Judge ordered her discharge
from tuton and that she be allowed to go whore
and with whom she pleased She left the same evening
with her husband. Though no other 1ustinoauon Is
needed for the institution and its officers for the act OF
admitting Mrs. Merritt a patient than that above de-
serbed yet may be stated incidentally that tile prOpr
ETY. OF restraining her IN the institution was confirmed by
the social ana political standing OF the applicants ana DY
,f flFff hat
he nth Of July declared TO be insane by jury OF
inquest convened by order Of the Chancellor TO make IN
Guiry into her mental state In such circumstances IL
would have been rshuess the part OF the superin
endent decide In lees time than the whole period OF
sixteen DAYS that Mrs Merritt under care that she
was not Insane, But IL Will be observed that he was
restrained by the writ from all action In reference her
discharge from 22d the oath OF July and by order
of the Judge the oath Of July until the 81 OF August
the day she was released by order OF the court