Litchfield enquirer., 1880-03-18
Insane Hospital.
sIR. HoLLISTER's SPEECH.

The Hartford Times ives the following re- port of MT. G. II. Holister's speech upon the appropriation for new buildings for the insane poor at Middletown:
 MT. Hollister, of Litchfield, argued against | the Carpenter amendment. and urged that the
 state could not afford to trife with this subject He said: The matter before US is one of deep l interest. For the facts we are entirely depeu- l dent upon the finding of the commissioners
 They are gentlemen of high character and in-
 telligence, two of whom have devoted the best
 part of their lives to the consideration of this
 subject We have l, ,149i insane persons in
 this state, S34 of whom are in destitute cir 1 cumstances Of these, 433 are in the state l hospital at Middletown..zOf the remainder. l 16O are in aims houses and in the towns net
 in the aims houses. 167, while 73 are in the
 Retreat at Hartford and in hospitals out of the
 state In other words, we have 401 insane poor persons who are either in charge of the l towns or dependent on the charity of friends Of the 328 who are left to the mercy of the
 towns 1t is.enough for me to say that it is l impossible in the small towns to find suitable l .nedicai attendance and comfortable accom-
 modations for them; and if it were, It is un- l just that these unequal visitations of Prov ! ldence should fall upon the taxpayers of the agricultural communities. The insane poor he has left to the state in trust, to be cared for by us We shall, in this world and
 the next. be held to strict accountability for
 thls trust We cannot shuff1e it off Even if
 we desired to do so the fate of our kinsmen
 and friends and the anticipation of what may oetall ourselves, perpetually admonish us lie who IS now in the prime of health and the l full blossom of his powers, may awaken on 1 the morrow. the victim of strange seizures that 1 Datt1e the minstratIOns of his friends and call for instant relief. No precautions nay be 1 able to avert this calamity. It may come like
 flash of Tightening in a summer sky Whether 1t be the result of some hereditary
 salnt or the outcome of moral and physical
 causes from source too deep for man to fath-
 om this evil angel lying in wait for us, may ! at any moment 'deprive our sovereignty of 1 reason and whirl us into madness"
 1 Physicians tell us that the vanties of men, | tai alteration are almost infinite. The treat nent Of cases calls for acute discrimination, l reeondlte learning, constant watchfulness, al- most divine patience and added to these, every physical accommodation known to sci ence and experience. The wisdom of Cover
 nor Hubbard in selecting the gentlemen who compose the Commission is apparent from the 1 terms in which their report is couched. They have no local ends to serve. It is clear that l Middletown is the place indicated by their best
 
 | but for'the reason that we can avail ourselves of the bakery, laundry and water fixtures pro- 'ided for the old hospital, for the use of the | new one thus saving large expense to the
 state. We can also employ the faculty and
 attendants for both hospitals This will save | a still larger sum to the treasury. For one, sir, have no desire to make out case for llddletoWn or any other portion of the state.
 have no interest in this subject other than ph hof ic frh klo .,o thing that rhetoric cannot represent in too glowing colors, it is the misery of the human
 soul shut up in diseased body, groping to l find the day which dawns upon all the con- ditions of normal life; hopelessy blending cause and effect, and shaping into shapeless-
 ness the delusions of dream from which the sleeper may never awaken. Let us not tri-
 file with subject which relates to the whole
 brotherhood of man and which reaches to both worlds. Who can tell what may be the eff feet ot our care bestowed upon these hapless souls Your brother, sister, mother, by your
 timely interposition may thus be restored to your arms, and again appear in the image of tod, With thoughts that wander through 1 eternity" We are told by the commission that the full sum asked for is needed to &C., complish the object. Let us not hggle about
 the sum. We cannot afford to drive sharp
 bargain with the miserable; by wronging them
 we wrong ourselves. Remember the words in
 which similar case is summed up; |" Inas- l much as ye have done tt to the least of these iny brethren, ye have done it unto me-" In treating this subject am reminded of
 the noble tribute paid to Connecticut by her best poet:
 still her gray rocks tower above the Sea That crouches at their feet, conquered wave. Iris rough land. of earth and stone and tree, Where breathes no castle lord cabined slave; nd .t0nnl h.,H Loil
 And friends will find welcome-foes grave;
 Ana where none kneel, save when to Heaven they
 Nor even then, unless in their own way" Can such state be unmlndfu of her suf- l fering children?
 The republic of Athens decorated the walls | of the Parthenon with the statutes ot her poets and heroes; and the sculptures of Phidias
 were authorized by Periclcs, her greatest statesman, and paid for out of the public treasury.
 | The statue of Minerva, the guardian gen.
 jus of the citadel, lowered above the Acrop- oils, and the Athenian mariner, as he sailed the fgean sea- hailed, as the first token of l the land, the goddess of wisdom welcoming
 him home. Let the walls of our Parthenon,
 rising over the crescent of yonder river, be | adorned with the living forms and faces of our suffering brothers and sisters: and let our Temple of Vesta cherish alone the imbersh- able flame of charity and affection.
 It is reported from Paris that the French
 own to attend the centennial celebration of the closing triumph of our revolutionary war. the capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown, on the 18th of September, 178l. A crack regiment from the French army, fleet. and their finest 1 military band, has been promised. for the oc-
 casion. It will be pleasant reunion between | the two great republics of the world, as well | as pleasant reminder of old ties between the
 two countries. If we could have Victor Hugo as one of the representatives of the new
 republic, he would meet such q reception as uo Frenchman has ever received in this coun-
 try since Lafayette.
 queer form of persecution has been prac- l ticed upon the Rev. Morgan Dix the noted rector of Trinity church, New York. Some one has been making practice, for some
 months past, of sending cards signed with Mr. ] DiA's name, to shoemakers, and tradesmen of various descriptions. and even to pawn i brokers, to call upon him at his residence. Shoals of callers gave unwitting annoyance to NIT. Dix and his family by responding to these requests. The thing was carried so far as to invite number of clergymen to meet an
 English bishop, at Mr. Dix residence.
 Though every effort has been made, the man
 who engineers this ingenious mode of torture
 has not yet been discovered.
 The defeat of the Article r of the Ferry
 Education bill in the French Senate is not a surprise. It has been long thought unavoida- ble. Nevertheless the Government does not
 propose to yield to the Jcsuits, and another
 bill, aimed directly at them, is expected to be carried up soon to the Senate .. With improving business and increasing i'm I kl, sL-