The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1882-02-18
THE ENGLISH Warehouses;.

The recent escape Of Mr.. Elliot from a
! Innate asylum will undoubtedly do a
| great deal of good, insomuch as it must
awaken public sympathy to the wrongs
inflicted on many people in England by
being deprived of their liberty. The
extent to which this is carried on few
! dream Of: and it is only those who, like
myself, have been for months in luna
! tic asylum, who can form any idea of
half what is done within these privilege
ed and licensed places of confinement
| for people whose wealth tempts greedy
way. At the presant time there is moth
/ ing to prevent the most sane and intelli-
! gent man in the country from being de-
| clared Il lunatIc, SD long as it can be
made worth the while Of two doctors to
certify that he is mad: and once in there
| that is i'll private asylum-he will
find it all but impossible to escape. Mr..
Elliot managed it easily because he was
in a country asylum, where the patients
are not SO strictly watched: but he
would have found it difficult matter
indeed to get away from place in which
his stay meant SO much more year to
the proprietor. One great good has re.
sulted-namely, that people now know
that if a patient can get away and keep
away for fourteen days, he is free. On
Saturday, the first of February, 1874, a
gentleman applied to the sitting magis-
trate at Marylebone. for advice. 1t APP
peared that his son, who was twenty
five years of age, having given way to
drink. went out of his mind, when his
father had him taken to the lunatic aSy-
lum at Hayward's health. Having re-
covered, he applied to see the visiting
justices, but from some cause or other
could not do so. After waiting four
months to see the visitors, he escaped on
the Goth of January, 1874, and went to
his fathers house, where keeper follow
ed and found him. The father wished
Mr.. Mansfield to prevent his son, who
was perfectly sane, from being taken
back to the asylum: but the magistrate
could not interfere, and the young man,
| despite his own and his fathers entreat-
les, had to return. Now. | believe that
all that was necessary i'll this case was
| for the magistrate to take the father as
| e, II, ,I r
have released the young man from GUS
tody.
may state. sir that in what follows |
speakc from personal knowledge of the
facts in each of the three cases | refer
to. The first, who | will term the Rev
erend Mr.. A., was an old gentleman
eighty years of age, who lived on pri.
vate income of over $500 year. At
this time he thought of making a fresh
will, but as soon as that was known he
was induced to the town of W--to
meet a very nice gentleman; and there
he met with two-they were doctors
with whom he spent pleasant hour,
and was then easily persuaded to go fur
ther to see some other nice men, and,
getting into a postchaise, was driven a
! long way to a lunatic asylum in an adj
joining county. He was told that it
was an hotel and that they were going
to stay there for an hour. When he re-
allied what had been done the poor old
man Went nearly out of his mind. He
declared it was only relation who
could sign an order or get physicians to
| certify to his state of mind; that he had
but one relative in the world, his sister,
who, being older than himself and as
well off. would never dream of commit
ting such an act and that he must soon
be set at liberty. He used to come
down stairs every morning expecting the
order to be there tor him to go: but he
never left there until the undertaken
came for him. When he had been there
! few weeks his sister died, and the re-
markable thing was that at breakfast
that morning he declared his sister had
died couple of hours before. And this
| heard the superintendent remark on
the following day was quite true; she did
die at the time Mr.. A. stated. lie was
quite right as well that she did not put
him into N-IIouse. it was his lawyer
who put him there. On his decease, as he
had no relations, his property, suppose.
would so to the Crown; but wonder if
it did?
Mr.. B., likewise an octogenarian, was
another case. lie was perfectly sane;
his fault being that he would not give
over charge of his property to his son,
who settled the matter by getting two
doctors to sign certificate that MS faith
er was mad This old but sturdy man
took his sons conduct greatly to heart,
and said from the first that and his be-
ing obliged to be in the company of lu-
natcs continually would kill him in a
fortnight. He died ten days after his
admission.
The third case was very different
one Mr.. c. was counterfeit mailman.
He got into some scrape about a promis-
sorry note, and, acting on the advice of
his lawyer. slammed mad. His brother
did all that was necessary, and when he
arrived at N-IIouse he wore a pair of
blue-colored spectacles. lie and | soon
became friends. and the third day he was
there he told me all about his coming
His ease was ludicrous one: for when
the matter about the money had in a
few months time been settled, and he
applied to be examined as to his sanity
by the visitors they would give him no
satisfaction. He wrote then direct to
the Commissioners in Lunacy twice; but
getting no reply to either letter. he had
to attain his object by stratagem 1t
happened that few of the best patients
were allowed each Sunday to gotO
quiet little church near at hand. There
he managed to get on speaking terms
with young lady. who readily under
took to post letter for him to the Com
missoners to Lunacy: and, as he could
write a letter, one of them was soon
down and he sat at liberty.
have been informed on very good au-
thority that many proprietors of private
asylums pay doctors a commission for
sending them patients; and that some of
these men make good income out of it,
because they are supposed to visit them