The Sun. — 1864-01-19 (London, England)

THE TOWNLEY CASE.  REPLY OF THE DERBYSHIRE MAGISTRATES TO THE HOME SECRETARY'S COMMUNICATION. An important anl numerously attended meeting of the Visiting Justices and Magistrates of Derbyshire was held at the County Gaol, Derby, on Friday last, when the correspondence recently received from Sir George Grey was taken into consideration. After mature deliberation, a reply to the Home Secretary, asking for a public inquiry into Townley's state of mind, was unanimously adopted, and forwarded to Sir George Grey on Saturday evening. The following is the concluding and most important part of this reply : _ _  The report made to you by the Lunacy Commissioners on Dec. 28 seems to the magistrates not to support the certificate of the two justices and two medical men, but to show that Townley is now by law criminally responsible, and that the further inquiry sought by the magistrates ought to be made. The commissioners, after referring to their examination of the officials, proceed to say— " The result of this examination of the officials of the prison may be stated briefly as in effect establishing, without dispute, that there has been substantially no change in the prisoner's mental state since the trial ; that such difference or alteration as may have been noted has been an improvement, and that he has been altogether more at ease, more resigned, and at times even cheerful, since the sentence was passed upon him. Not at any time since he was first brought to the gaol, according to the testimony of all who have had the means of watching him closely, does he appear to have been more rational than he is at present." In a subsequent paragraph they say— "ln view of the extravagant opinions thus deliberately professed by him (the details are appended to the report) of his extraordinarily perverted moral sense, and of the hereditary taint alleged, and apparently proved, to have existed in the family of the prisoner's grandmother, we cannot consider him to be of sound mind ; but his views of right and wrong, false as they aro, appear to have been coherently acted upon, and with a full sense of what they involved. He reasons now as he acted in committing the murder." And they conclude their report thus— " Being of opinion, therefore, that the prisoner continues to be now in the same mental state as when he committed the murder and underwent his trial, we think that, applying the law as laid down by Mr. Baron Martin to this case, the prisoner, George Victor Townley, was justly convicted." The magistrates infer from this report that a man may bo not of sound mind in a psychological sense, and yet be criminally responsible in a legal sense. And Mr. Gisborne, the surgeon to the gaol, has to-day made to the visiting justices the following statement, viz :—" I did not call the attention of the visiting justices to the state of Townley's mind, because I did not consider him legally insane." In the instructions to the commissioners it is stated that " Sir George Grey is of opinion that the verdict of thojury, in which Mr. Baron Martin concurs, decides the question as to the sanity of the prisoner at the time when the crime was committed." And as the commissioners have reported Townley to be in the same mental state as when "he committed the murder," and that "he was justly convicted," it seems imposeible to escape the conclusion that he is now criminally responsible. Tho verdict established the sanity of Townley at the time of the murder. The commissioners report, that there has not been any unfavourable change in his mental condition, therefore shows his sanity now. the magistrates, therefore, being now confirmed in their view by the report of the Lunacy Commissioners, again urge upon you the propriety and necessity of causing a full public inquiry to be made into Townley's state of mind, and his criminal responsibility. If the existing legal machinery is not deemed equal to the occasion, the meeting of Parliament is at hand when the defect may be supplied.—We are, sir, your most obedient servants,  T. W.