Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1880-09-04 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

AND "HIGH PRESSURE."  In the report of his reoent official visit to the Sunderland Union lunatics in Sedgefield As3lum, Dr. Parker Crosslq says :—" If anything may be called ' pleaAng' to look at so many unfortunate fellowcreatures, it was their clean and healthy appearance. With two trifling exceptions, their conduct before us was good. One woman, annoyed at the absence of the chairman, for whom she had prepared a surprise, had to be hastily removed from the room, and personally I have reason to be thankful I escaped what might have been a eerions injury. One poor Wan had composed a song in honour of oar visit, which he gave in good style to the tune of The Anchor's Weighed.' His strange delusion is that he has had hydrophobia for fffteen years. We could not fail to notice one striking symp. torn' of chronic disease; in many cases the patients had lost all memory of time, could not tell their age, nor how long they had been in; and although they seemed to know some of the Guardians by sight, could not . recollect names or particulars. On the other hand, some answered questions very readily, and to look at them they seemed quite sane. I regret to say that a very large proportion of the asses are confirmed idiots and chronic imbeciles. It is a question whether many of these could not be as well treated in the union as at an asylum if sufficent accommodation were provided, with a larger staff of officials. Something will have to be done in a few years time. Insanity is fearfully on the increase. There are in Great Britain alone no less than 93,634 certified lunatics —England, 71,191; Scotland, 9,624; and Ireland, 12,819. In addition to these, there must be at least twice as many who belong to what is called the ' nervous temperament,' and who, though eccentric and not suspected, are at any moment liable to develop into acute mania. Of these there has been a number of cases lately in the ltsv courts, and suiciles and murders we read ol daily are also examples. Many people say that drink 'is the chief cause, and I will not at. tempt to deny that it is a fearful source of brain discease ; bat my experience teaches me that the case of persons BO affected are 'habitual drunkards' and those so-called • sly drinkers' most frequent among women. I fear the grocers' license has this to answer for to a great extent. Some of the worst oases of humility I have seen were women who had never tasted until they had the facilities offered them by many unscrupulous persons who had this license, and who, I learned, allowed them spirits and charged the husband for groceries. I hope this is not the case now. Such people are not particular either to quantity or quality, and it is well known that a great amount of fiery and bad ' stuff' is sold in some parts of the country. Pure alcohol, in a diluted form—call it whisky, wine, or what you like, is a valuable stimulant—(the question is how much stimulant a man requires in these depressed times?)—and to those in health a glass of good ale cannot do harm ; but such people as I have referred to ought entirely to avoid it. Another fertile cause of insanity is religion; and here I speak with the greatest reverence, as life without it is a mockery and delusion, but 60 much ' external' show and excitement cannot be too strongly condemned. Some of the tocalled revivalists and salvation armies, though they may mean well, have driven hundreds of persons into asylums. There are several other causes, bnoh as love and jealousy; but my own opinion is that the true cause of so much increase is the rapid progress of the times we live in. On every class, and on all ages, the pressure of life as it is to-day puts a most severe tension. Competition waxes keener, the struggle for existence grows more exciting, the rapidly-iinorea.aiii4 population makes the laws of demand and supply m 're difficult to manage; and that this etrugg:e involves danger is certain, for statistics prove that while annuitants, clergymen, and other wellto-do people, who have to take little thought for the morrow, not only live much longer than shopkeepers, artizans, and labourers, who have to contend for daily bread for themselves and families, but are very seldom found amongst the insane."  SUICIDE or A Lovsn.—On Monday morning the body of Matthew Southern, piscer, aged j 19, was found in a mill 13dge off Halliwell. road, Bolton. In the pocket of the deceased's coat was a letter, in which be expressed a 1 hope that he was going to heaven, and that 1 his dear friend, Alice Henifer, would follow • him. It is believed that some love quarrel I had led deceased to commit suicide. A pleasure boat belonging to Dr. Hirschfield, of Banff, was swamped off that port on Monday night. Dr. Hirschfield's son, a boy of three years, was drowned, and Dr. 1 Hirschfield lost his life in attempting to save him. A man named Findlay was also 108 t