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promises me the results of any experiments made, and theplacing the matter as it stands in your hands may possiblylead to something useful, or, if not so, conclusive to the con.trary.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,Derby, Aug. 1858.

___

INQUIRER.

THE LUNACY LAW.

THE following letter upon private lunatic asylums appearedin The Times of the 23rd inst.:—

To the Editor of " The Times."SiR,-Permit me, as the proprietor of a private asylum for

the insane, to vindicate the owners of such establishments fromreproaches which, as a body, I cannot think we deserve.

It seems to me forgotten that all the eminent physicians whohave especially devoted themselves to the study and treatmentof mental disease—surely no ignoble department of a noble art- the very men to whom we owe that system of mercy whosegood effects have taught us to abhor the everyday cruelties of atime not long past, have been and are, with scarcely one excep-tion, the proprietors of private asylums. It is quite possiblethat a man intrusted with the care of disordered minds mayregard his high office as a commercial speculation, the greatestsoldier of England, excepting one, did so-members of a higherprofession have done so-but, as a general rule, the medicalmen who have been engaged in attempting to render the highestservice which, as regards this life, man can render to man, therestoration of reason, have not proved unworthy of their calling,and some of them have been distinguished for their unselfishand disinterested philanthropy.

It should be perfectly understood that every private asylummust of necessity be a licensed house, and under the super-vision of the Commissioners in Lunacy, but the law requiresno such licence for a house where one patient only is received.The Commissioners found that grave abuses had arisen fromthe want of the same power over unlicensed as they possessedover licensed houses, and accordingly, in their last Report(pp. 19 and 20), they say, " That the condition of patients inunlicensed houses is unsatisfactory." As a general rule, theaccommodation provided is quite incommensurate with thepayments. " In some instances, cases of marked neglect hadbeen found; that a very large number of insane persons aretaken charge of by medical men and others without legalauthority, and are thus deprived of independent supervision."These severe animadversions, expressly directed against un-licensed houses, have been applied, not only by the newspaper,but also by the medical press, to private licensed asylums.The Commissioners have been told, that they ought to haveprevented those abuses which they have discovered and lament- not by procuring a change in the law as to unlicensed houses,but by a more careful inspection of licensed houses ! the pro-prietors of which have been called to account for offences, someof which—even though they should wholly disregard their in-terest and their duty--the very fact of their being licensedwould render it impossible for them to commit.

Setting aside cases of epilepsy and paralysis, insanity in its.early stages is as curable as any other severe disease. Wherethere are sufficient means, and where a relative or friend canbe found able and willing to bestow the time and the constantand painful care which insanity demands, the best course is totake a house or a lodging, and to place the patient under themoral management or supervision of such a guardian, having the help of proper servants, and guided by the advice of a phy-sician conversant with the disease. But all these favourablecircumstances do not often concur, and when they are notfound together, the very worst course that can be adopted is tointrust a lunatic to the tender mercies of a keeper, howeverhigh may be the reputation of his employer, however frequenthis visits. Yet this is a mode of treatment usually desired bythe family of a lunatic when the symptoms of mental diseasebecome apparent. They are slow to believe the existence ofinsanity, and most anxious to conceal it as long as possible.The sufferer is, therefore, placed in some lodgings, the moreremote from observation the better, under the care, or ratherunder the government, of an attendant, one of a class whom itis not the least difficult part of a physician’s duty to controlwhile immediately under his direction, but who here becomesthe sole companion, and too often the absolute lord. Mutua]confidence is impossible; sympathy or dictation are equally resented: such a condition is the one must unfavourable to cure.Speaking oiilv of thf* metropolitan district. I bfimvf that more

misery and more incurable cases of insanity arise from thistreatment in one year than have arisen from the misconduct orignorance of the proprietors of private asylums since licenceswere first granted under the new system. These remarks donot, of course, apply to particular cases in which medical men,experienced in mental disease, undertake the charge of a singlepatient, often with the happiest result.When patients cannot afford the advantages of treatment

under the eyes of those nearest and dearest to them, or when,as is sometimes the case, the companionship, or even the nearneighbourhood, of intimate friends is detrimental to their re-

covery, the choice lies between their treatment in a publicinstitution or in a private licensed asylum.That the comfort and well-being of a patient may be better

secured in the private establishment cannot be disputed; thatthey are does not depend upon the expressed opinion of theCommissioners in Lunacy that there has been a manifest generalimprovement, and that a few of the licensed houses continue tomaintain a high standard of excellence, but upon this intlis-putable and conclusive fact: the proportion of cures in thesmaller private asylums is greater than in the public institu-tions. Yearly returns are made, the result of which is givenin a report made by the Commissioners in Lunacy every fiveyears. From the last quinquennial report it appears thatduring the preceding five years there had been received intoall the smaller licensed houses, exclusively devoted to the upperand middle classes, which are within the jurisdiction of theCommissioners, 1001 patients, of whom 396, or about 39½ percent., recovered. Into the county asylums of Lincolnshire andNottingham, and Hanwell, Middlesex, during the same period,1248 patients were admitted; of these, 350, or about 28 percent., were restored to reason. If one private asylum wereselected to contrast with the public ones, the difference wouldbe still greater: thus, in the Quaker’s Retreat, York, (an ad-mirably-conducted private asylum,) the average rate of cureduring a period of forty-four years was 47’31 per cent., whilethe average number of cures in the public asylum near wasonly 31 ’34 per cent. (Thurnam’s " Statistics of insanity," p. 7.)In some of the best private asylums near London, 50 per cent.are cured. And, were it necessary, I could show, by incon-trovertible figures, that where the disease has been met byproper treatment at its accession, the cures amount to morethan 75 per cent. The restoration to society of 70, or even 50,of every 100 of his patients, must afford the best proof that thephysician has not neglected or ill-treated the cases entrustedto his care. I do not hope to convince those who think that asystem can be devised under which all wrong or error can beavoided, that there are some merits even in the present plan;nor do I hope to gain the ear of those who, allowing for dif-ference of opinion between philosophers, statesmen, judges,captains, and fathers of the Church, consider it a peculiarscandal of the medical profession that doctors disagree; but,since the present system is and must be for some time in opera-tion, I would ask them whether it might not be well to inquirewhat further safeguards against abuses may be devised underthe existing regulations, and whether some simple rules cannotbe laid down to guide the choice of those for whose friends theprotection of a private asylum is unavoidable.

It may be premised, as important to the comfort and cure ofpatients, that the proprietor of a licensed house should be amedical man, resident there with his family.

His general reputation, and whether he has been successfulin effecting at least the average number of cures, may belearned from the ordinary medical attendant of the patient.Having chosen a house, the friends of a patient should satisfythemselves that they have well chosen by frequent visits (notnecessarily to their friend, unless his state permits the excite-ment of seeing them), by making themselves acquainted withthe proprietor and his family, and, where means are not want-ing, by directing visits to be made at frequent intervals, or

regularly, by the ordinary medical attendant of the invalid.In any case of doubt, application may be made to the Com-missioners in Lunacy. Above all, it should be observed

’ whether former patients who have been restored to health inthe house are friends, and sometimes visitors there.

! Some precautions have occurred to me against the confine’ ment of persons who may be eccentric and odd, but not insane,and against the continued detention of patients after recovery.

. These are-1. That every certificate for the confinement of a patient be

! signed or countersigned by the resident medical officer of acounty asylum (of whom there will soon be one or more inevery county in England) after personal examination of the

: patient, and that a fixed fee be paid for such examination.

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2. That the rector of the parish in which an asylum stands,or his representative, should consider it part of his duty-as,indeed, some do-to know every patient in the house.

3. That the letters of a patient should never be placed underthe control of a person who has an interest in his detention,and that letters of complaint addressed to persons in authorityshould not be withheld without manifest reason appearing onthe face of the letters themselves.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,August, 1S58. PRIVATUS.

Medical News.ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.—The following mem-

bers of the College, having been elected at previous meetings ofthe Council, were admitted Fellows on the 12th inst.:BOND, JOHN, Grafton-street, Fitzroy-square ; diplonia of

membership dated April 26, 1836.BRYAN, JOHN- MORGAN, Northampton ; April 29, 1833.CHADWiCK, S. TAYLOR, Bolton le-Moors ; April 29, 1831.HETLEY, FREDERICK, Norwood ; May 15, 1843.LEACK, RICHARD, Blackburn ; May 17, 1843.SPURRELL, FLARMAN, Bexley-heath, March 9, 1838.At the same meeting of the Council, Messrs. ALEXANDER

MONRO INGLIS, of Worcester, and WILLIAM FOSTER ROOKE, ofScarborough, were admitted ccd eundem members of the Col-lege ; these gentlemen had previously been admitted Licentiatesof the Edinburgh College of Surgeons, their diplomas bearingdate respectively, June 21, 1854, and April, 23, 1855.APOTHECARIES’ HALL. - Names of gentlemen who o

passed their examination in the science and practice of Medi-cine, and received certificates to practise, on

Thursday, August 19th, 1858.MopRis, WM. HENRY, Studley, Warwickshire.SMITHERS, BARTHOLOMEW DRUMMOND, Brighton.

In addition, five other gentlemen passed their first examina-tion.

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON.—The following is a list ofcandidates who obtained honours at the recent First Examina-tion for the Degree of Bachelor of Medicine:—Anatomy andPla,ysiology: H. Gervis, St. Thomas’s Hospital, Exhibition andGold Medal; F. Lloyd, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, GoldMedal; F. W. Gibson, B.A., University College ; C. J. Bracey,Queen’s College, Birmingham; J. Easton, King’s College, andJ. Neesom, Leeds School of Medicine (equal); G. M. Evans,King’s College, and T. Moreton, St. Thomas’s Hospital (equal).— Chemistry: G. J. S. Saunders, King’s College, Exhibitionand Gold Medal; J. Easton, Gold Medal; G. F. Atchley, King’sCollege, and J. Neesom (equal); G. H. Attwell, Guy’s Hospital;H. Gervis and F. Lloyd (equal); E. Woakes, St. Thomas’sHospital, and A. Woodforde, University College (equal).- Materia Medica and Pharmaceutical Chemistry: G. F. Atchley,Exhibition and Gold Medal; J. Eastou, Gold Medal; H.Gervis and G. J. S. Saunders (equal); E. Woakes; F. Lloyd;C. J. Hellicar, Bristol Medical School. —Structural and Physio-logical Botany: A. Woodforde; G. F. Atchley; H. Gervis;G. J. S. Saunders.

ROYAL MEDICAL BENEVOLENT COLLEGE.-At a meet-ing of the governors of this Institution, held on Monday last,it was unanimously resolved to increase the number of founda-tion scholars from thirty-five to forty.QUARANTINE AT SOUTHAMPTON. — In consequence of

the appearance of the plague at Bengazi, and of the suspicionsof its existence at Alexandria, Mr. Wiblin, the quarantineofficer at Southampton, has received orders to visit all mailpackets from the East, in addition to those from the West.The practice of the quarantine officer visiting the Alexandrianpackets at Southampton has ceased for many years.SURGEONS FOR THE EAST.—In consequence of the urgent

demand for medical officers in the East, the Court of Directorsoffer a free passage to those gentlemen who passed the Julyexaminations, provided they take their departure overlandduring the present month of August.THE PLAGUE AT BENGAZI.—We extract the following

statements from the Gazette ilfid;calc d’Orient:—" There is

unfortunately no doubt as to the kind of epidemic which hasfor some time been raging at Bengazi : it is certainly the plague.

The Ottoman government received on the 23rd of July thereport of the commissioners who were sent to the spot; andthis report is certainly explicit. The usual characters of theplague are thus described:—High fever, wandering, proska-tion, vomiting, buboes, petechie, anthrax, the latter symptomsbeing less frequently met with than the former. The epidemicpresents all the features of the plague with its malignant cha-racter, its rapid course, and its spreading tendencies. The dis-ease not only reigns at Bengazi, but has broken out in three ofthe four or five districts of which the province is composed.Derna, a sea-port town of between 10,000 and 15,000 inhabi-tants, has been especially visited. Bengazi had formerly apopulation of 12,000 souls; at the time of the arrival of thecommissioners, the inhabitants numbered barely 4000, owingto emigration and the numerous fatal cases. At least 1500

persons had been attacked since the outbreak of the disease;and 800 of these had died. At Bengazi, the disease had brokenout in the course of May, and had reached its highest point ofintensity towards the 20th of June, when from twenty tothirty persons died per diem. From that period the epidemicraged with undiminished violence; and towards the middle ofJuly, there were only eight deaths per diem, out of a popu-lation reduced to about 4000 souls. But while the disease de-creased at Bengazi, it spread to the surrounding country, espe-cially on account of the flight of a great many inhabitants ofthe town who scattered themselves in the neighbouring dis-tricts. Such are the main facts which have transpired. Ampledetails will shortly be found in an elaborate pamphlet by thecommissioners, which is said to be preparing."HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK ENDING

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21ST.—The returns of the metropolitanregistrars are still of a satisfactory character. In the weekthat ended August 21st the deaths registered were 1112, ofwhich 569 were those of males, and 543 those of females. Inthe corresponding weeks of 1849 and 1854, when so many liveswere destroyed by cholera and diarrhoea, the deaths rose to2230 in the former year, and to 1833 in the latter. In the

corresponding weeks of the ten years 1848-57 the averagemortality was 1259. The deaths of last week occurred in anincreased population ; and the present rate of mortality istherefore comparatively low, being 273 below the correctedaverage deaths in London. Of the 1112 persons who died, 614were under 20 years of age ; 136 were 20 and under 40 ; 148were 40 to 60 ; 161 were b0 to 80 ; and 40 were 80 years ofage and upwards. The births registered exceeded the deathsby 446. The zymotic class of diseases caused 379 deaths, orabout one-third of the total mortality, including 22 by measles,105 by scarlatina, 28 by whooping-cough, 43 by typhus andother continued fevers, 113 by diarrhoea,, 10 by cholera, &c.To the constitutional class of diseases 215 deaths were regis-tered ; of this number phthisis or consumption was fatal to 116,96 of whom were between the ages of 20 and 60. In the localclass of diseases 294 deaths occurred; in the developmentalclass 145 deaths ; from violent causes 54; and in 15 deaths thecause was not specified or ill-defined. Scarlatina (diphtheria)is much above the average.

Births, Marriages, and Deaths.BIRTHS.

On the 18th inst., at Geneva, the wife of H. V. Malan, M.D.,of a son.On the 21st inst., at Villiers-street, Sunderland, the wife of

C. Nattrass, M. D., of a daughter.On the 23rd inst., at Brook-street, Grosvenor-square, the

wife of Maurice Schulhof, M.D., of a son.

DEATHS.

On the 5th inst., at Dalston, William Filliter, M.B., ofphthisis, formerly resident physician of the Marylebone In-firmary, and late of llalta, aged 32.On the 17th inst., aged 52, Robert Cane, M.D. Glasg. He

was also M.R.C.S. Eng., and F.R.C.S. and L.A.C. Ireland;was physician to Kilkenny Workhouse, the Fever Hospital,and County and City Prisons, and enjoyed the largest practicein Kilkenny. Such was his professional character in the esti-mation of all classes, that his strong political views appearednot to interfere with him in the least. He was interred, witha public funeral, on the 20th inst.