THE YARRA BEND.

Southland Times, Volume 3, Issue 102, 16 October 1863, Page 6

THE YARRA BEND.

(From the Argus.) v The occasional visits to Melbourne of Bishop Wi'eson, with whose name the reform of that wretched disgrace — Yarra Bend-*-has been so long associated, are always welcome, and never unprofitable. Charity and the miiigatiun of the miseries of his kind constitute the mission of Dr Wileson wherever he goes, and of this he never loses sight. Where good is to be clone or evil undone, there the Roman Catholic Bishop of Tasmania is to be found, as much by inclination as in virtue of his office. To us his visits are of special value. lie has watched the progress of the Yarra Bend Asylum— whether for better or worse — from the beginning. From 1856, when he first saw the^ Asylum he has consistently raised his voice against both the Asylum and its site. A various times sinee '56 he has re vi sited the place, fresh from the well-conducted hospital for the insane in his own diocese, each time noting the changes which have taken place, and urging the necessity of others, lie is even bettor qualified to do this than person* who fire always on the spot, as he see* with a clearer and less piejudi ed eye the improvements which have been made, and thos.3 which are still ne >ded. He can credit us with what has been done, and debit uswith what remains to be done. ll is las: visit of which he speaks in the letter printed in Tuesday's A-gus, affords ample evidence of the benefit his visits are calculated to confer, lie cheerfully acknowledges the '• marked change" which has j taken place since the great libel case lie especially remarks upon this change as .-hown in the appearance of the violent and refractory. The to al absence of personal restraint in that class;, naturally stni'-.k him. In the whole institution, containing fWO patients, ''neither slrait-waistcoat, bolt r >u;ul the bo ly, to which the hands could be secured, nor indeed any other instrument of coercion, could bo. found." The general tranquility of the most pitiable class — :he violent and refractory — he sa\s, was strikingly evident 11 The. change from the former violence and pninful restraint," as he mildly and charitably charac erizes the horrors which used at ona time to curdle the blood of the most hard-hearted even to hear of, "is quite a fubjeet of congratulation." But he still calls 10 mind what n I! of us, knowing that avast improvement hn taken place in the condition of (ho inmates, arc too apt to lose sight of, iluit nothing further can be said " in favor of this illsdected si(c. and ill-constructed place." The gloom of the so.nbre valley, the pools of water standing everywhere on its claypan soil, tile doleful prison-like cells and wards, the crowded state of the whole establishment, " B>U patients be it remembere:l 5 all combine in causing me," he s-iys, " to lament thnt it still exists, notwithstanding that a 1 ! is now done that c.v; be done for fcisch a place."

Wo have every reason to believe <h\t this is the ca.so. We do not doubt th st what "can be clone for such a place" is now done. Jjut the pi. ice itself necessitates much !>ein s ' lufl undone which 0 i_j-ht to he done. We believe we are correct in spying thnt, with ths number of j-nti-.-iits it now contains, the Yam Bend Asylum, ceases, as a iraiter of course anJ necessity. to he an ho pita) for the cure of the insane — if ever it could b* this — and becomes a mere r.;ceptac!c for 8"»0 mad people, among whom curative tiva'ment, as it is now understood, i.s a simple impossibility. Th' j y C'4ti 1 niy be herded logether, fad at tlio usu.il hour, a:id locked up at night in a dreary r<iu:inc from day to day to the of their miserable existence. Dr. Wilson points out a means by which this State of things may be partly remedied, and which has Iven recommended by th*> Lunacy Commission. It is to erect ac<:omodation on the Kewsite for one huncred. or two bundled of the more quiet and orderly patients, who could bo employed in clearing ground, or in other useful labor. This would, of course, be immensely to the benefit of those diafted off, while it would so far relieve the old asylum ;hat it might be made in some measure a>i hospital for the cure of the insane, and not, ii mere madhouse, where euro is scarcely to he hop 'd for. But this recommendation was, we have reason to believe, met by a refusal i'/oui the Government, who yet, we un lerstand, are prepared to expend Lo,ooo or s-o for the " accommod-itio 1" of more patients at t\ia Yarra Bund. JVosv, again •>! the. throwing away of moiv public money upon this wrenched p'acv, which has been uniVLTS.illy condemned, by ;;il competent judgey, as entirely U'lfifc for ihe purpo-e t.) .which it is now devoted, we must, on behalf of the public, enter our strongest protest. It would be a breach of faith, a. defiance of common sen.se, and a gro.ss cruelty to the most adiieted of human beings, thus to grant as it were, a new lease of exi.steiicj to tiiis place. over, we know from experience that ever I,'1 ,' additional sum expended on the present site, affords a new argument in the hands of the interested few who still oppose the removal of this foul blot on the colony. Another suggestion of the eom.nis.-ioaers, that wards I c attached to hospiials for threception 0! lunatics, the Government hive promised to adopt.

Am additional reason urged by the Lunacy Commission for moro accommodation, is. Unit the crowded state of' the Yarra fiend renders it necessary sti'! to send patients to gaols. Even the' \Ve.-:ern Gaol, which it was supposed had final iy ceased to be used for this cruel purpo-e, is again brought into requsition. The public will be, and have a right to be. indignant to learn that thisistiieca.se. It was sapposed that the inquiries of last year had for i.vgv put a stop to this monstrous svstcm. And 3 et it is again in full vrorki'.-,-. A casa showing in a remarkable manner the dreadful effects of ihis gaol treatment lias just occurred. C .'Uherine Nolan, aged between nineteen and twenty, arrived in the colony about eighteen months since. She was in the employment of a family in St. Kilda for fourteen months, and left'her .situation, strongly recommended for her good m >ral and general conduct. She hud been for four months in another situation, in wliich she gave every satisfaction, her health having been gent-rally good, with the exception of slijjht irregularity in the s^s.em, when, on the ni»ht of the 4th of tl.e present month, having been frightened on opening the stieet door^ she was seized with a fit of hysteria, not uncommon in girls of her age, and so alarmed the family that a policeman was sent fur. The only possible result of this, as things are, seems to be that she was tak^n to the lock-up, wheie she passed ihe ni»ht ! Let any mother realise to herself the efFect of that night upon a girl of nineteen so sufFering. Let her imagine her own daughter thus dealt with, for a temporary complaint, requiring the tenderest care and most delicate treatment even a mo. her could bestow, ne it. The curative step was of course the appearance before the magistrates, to whom she was brought the next morning:. A physician saw her, found her suffering

from hysteria ; arid for this the -only remedy; provided -by a humane Government is," "remanded to the Western Gaol for a, week, for medical examination." At the end of this- ordeal, she was we need hardly add, a dangerous lunatic, probably for life, f n any case her iate employer was told on the third day that, he could not see her, and the fifth day — the 9th of the present month — found her confined in a jacket, a violent maniac ; and there she nojy is. This is what still .goes on at the Western Gaol, where there are now eight female lunatic?, while there are five male lunatics in the main gaol. Do ottr legislators c6ntemplate this stale of things when indefiance of repeated warnings, they refuse to afford the means ( of remedy ? How long 1 is it to continue, or where is it to end ? Are we to sin on for ever adding to our list of incurable lunatics? It will be found to be a costly system in the end, looked upon even from a pecuniary point of view, the only aspect by the way, in wh?ch Parliament seems disposed to regard it.