THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12,1858.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 111, 12 November 1858, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12,1858.

■Our readers arc no doubt aware that a medical • gentleman, under the instructions of tlie General Government', has lately .concluded, a tour of ; inspection of the various settlements with a view of fixing upon the most suitable locality whereon to establish a general Lunatic Asylum. Whether they.are. equally.as well aware of ..thevicious system whicluip to a very recent period prevailed in the management of those institutions at home'," arid the harsh and' inhuman treatment to which the .unfortunate inmates of them were subjected, is happily now of little consequence;' therefore we are relieved ; from any reference to or recital of the many tales of misery and suffering which the past history of those institutions would supply. Possessing no professional acquaintance with the malady ourselves, except what we may have experienced when half the world is understood to labor under; at different periods, its depressing influence—and as at.present this-hemisphere is=' in a great degree relieved.from, its influence '—'. we think, coupled with the .fncfc referred to at the begriming of our article, a few reflections on the subject, will not be out of place. In order, therefore, to lay before our readers the best information witldn our -reach, we have taken some pains to condense the sulsfance of a very • interesting treatise upon .-the subject from the Quarterly Review of April,. 1857, which, to iho-e whose inclinations or official duties this snl>jeit may force itie'fujion their r;6:-:Biil»»rfiiii>n!. ■will will repay a more ext<M.i!el uonisil. '" Those wlioi'ontund-that.:il' i.triniiiuil iuna-ics slicull be ir and alike, do n,t c<"aider tlie vast. dffvieiVce between 'he \><\w ■■>(' nihi i in W abandoned eriinnia!' who has lUei a ;if« of viliany. anri th<; educated man w\\" li:;s ;oinmifted y casual . tl' ji;C<'. As ilie-briitr-r <iilv;i;;r>i s towards sanity, the brutal dispositiun «Uil propensities which oaily training in vict» an.l dissipation had engraved upon his nature come into strong relief, while the good breeding which inatural to the Litter, and which was but temporarily eclipsed in him, resumes its sway. Nay, nothing is more certain than that the previous habits and manners of the lunatic are to a great extent, unaffected by his unfortunate malady, even when it is at its height. The Governors, the medical; offieeis, and lunatic commissioners have over and over again remonstrated against this, enormity, but in vain/ .We suppose upon the overpowering authority of precedent, the apparently sole guide of action of all indolent Governments, backed perhaps by our boasted; enlightened maxim, that the Law makes no distinction of person, whether mad or sane! . ; On the question of what ought to be done with criminal subjects who may; recover: " There is one class of cases which is deserving the serious consideration of the Government, and one leaving no room for doubt, namely, females who have commuted offences while under the influence of the delirium attendant on puerperal fever, who having recovered'and are past a certain peiiod of life should at once be released. They are no longer liable to a recurrence of mental aberration, and to keep them incarcerated for life is to treat pa.4 misfortuiuvasan inexpiable crimf, tlism' wbidi nftliing can" be more cruel, unjust and motiveless"' H«»n* siskin may l:e noticed tin? sMikiMjT inco; sis'ejscy of "in1 wouM-be-lhfiuuht .superior pliibn-i.ii.o;>y win-n contrasted with our nomine!. AW can'gather together, by thousands. i,j o;ir .ENei.fr Halis. bf-adeil by K\<i)v Rfveiend Diviiros ami saintly Lords,, and impure the bh-i-i'--iix ■■( Hc-iiveu on our poor oxei-ti'His on ht-h-iif of iv,(\ t'r the anu-lioratl.-n of tlio.m.Mit.M-1 darfcr^ss :f our woolly lead African brotherhood, \v!ii':e vvt; hiv uot only blind to the condition of our nearer ■'relations at home aud around us, but .mercilessly severe iv visiting with the utmost penalties of our mild laws, the slightest aberration which ignorance or abject poverty may be guilty of, and equally iiegleciful of affording or 'holding out the slightest chance or hope of their ever being able to regain their station in society, thereby leaving, them the miserable alternative of returning to j the condemned cell, or becoming, under the overpowering weight of their isolated condition, rival candidates for the lunatic asylum. So much as regards the treatment of criminal lunatics. We next come to the treatment of lunatics in general. On this part of the subject it is observed, that.' 4a sane man accustomed to the busy scenes of a large town would be wretched if he were all- at once condemned to. pass the remainder of his days amidst ..'the silence of the fields; and it should be recollected that the lunatic remains for the most part under' the domination of his former habits. The notion that all his former faculties are universally disordered—all his perceptions destroyed—-all his tastes obliterated—and all bis sympathies extinct, is one of the grossest errors which can prevail. And as regards the removal of lunatic asylums into the country, it should be >re- • collected that apart '•from the circumstance of the institution being'within call .of-friends-and? the business of-every day life, glimpses of which ran be .-caught, by,.the. patients;from the case- j ments of their- retreat, and in which theyareoc- ! sionally nllowed to eri'er, :ire far belter thus placed: for; the pnrpoi-e* of cure than in any. isolated rural ] osiiioii. At presenr, all the sights of the metropolis and .its-immediate -vicinity ; are from time to time enjoyed by the inmates of tlie dresenfc Institution in . St.; George's 'Fields^ .These temporary, excursions of the. wall-bound' inmates- into tiio cheerful life of'-the outside world' are a vast advantage to the slowly reco-: veving brain, and constitute that; desirable transitional training necessary to their safe restitution to unlimited freedom. ;Whereas; under Uie old' system, when coovalasoent pa-

tiehts, who had teen confined r for months in ■' dungeon-like cell£ bristling with iion bars, were taken to the;gates and restored ftuldenly toim* restrained liberty,"the effect of the contrast was. often so great that they set off running in a paroxysm of excitement, and were brought back again in a few days reduced, by a too abrupt release, to their old condition. The great fault of all our modern establishments of this sort is the, amount of money expended upon the exterior of the btiildings." It is the greatest which pervades, not < only the majority of modern public institutions, but all classes of society in their vain endeavors to out-do each other in outward appearances, and which, in too many instances, are well described by the old distich— Their pocket holes were lined with gold, But the devil a sou's within. In speaking of the supervision of these institutions by, Royal Commissioners, visiting Magistrates, and hie omne genus, the author goes on to observe—" These deputed visitors doubtless believe that it would be a superfluous and even a mischevious refinement to trouble themselves about pleasing the eye or amusing the brain of a lunatic; but ibis is a mighty error, as every' persou knows who understands how keenly sensitive are the minds of a great majority of .the -, insane, and that— ■ Stone walls do not prisons Jhajke, •.■;■• Nor iron.bars a cage;— and yet how general is the lemark, after studying tliecojidtict of an eccentric person, 'there is meiliQil in his madness.'" Thus recognising the. observation sa fomhly. pointed out by the author of .the fallacy of the genemlly received idea, that because/ the bra'iif mny be affected by the too ' intense contemplation of any one subject, that therefore there fleet i.ye faculties,are paralysed upon "every other.- The jiuthor then proceeds \ t<> notice female ' pMi.ieitts, and observes— :< ThVie is no mote 'touching sight than to Dotiie the manner in which female lunatics will s-metimosMliveidfy the monotony of their cell-, iike slpcping-rooms with rag dolls, bits of shells ai:d crockery, or bright pieces of cloth hung up' in the willows. The love of the ornamental ?eems to dwell with them when all other mental power is lost. Then again, as regards • the (lull uniformity of clothing the male patients, the lunatirs themselves feel degraded by a irai- , form dedicated to the gaol-hitd. The medical Vifficers and attendants have long- been deeply impressed with its "injurious effects, and" have ;, long but fruitlessly denounced it." It is well known among sane'people of all grades how •much self-respect is increased by the possession of decent apparel, and the lunatic is often still more- amenable to their influence. Although we have exhausted the space usually allotted to ■ this portion of our literary effusions, there are a few further observations still remaining, and . equally deserving of perusal, which we must reserve for a future number.

The Tasmanian Maid left Wellington at noon yesterday, and arrived here at two o'clock this morning.- The English mails bad not arrived up to the lime of the Maid leaving, but it was stated in Wellington that they were put on board the Jeanie Dove in Melbourne on the 11th ultimo, and much anxiety was felt at the vexalious delay experienced.

The Theatre.—The heavy rain of Wednesday precluded the possibility of presenting to the .public on that evening the admired play of , ' The Lady of Lyons." The performance was therefore postponed until this evening. We ftnticipsite a giod house, for in addition to the c;tsb of characters being something 1 different to any previrusly, there will be an entirely new - farce, called '' How to Settle Accounts with your Lmndie-s," of which report speaks well. The New Zealand Gazette, of the 3rd, and 4th instant, contains the following an-' nouncements:—Edward James Lee, 15th November, 185S; Stephen Lunn Mailer, Ist" December, 1858; and Joseph Ashe Day, 2nd November, 1858, are appointed Registrars under the " Marriage Act, 1858," and the " Registration Act, 1858," for the districts of Amuri; Wairau, and Kaiapoi respectively, from the dates set opposite their names.—A notification that the cellar in Bridge-street, Nelson, and belonging to Messrs. J. Levien and Co., has been approved under the Customs Ordinance, for the reception of goods under bond.—Mr. Charles Johnson Pharazyn, Chairman of the Bench of Magistrates, who decided on a charge recently • brought before the Courts at Wellington, against the Rev. Arthur Baker, has been removed from the Commission of the Peace.-r Ahuriri has been constituted a separate province. —Appointment of Hon. H. J. Tanchard to be . Postmaster-General of New Zealand. —Acceptance of Colonel Wynyard's resignation of his seat in Legislative Council.—A. J.Johnston, Esq., to be Puisne Judge of Supreme Court of , New Zealand, and Vice-Admiral Commissary and Deputy in the .office of Vice Admiral in the colony of New Zealand.—J. E. Smith, Esq.. to be Registrar of Supreme Court at Wellington. —Colonel C. E. Gold, to be a member of the Executive Council of New Zealand. —Appointment of Mr. F. E. Wright as Postmaster at Lyttelton. New Zealand Gold.—The New Zealand . Gazette of the sth instant publishes the following return of the quantity and value of gold exported from the colony during the quarter " ended the 30th September, 1858:—To London, 1548 oz3. 10 dwts. 11 grs.; to Sydney, 1635 nzs. 9 dwts. 12 grs.; to Melbourne, 320 ozs. 9 dvvls. 23 grs., of the value of £13,579 18s. - 5,) —Quautify and value exported previous.to ihe 30ih June, 1858, 18J197 ozs. 3 dwts. 19 grs., of the value of £70,514 2s. 2d.—Grand tntal, 21,701 ozs. 13 dwts. 17 grs., of the value 0f£84;094 7d.' General Lunatic Asylum.—-Dr. Prendergast, who hid been despatched by the, General, i Government on a. tour of inspection,; with a\, view to the choice of a suitable site far. $6. erection of a general lunatic asylum for the colony, lias lately been on a visit to Nelson; and, accompanied by some of our provincial magnates' has inspected several sites off^ed in Morueka,,. IWaimea East,- and Wakapuaka: Until■ the.■report has been made to the General Govern*^ ment it-is. of course impossible to say r what!site ■ may be fixed on, but we. understand^th'at Dr., >Prendergast has expressed himself, greatly.ia , favor of Nelson, both on acowiht of Ua central ■ •, " <■,•££>&&

•position and also oecatise of its fine climate, so suitable to invalids and convalescents.—Wellington Independent. The Bishop of Nelson.—The Archbishop of Canterbury has fixed the 24tlrof August, (St. Bartholomew's Day) for the consecration of the Rev. Edmund Hobhouse, B D., of Merton College, Oxford, Vicar ofSt.Peter's-iu-the-East, in that city, who has been nominated by her Majesty's Government to bo first bishop of the newly-erected see of Nelson, New Zealand. The ceremony will take place in the parish church of St. Mary, Lambeth. The Bishop Designate graduated at Oxford in 1838. On the same day, if the formalities can be completed iv time, the Rev. Charles J. Abraham, 8.D., formerly Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and well known as an Eton tutor, will be consecrated to the new Bishopric of Wellington. Mr. Abraham took his degree in 1837, and having passed some years at Cambridge and Eton, went out to New Zealand under Bishop Selwyn, and, in 1852, became^ Archdeacon of Waitamaita. In connection with the increase of the episcopacy in New Zealand, another see will be forthwith formed for Tauranga, an exclusively Maori district, of which Archdeacon William Williams will be appointed Bishop. As soon as these arrangements are carried out, there will be five bishoprics in New Zealand, over which, as a province, Bishop Selwyn will act as metropolitan. — Home News, August 16.