which, in many states, at least, is utterly silent respecting it. It may not have entered into the minds of grasping and ill-natured relatives, that removal and confinement present a readier means of obtaining the control of property on which their affections are placed, than the slow and uncertain effects of disease or old age; but it would be unwise to act as if this state of innocence were to continue always. In Great Britain, where the confinement of the insane has been the subject of much parliamentary inquiry, and various acts and amendments to acts have been passed, for the purpose of preventing the abuses that from time to time have been brought to light, this measure has in consequence become so hedged round with checks and precautions, that it would seem difficult, if not impossible, that it should become a means of injustice and cruelty. How far the object proposed has been obtained, may be sufficiently unr derstood from the testimony of one whose ample experience rendered him well qualified to give it. "It is a miserable thing to come away from a lunatic house, as I have many times done, with a conviction that there were individuals in it, whose liberation and a proper superintendence would turn wretchedness into comfort, without endangering the interests of any human being ; persons unfit, perhaps, to return to their families, or even to see them every day; but yet alive to warm affections, never more to be indulged; longing, as parents long, to see the faces of their children; but, in consequence of an infirmity of temper, doubtless of a morbid kind, and requiring superintendence, subjected to live and die in a place which was to them a prison, without a friend with whom they could unreservedly con verse." § 363. It would be out of place here to detail the provisions of such a legislative act, as would place the restraint of the insane as far as possible beyond the reach of abuse, but its general features may be stated in a few words. The right of keeping the insane in confinement should be obtained by license from the government, which should impose such conditions as will best promote their welfare. It should appoint a board of commissioners, two or more of whom should be medical men of some practical knowledge of insanity, whose duty it should be to visit, from time to time, houses licensed for the reception of the insane, examine their accommodations, the moral and medical treatment made use of, and every other point in which the welfare of the inmates is deeply concerned, and submit their report to some branch of the government. They should have the power of discharging any patient whom they may consider unjustly confined, or capable of enjoying himself more at his own home. No patient should be admitted without a certificate of two or more physicians, one of whom should be an expert, countersigned by the selectmen of the town or mayor of the city in which the patient resides, that the individual is insane, and is unable to receive at home that care or attention which is necessary to his restoration, or to his temporary comfort and final welfare. The superintendents of these houses should be re Conolly: Indications of Insanity, 438. quired to keep a register, in which should be noted the names of the patients, the date of their admission, the character of their insanity, by whom their certificates are signed, and such other particulars as may be deemed necessary by the commissioners. § 364. The third object above-mentioned, as sought by the confinement of the insane, is the security of society. By the laws of Maine, any two justices of the peace are authorized to commit to the house of correction any person within their county, who, they are convinced, is lunatic, and so furiouslymad, as to render it dangerous to the peace or the safety of the good people, for him to go at large, there to be detained till he or she shall be restored to his or her mind, or otherwise delivered by due course of law.1 It may naturally excite some surprise that so grave a question, as that of the perpetual imprisonment of a person, should not have been entrusted to the decision of a higher set of 1 The same was the law of Massachusetts, until quite recently; but by the laws now in force in that state, all lunatics, "so furiously mad as to render it manifestly dangerous to the peace and safety of the community, that they should be at large," are, upon complaint made to the Judges of Probate in the several counties, to be committed to the State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester; and, "whenever request for that purpose shall be made by the person complained against," the Judge is obliged to order a jury to be summoned, to try the question of insanity. By a law passed April 13, 1836, two justices, one of the quorum, are authorized to commit to the house of correction, any " idiot or lunatic or insane" person, "not being furiously mad;" and, at this date, March 20, 1838, a bill is pending before the Legislature, giving the right of trial by jury, upou request of the person complained against, in those cases also. After the passing of this law, no person in Massachusetts can be confined by process of law, as an idiot, lunatic or insane person, without the right of a trial by jury. functionaries than a couple of justices of the peace. When, in addition to this, it is considered that no plan of inquiry is laid down for them to pursue, nor a single hint to guide them in their examination; that they are left to summon only what witnesses they please, and with as much or as little publicity as they please, we are forced to believe that it is not in human nature, that such power should escape frequent and flagrant abuses.1 Temporary confinement is all that the immediate security of society requires, and therefore the term of imprisonment, for which justices should have the power to commit, should be limited to a few weeks or months. If it be deemed necessary that this term should be protracted, it should be only by order of the judge of probate or one of the justices of the courts of law, whose duty it should be to examine the circumstances of the case, and if he decide in favor of farther imprisonment for another term which should be fixed by law, to ascertain by proper inquiries from time to time, whether any change in the mental condition of the patient will warrant his release before the end of such term. 1 It is stated in the first annual report of the Trustees of the State Lunatic Hospital of Massachusetts, that under a similar provision of law then in force in that state, an idiot had been committed who could neither stand nor walk, who was unable to extend the lower limbs from the closest possible contraction towards the body, and who had but little muscular strength even in his arms. Reports and other documents relative to the Stale Lunatic Hospital, p. 42. { The Figures refer to the Sections.] Amos, Mr., his definition of unsoundness of mind, . . 5 Adaptation of the moral and intellectual powers, . . . 185 delusion, do. 20; on drunkenness as an excuse for crime, 340. Arnold, case of, 10 Arithmetical acquirements, not conclusive proof of legal capa- B , case of, 270 B., Abraham, case of, . 115 Barclay, case of, 73 Baxter, case of, 54 Beauquaire, his will established, ...... 84 Bellingham, case of, 15 Ben Johnson, hallucination of, 99 Bertet, case of, 194 Birdsell, case of, 332 Brain, the seat of mania, 87; small and diseased in idiocy, 35. Brown, Rev. Simon, his delusion, 105 Brown, Win. case of, 139 Cartwright v. Cartwright, case of, 243 Castelli, case of, 290 Character, change of, essential symptom of mania, . . 92 of moral insanity, 23. Code, French criminal, its law relative to insanity, . . 13 drunkenness, 328 Combe, Dr., on change of character, 93; on lucid intervals, 24U. Confinement of the insane, its objects, .... 362 Conolly, Dr., on confinement of the insane, 358; on simulated insanity, 248; on the writing of the insane, 272. Continued observation, 272 Contracts, common law of, 7; how affected by partial mania, 172; invalidated by somnambulism, 296. Cornier, case of, 29,155 Cox, Dr., his description of moral mania, .... 110 Cretinism, . 37 Curability of madness at different periods, .... 224 Davies, case of, 349 D'Aguessesu, on lucid intervals, 233; on the interrogatory, 271. |