Mr. Greenwood was bred to the bar and acted as “Chairman at the Quarter Sessions, but, becoming diseased, and receiving in a fever a draught from the hand of his brother, the delirium taking its ground then, connected itself with that idea; and he considered his brother as having given him a potion, with a view to destroy him[[511]]. He recovered in all other respects, but that morbid image never departed; and that idea appeared connected with the will, by which he disinherited his brother. Nevertheless it was considered so necessary to have some precise rule, that, though a verdict had been obtained in the Common Pleas against the will, the judge strongly advised the jury to find the other way, and they did accordingly find in favour of the will. Farther proceedings took place afterwards, and concluded in a compromise.” Lord Eldon ubi supra.
The records of Bedlam and Saint Lukes are full of similar instances of persons insane on only one point; where that point may lead to mischief, it is proper that the party should be placed under restraint; where the aberration is harmless, it would be cruel to add imprisonment to the evil of the disorder, running also the risk of producing an augmentation of the disease; for it may safely be taken as a rule, that persons labouring under limited, will be predisposed to general insanity, and therefore it is at least necessary to watch them minutely, lest some less harmless derangement should seize them at the moment when it is least expected.
LUNATIC ASYLUMS.
The very gross abuses which were formerly practised in Lunatic Asylums, long required legislative interference, till by the 14th Geo. 3, c. 49,[[512]] many of the most glaring evils were remedied. As the act itself is copied in the Appendix, p. 170, we do not now repeat all its provisions; on a few points however some comment is necessary, and more especially as an attempt has been lately made, and is likely to be renewed, to alter the law on this subject. It is proposed that, instead of confiding the choice of licensing and visiting commissioners to the College of Physicians in London, a permanent officer (and the name of the individual intended has been even mentioned) should be appointed by government to execute those duties: however high the authority of the officer of State to whom this selection is to be given, we must doubt whether he can be so competent a judge of medical proficiency as the learned body to whom the trust is now confided; and if he be not, the interest of the public is compromised, that the patronage of the minister may be increased; for, admitting that a permanent officer should be appointed, there is no good reason why his selection should not remain with a competent authority, which has not yet been found unworthy of the trust reposed in them. Our principal objection, however, is to the permanence of the appointment; under the present system much benefit arises from the occasional change of visitors, by which means the unfortunate patients are brought under the view of a greater number of medical observers than could be otherwise obtained for them. A permanent officer may soon be reconciled to abuses, and become callous to suffering; while under the visitation of a temporary Committee the subject is kept fresh and vivid with all the interest of novelty, at least in the minds of the members last elected. The period for which each member serves on the committee, (three years) and the extent of the pecuniary emolument, hold out no inducement to jobbing or canvas, even if the learned and honourable body would allow it, and a consequent security is afforded, that none will be elected from undue motives; there is always a risk of a contrary result when a well paid and permanent office is made the object of patronage; an improper person is frequently selected, and when those who have been originally well appointed become incapable by age, infirmity, or other incapacity, there is always a delicacy and difficulty in their removal.
Hitherto we have confined our observations to the Commissioners for the London district[[513]], but our objections acquire additional weight when we consider that if the proposed alteration be necessary on principle, it must extend to the country, and consequently that above fifty salaried officers must be appointed to the counties of England and Wales alone.
The bill introduced and passed through the House of Commons was thrown out in the House of Lords; and when we reflect upon the legal acumen which presides there, we feel confident that any future similar attempt would meet a similar fate.[[514]]
The 14th Geo. 3 exempts houses where only one patient is kept, from license and inspection; they should at any rate be registered, and some limited power of visitation be allowed to prevent abuses; the exemption may be construed at present into a license for illegal imprisonment, provided the jailor can afford a whole house to his victim.[[515]]
The custody of pauper and criminal lunatics,[[516]] and the erection of asylums for their reception, is provided for by Statute 48, Geo. 3, c. 96, and 59 Geo. 3, c. 127;[[517]] but no provision has yet been made for lunatic debtors; when it is considered how frequently the calamity of lunacy is induced by pecuniary difficulty, it is not easy to account for this omission. The observation of Mr. Collinson on this point may be applied to more subjects than are at present under our consideration.
MEDICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF INSANITY.
As the duties of the Jurist and Physiologist in the investigation of mental derangement are distinct in their nature, if not different in their object, so shall we find that the abstract terms used to denote the form or degree of the malady have received from the two professions a somewhat different latitude of acceptation. For legal purposes the adoption of the term “Non Compos Mentis,” from the amplitude of its construction, gets rid of those nicer distinctions and difficulties which the pathologist is bound to encounter and investigate; the lawyer only inquires whether such a state of mind exists, as actually disqualifies the person in question from conducting himself with propriety, or managing his affairs; but the medical evidence is bound not only to give his opinion upon the case, but to state the reasons which may have influenced his decision; and hence the necessity of his becoming practically acquainted with those physiological distinctions to which we have alluded. It has been stated that there are two conditions of the human mind, either of which very justly deprives the subject of the control of his person and property, and takes away from him all criminal responsibility, viz. Idiotcy, (Amentia) or a total deficiency of intellectual power; and Madness, or a morbid perversion of it. Between these two states we shall not have much difficulty in discriminating; the idiot cannot reason at all; the madman reasons falsely; the idiot acts from animal appetency, he has no will; the madman wills, but his reason being disturbed, his actions are not compatible with the usual relations of society.[[518]]