A letter to Lord Ashley, M.P., on the reform of private lunatic asylums / by W.B. Costello.
- Costello, William Birmingham, 1800-1867.
- Date:
- 1845
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A letter to Lord Ashley, M.P., on the reform of private lunatic asylums / by W.B. Costello. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![tliat leatl the patient away ftom dwelling, on amorbid feelings ;> his limited estaUliahraertt leaves him too much to.himself; he cannot^ evendt on this aowunt, obtain the wholesome variety of food to which he haddi been accustomed 5 he mopes in silence; an unbroken sameness pallsd^ everything around; dulness and listlessness prevail over all, till stagnant and stolid state of foelmg, both in the padent and the attend- ants, prove the truth of the-'Moralist’s saying,--t-‘A.C.’«rf7’«n(/brmii^ quitue. ^ -i. oJ leve-’ litoob ,-1913'ftof* tooii sdJ ;OoJ In another and very important point of view, we must also acknow- i ledge that we cannot bear comparison, as regards the>rpreventiOn- Of-. insanity, with some parts of the. continent. We have no provisionoa whatever for the withdrawal for a while from the turmoil(of life, of per- sons called nervous, »n whom, from a variety of causes, and hot;iinfre-»’‘- quently from very fear of such an event, an explosion' of Insanity Is « to be apprehended. As the law stands at present, retirementfvinto an ■' asylum is interdicted to those who would repair to them voluntarily— nay, cheerfully, and who, it must be acknowledged, could not take any step under such cridcal circumstances, better calculated td restore mental health and peace. But ^ nervous person cannot bei admitted to share the advantages best suited to his condition,,without the certi+ltd ficates of two medical men that he.is unsound of mind. The law has no sympathy for' mere apprehensions; ■ itjturns a deaf ear to thoii; “ eyrotareftimens he must allow biniseMto get;worse, before the law w ill. alio wr him to resort to the best means of getting better ; <(then, and not till then, does it relent* and shew pity to the.victim of its delay, ncrf' Nothing, can be more just and proper than; that the Jaw should watbh carefully over individual -liberty,ol No insane .person, should bcraw'-i ceived into an asylum wothput ffulfillingi:he'required legal conditidhr;^ ‘ no ope should be concealed in- sbchicstablishnients; whether iUsanee-or only nervous* from the Coraiuissionersiqrla-'th&'TaattjBr the provision^' should be. stringentl'and satisfactory.-fl-?Biitqthe !]cla!sar3o£!jp€tsadBTno,W . referred to*^ havmg.aftjll knowledge of what they <io,'ought; to beenr-c . abled to resort .to asylums 0/ their owtvfree ■ tnll rand Rebborfllj-ito. avado: themaelv^lof the advaatage&.'BOj Suitedolo their infirmkieili; They re- quire modified fisolation, without separation from, tlie worldj, and where q can. these eonditions be better anited, than in a well conducted asylum; ^ adapted, as it shouldibe,'toth.eitreatmen't'of.disorders'of'ths mind, evemr imtheir mildest forms^uiTf a sufficient' security against;dbnse- were provided, and this could be easily accomplished, there could beeiO valid reason for refusing those benefits to nervous patients-as such. ui. But > those.benefits; important as they are, would not be thd'sole oi)e» -re8uldng from a> change of the lawt.-; The very-character of the <](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22387080_0011.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
