Secretary to the Board of Commissioners in Lunacy, is appointed successor to Mr. Mylne. Dr. Wilkes brings to the performance of his duties a large amount of practical experience. He was appointed, within the last twelve months, one of the Commissioners to visit and report on the condition of Irish Lunatic Asylums; and in the performance of this duty he is said to have exhibited great business and administrative talent. Dr. Wilkes's antecedents are all in his favour: he will undoubtedly earn fresh laurels in his new sphere of usefulness. Mr. Lutwidge for many years acted as a commissioner in lunacy under a former statute, having been appointed to that post by Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst. He, therefore, possesses the recommendation of experience. His appointment will give unqualified satisfaction to the profession as well as the public. He is an active, accomplished, and sagacious lawyer, and will resume his post of Visiting Commissioner with a conscientious determination to discharge the duties devolving upon him with judicious zeal.

The nomination of Dr. Wilkes to the Medical Commissionership has created a vacancy of Medical Superintendent at the Stafford County Asylum. The post is a lucrative one, the salary being £700 per annum.

The subject of intemperance, as a type of disease requiring legal interference, has frequently been a topic of discussion in the "Psychological Journal." This question has recently been litigated in the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh. We extract from a local paper the following report of the proceedings, which will, no doubt, prove of interest to the English public ::

"The Court met to-day, December 8, on the rising of the Second Division, to consider the note of suspension and liberation, previously before them in preliminary stages, of Mr. Giles Gerard-lately residing in Elgin, and now a prisoner in Morningside Asylum-against Mr. William Grigor, ProcuratorFiscal of Elgin. The complainant a gentleman of independent fortune-had been examined by the Sheriff Substitute of Elgin, under the Lunacy Act, and, on the evidence of his wife, his medical attendant, and others, been found by the sheriff to be furious and fatuous, or a lunatic, and in a state threatening danger to the lieges,' and was by him committed to a lunatic asylum, which it was eventually arranged should be the asylum at Morningside. From the evidence taken before the sheriff, it appeared that Mr. Gerard was subject to frequent fits of furiosity; arising, it was said, among other causes, from intemperance, and in this condition was dangerous to his family. The complainer craved liberation on the plea principally of wrongous detention and sanity, and subsidiarily on several grounds of informality. He adduced the joint certificate of Dr. Christison and Dr. Combe, that they were unable to discover any indications of insanity, and believed him to be at the present time sane. A certificate was produced, on the other hand, from the physicians of the asylum, stating they had not, during his brief residence there, been able to satisfy themselves that he was of perfectly sound mind, or capable of so regulating his conduct as not to be dangerous either to himself or others. The principal question argued on Saturday was the competency of the sheriff's judgment. Mr. Logan and Mr. Young appeared for the complainer; the Dean of Faculty

and Mr. A. R. Clark for the respondent; and Mr. Andrew Mure for Mrs. Gerard. After hearing the case, the Court were divided in opinion. The Lord JusticeClerk, Lord Cowan, and Lord Deas, were of opinion it was sufficient in the case that the sheriff should be satisfied, and that, therefore, his judgment was perfectly correct. Without deciding that point, or reviewing his decision, they also thought that, upon the evidence, it was a right one. What the result of throwing further light on the complainer's past and present state might be, their lordships did not anticipate, but this detention was not necessarily a permanent one; it being only until cured.' It was unnecessary, on the other hand, that the furiosity should be continuous; for occasional and intermittent bursts of furiosity on the part of a person, at other moments sane, might be sufficient to warrant such proceedings; while the danger to his family, from these fits, entitled them to this protection. Lords Handyside and Ardmillan took a different view. Ascribing the furiosity to intemperance, they thought the application of the Lunacy Act an extreme and unusual remedy. It was proved, said Lord Ardmillan, that the complainer was a violent man; but it was not proved he was a madman. It was no proof that a man was mad, because, when drunk, he did violent or furious things. That might make him a fit subject for police restraint, but it did not justify his being shut up as a Junatic. Many thousand husbands, perhaps, were drunk in Glasgow every Saturday night, and a large proportion of them probably were violent, but were they to crowd their lunatic asylums with these men? The Court, by a majority, thus sustained the sheriff's decision. The case, however, will come up again, on an application by Mr. Gerard's counsel to have a fuller inquiry into present and past condition."

his

There has been much gossip in the literary and scientific world relative to some Spirit Rapping experiments, alleged to have been performed at the private residence of Mr. Rymer, a London solicitor, at Ealing, in the presence of Lord Brougham, Sir David Brewster, Mr. Hume, and Mrs. Trollope. All these distinguished individuals are reported to have become converts to the spiritual phenomena. Sir David Brewster has, however, since deemed it necessary to repudiate the fact of his conversion. Lord Brougham and Mrs. Trollope have not spoken out on the subject. Sir David Brewster's letter will be read with interest, and deserves to be placed permanently on record. He writes,

"It is true that I saw at Cox's Hotel, in company with Lord Brougham, and at Ealing, in company with Mrs. Trollope, several mechanical effects which I was unable to explain. But though I could not account for all these effects, I never thought of ascribing them to spirits stalking beneath the drapery of the table; and I saw enough to satisfy myself that they could all be produced by human hands and feet, and to prove to others that some of them, at least, had such an origin. Were Mr. Hume (the American medium) to assume the character of the Wizard of the West, I would enjoy his exhibition as much as that of other conjurers; but when he pretends to possess the power of introducing among the feet of his audience the spirits of the dead, of bringing them into physical communication with their dearest relatives, and of revealing the secrets of the grave, he insults religion and common sense, and tampers with the most sacred feelings of his victims." In another letter Sir David enters in more detail into what Lord Brougham and he saw done by "the spirits," and what they did not see: "It is not true that the accordion played an air throughout in Lord Brougham's hands. It merely squeaked. It is not true, as stated in an article referred to by Mr. Hume, that Lord Brougham's 'watch was taken

out of his pocket, and found in the hands of some other person in the room.' No such experiment was tried.. ... At Mr. Cox's house, Mr. Hume, Mr. Cox, Lord Brougham, and myself sat down to a small table, Mr. Hume having previously requested us to examine if there was any machinery about his person, an examination, however, which we declined to make. When all our hands were upon the table noises were heard-rappings in abundance; and, finally, when we rose up the table actually rose, as appeared to me, from the ground. Besides the experiments with the accordion, already mentioned, a small hand-bell to be rung by the spirits, was placed on the ground, near my feet. I placed my feet round it in the form of an angle, to catch any intrusive apparatus. The bell did not ring; but when taken to a place near Mr. Hume's feet, it speedily came across and placed its handle in my hand. This was amusing. It did the same thing bunglingly to Lord Brougham, by knocking itself against his lordship's knuckles, and after a jingle it fell. The séance was most curious at Ealing, where I was a more watchful and a more successful observer. I will not repeat the revelations made to Mrs. Trollope, who was there, lest I should wound the feelings of one so accomplished and sensible. I remember them with unmingled pain. The spirits were here very active, prolific in raps of various intonations, making long tables heavy or light at command; tickling knees, male and female, but always on the side next the medium; tying knots in handkerchiefs drawn down from the table, and afterwards tossed upon it; and prompting Mr. Hume, when he had thrown himself into a trance, to a miserable paraphrase on the Lord's Prayer. During these experiments I made some observations worthy of notice. On one occasion, the Spirit gave a strong affirmative answer to a question by three raps, unusually loud. They proceeded from a part of the table exactly within the reach of Mr. Hume's foot, and I distinctly saw three movements in his loins, perfectly simultaneous with the three raps."

We have to record among the deaths the decease of Dr. T. Romeyn Beck, one of the able and active managers of the New York State Lunatic Asylum. The readers of the "American Journal of Insanity" are, no doubt, familiar with his name. He took a deep interest in the success of our accomplished American contemporary, and watched with great care the progress of the cases under treatment in the State Asylum previously referred to. The following eloquent eulogium on Dr. Beck is copied from the Albany Evening Journal of November 19th::

"Dr. Beck's health had been gradually declining for several months. In the absence of any organic disease, hopes of his recovery were entertained until some few weeks ago, when an unfavourable opinion was obtained from high medical authority. Since that period his family and friends, prepared for the worst, have awaited an event which bereaves them and the community of a man who in all things was the type and exemplar of his race.

"Dr. Beck's mission was one of practical usefulness. During the quarter of a century that he devoted himself laboriously to the instruction of youth, as the principal of our academy, people wondered how a man so gifted could content himself with a position so comparatively humble. The answer is, that Dr. Beck was unselfish and unambitious. He loved his school, his friends, his associates, and above all his home. These were, to him, sources of happiness too precious to be sacrificed. He pursued, therefore, with diligence and cheerfulness, the even tenor of his way,' raising up generation after generation of thoroughly educated young men, whose first duty and highest privilege through

life has been to acknowledge, with grateful hearts, obligations to their beloved preceptor.

Dr. Beck aimed to render all his scientific and literary acquirements available. His knowledge was held in trust for the benefit of others. His mind, like a tree upon a common, bore fruit for the community. He was a man of simple manners, genial nature, social habits, large humanity, and radiant faith. Almost half a century was passed among us in the active discharge of responsible public duties. His efforts to promote education, science, improvement, virtue, and Christianity, were always well and wisely directed.

"Dr. Beck's associations through life have been with the truly good and great. His society was sought by all who appreciated public worth and social excellence. Those who for so many years enjoyed both in their daily_intercourse with him, while deploring his loss will cherish his memory. But to other hearts-hearts with which his own was intertwined-the bereavement comes with a crushing weight. In the halls his presence brightened and gladdened, there is now darkness and sorrow."

The christian and enlightened sentiments of a large body of American citizens have been outraged by the barbarous, cruel, and unjustifiable execution at Alexandria of a boy only ten years of age! It is indeed a sad and painful duty to have to record so horrible and lamentable a catastrophe. A New Orleans paper thus speaks of the execution of this unhappy and irresponsible youth:

"The execution of a boy named Frank, for the murder of Rev. J. J. Weems, took place in the United States lately. It is strange to say that the majority of the citizens of Alexandria, and, in fact, the inhabitants all round, were anxious to see him executed; though on the fatal day, when it came to pass, there were not a dozen people there. Some rode forty miles to witness this painful drama, but he was executed and buried by the time they reached Alexandria. On the day before he was called to face death, some gentlemen visited him and propounded questions to him; but his answers were and could be no other than childish. He was only ten years old. The gentlemen told him the sheriff was to hang him on the next morning, and asked him what he thought of it, and whether he had made his peace with God, and why he did not pray? His answer was, 'I have been hung many a time!' He was, at the time, amusing himself with some marbles he had in his cell. He was playing all the time in jail, never once thinking that death was soon to claim him as his victim. To show you how a child's mind ranges when about to die, I will mention that, when upon the scaffold, he begged to be permitted to pray, which was granted, and then he commenced to cry. O what a horrible sight it was!"

Our readers will recollect that we published in the " Psychological Journal," during the preceding year, an elaborate extract from one of the Boston medical journals relative to certain hallucinations alleged to be induced by chloroform. The observations referred to sprang out of the case of Mr. Beale, an American dentist, who was accused of having acted with extreme indelicacy and impropriety towards a female patient to whom he had exhibited chloroform preparatory to performing some trifling operation in dental surgery. The patient in question, after recovering from the effects of chloroform, charged Mr. Beale with having committed some serious professional

indiscretion. Mr. Beale was publicly brought to trial, found guilty, and sentenced to prolonged imprisonment. It appears from the subjoined extract from the Philadelphia Ledger, that this gentleman has received a free pardon. We are pleased to have it in our power to announce this gratifying fact, for the evidence of his guilt was anything but conclusive.

"Governor Pollock has extended his clemency to Dr. Beale, and remitted the remainder of his sentence of imprisonment, which was four years and six months, beginning on the 28th of November, 1854. He has served, therefore, about one year of his term. The pardon states the reasons which induced the Governor to extend this favour.

"He had received communications from about one hundred and forty dentists and twenty-three physicians of this city and the country, stating their belief that testimony as to matters transpiring under the influence of ether is unsafe and unreliable; from a number of other physicians named, that they believe him innocent; from a large number of the bar and citizens of various States, including the names of Governors, Attorneys-General, &c., that they believe he was convicted on insufficient testimony; from a number of clergymen, that they believe him innocent; from the Mayor of Philadelphia and fifty members of the Philadelphia City Councils; from members of the Legislature, Judges of the Supreme Court, editors of Philadelphia newspapers, and five thousand other citizens of Pennsylvania and New York, with five of the jury on the trial, all asking for his pardon. After enumerating all these facts, the Governor says:

And whereas the Board of Inspectors of the said Philadelphia County Prison (as appears by their communication on file in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth) have unanimously recommended the pardon of the said Dr. Stephen T. Beale, because, in their opinion, the end contemplated by the law in the moral reform of the prisoner has been attained-because full and ample satisfaction has been rendered to public sentiment by the imprisonment he has already undergone-because his health is undoubtedly breaking down under the sufferings of body and mind which he has already endured; and because the destitute condition of his aged parents and bereaved and sorrowing wife and children imperatively demand the presence and support of their son, husband, and father.

"And whereas, after a full and careful examination of the facts and evidence in the case, aided by the scientific discussions to which it has given rise, (without any intention to reflect upon the prosecutrix, who no doubt testified to what she believed did occur-nor to impugn the integrity of the learned Judge who tried the case- -nor the honesty of the Jury who convicted the prisoner,) I am now satisfied that the defendant, Dr. Stephen T. Beale, is not guilty of the crime whereof he stands charged, and was convicted upon evidence unreliable in its character and insufficient in amount.

"I do, therefore, in consideration of the premises, pardon the said Dr. Stephen T. Beale of the crime whereof he is convicted as aforesaid, and he is hereby fully pardoned accordingly."

Mr. G. W. Lewes' charming Life of the great and illustrious Goethe has formed the subject of general conversation and criticism in all the literary circles of the metropolis. We quite agree with the writer of an analysis of the work that appeared in No. VI. of the Saturday Review, that few Englishmen were better fitted to be the biographer of Goethe than Mr. Lewes. His deeply interesting work will find a