§ MR. W. CORBETI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if, in view of a recent case in which a sane lady was shut up in a private lunatic asylum, he will take any measures for the abolition of the system of proprietary asylums kept for profit, and the substitution of self-supporting State or chartered asylums instead?
§ SIR MATTHEW WHITE RIDLEYI have communicated with the Lord Chancellor on the subject of the hon. Member's Question, and understand that the Lord Chancellor has a Bill in preparation which will, amongst, other things, aim at improving and extending the precautions against any abuse of the lunacy laws.
§ MR. CORBETasked if the right hon. Gentleman was aware that Lord Shaftesbury, who was for 40 years the Chairman of the Lunacy Board, strongly advocated the abolition of proprietary asylums and the substitution for them of the institutions he had mentioned in the Question?
§ SIR MATTHEW WHITE RIDLEYsaid that the hon. Gentleman no doubt knew that the last Act precluded the future establishment of any private asylum.