§ MR. DALZIELI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department a question of which I have given him private notice; whether, with reference to the decision arrived at in regard to the case of Mary Ansell, consideration was given to the fact that her two sisters are insane; that all her. mother's sisters died ill asylums; that Dr. Forbes Winslow, the eminent specialist, has pronounced as his emphatic opinion that the prisoner was not responsible for her actions; and, further, that no evidence on the question of insanity was produced at the trial; and whether he has any objection to the publication of the Report of the two experts appointed to inquire into the case.
§ SIR M. WHITE RIDLEYFollowing the course which has always been adopted by my predecessors, I must decline to lay before the House a Report made for the purpose of assisting me in giving advice to Her Majesty, for which I alone am responsible. I may, however, state that all the circumstances of the case, including the family history of the convict, were most anxiously considered by me as well as by those who assisted me. The opinion of Dr. Forbes Winslow—who was, however, not consulted by me—was also before me and was fully considered.