Part 17

It is thus that the barbarities of the law of 1851 are wiped out by this act of legislative justice. Now, all married women and infants who have been imprisoned "without evidence of insanity," as this unjust law allows, and who are still living victims of this cruel law, will now be liberated from their false imprisonment, unless they have become insane by the inhumanity of their confinement. And if it is found by the testimony that they were sane when they were imprisoned, and that they have become insane by being kept there, is it humane to perpetuate the cause of their insanity, under the pretext that their cure demands it? Or, in other words, is that kind of treatment which caused their insanity the best adapted to cure their insanity?

This great question, who shall be retained as fit subjects for the insane asylum, is now to depend, in all cases, upon the decision of a jury; and each case must be legally investigated, as the law of 1865 directs.

ANOTHER ACT OF LEGISLATIVE JUSTICE--APPOINTMENT OF AN INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE.

_Resolved, the Senate concurring_, That a joint committee of three from this House and two from the Senate be appointed to visit the hospital for the insane, after the adjournment, of the legislature, at such times as they may deem necessary, with power to send for persons and papers, and to examine witnesses on oath; that said committee be instructed thoroughly to examine and inquire into the financial and sanitary management of said institution; to ascertain whether any of the inmates are improperly detained in the hospital, or unjustly placed there, and whether the inmates are humanely and kindly treated, and to confer with the trustees of said hospital in regard to the speedy correction of any abuses found to exist, and to report to the Governor, from time to time, at their discretion.

_And be it further resolved_, That said committee be instructed to examine the financial and general management of the other State institutions.

Adopted by the House of Representatives,

F. CORWIN, _Speaker_.

Concurred in by the Senate,

WM. BROSS, _Speaker_.

The following gentlemen compose the committee: Hon. E. Baldwin, Farm Ridge, LaSalle county; Hon. T. B. Wakeman, Howard, McHenry county; Hon. John B. Ricks, Taylorville, Christian county, on the part of the House of Representatives. Hon. Allen C. Fuller, Belvidere, Boone county; Hon. A. J. Hunter, Paris, Edgar county, on the part of the Senate.

Transcriber's Notes:

Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.

Punctuation has been corrected without note.

The following misprints have been corrected: "dont" corrected to "don't" (page 6 [twice]) "misued" corrected to "misused" (page 16) "ful" corrected to "full" (page 31) "other'" corrected to "other's" (page 34) "o" corrected to "to" (page 48) "Massachusets" corrected to "Massachusetts" (page 52) "one s" corrected to "one's" (page 66) "pedition" corrected to "perdition" (page 70) "arduour" corrected to "arduous" (page 116) "ander" corrected to "under" (page 130) "dont" corrected to "don't" (page 131) "Kankahee" corrected to "Kankakee" (page 145) "Satte" corrected to "State" (page 155)

Other than the corrections listed above, inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been retained from the original.