[COYNE] RICHARD MAURICE BUCKE— A SKETCH 173 



of his mind, the practice and opportunities for observation and research 

 afforded by his official position, and his continuous and close reading 

 of reports and statistics, it was not long before he was recognized as 

 an authority among alienists. His opinion was sought from far and 

 wide. Medical and psychological societies were glad to give a con- 

 spicuous place to his name on their programmes and to his addresses 

 and papers in their publications. Plis right to a place in the foremost 

 rank of his profession in America was beyond question. In an appen- 

 dix will be found a list of his printed pamphlets, lectures and addresses, 

 of which particulars are accessible. 



His annual reports to the provincial government are, with one 

 exception, not -specified in the list. The reports are all valuable. 

 That for 1897 contains " The Story of the Care for the Insane in 

 Ontario," an interesting and instructive historical resume of the suc- 

 cessive stages of progress in the treatment of this unfortunate class of 

 citizens. 



15. 



In his chosen field he was not content to follow subserviently in 

 the footsteps of his predecessors. 



Cautious, but courageous, sure of his ground before taking the 

 forward step, he signalized his administration of the London Asylum 

 (the largest in the province) by throe remarkable innovations, unheed- 

 ing the opposition or the outcries of those whose conservatism did 

 not approve of the modern spirit and changed methods. 



(1) He was the first alienist in America to adopt the system of 

 absolute non-restraint in the treatment of the insane. 



(2) He discarded entirely the use of beer, wine or alcohol in any 

 form at the asylum. 



(3) He was the first, systematically, to employ gynecological sur- 

 gery in the treatment of insane women. 



The first of these reforms could not be effected all at once. Public 

 opinion had to be considered, and the experiment might involve dan- 

 gerous consequences, not merely to the patient, but to the staff and 

 attendants as well. For some years the degree of restraint was 

 gradually diminished. "In the middle of 1883," writes Bucke in 1897, 

 " we totally discontinued the use of restraint and seclusion in every 

 form and havei not used them since." 



Dealing with this question, Dr. O'Eeilly, Inspector of Asylums and 

 Prisons, in his annual report for 1SS7, Avrites as follows: "To Dr. 

 R. M. Bucke, Medical Superintendent of the London Asylum, belongs 

 the honour of being the first to take up the subject practically in the 



