200 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECTIONS. 
remarkable, and occasionally lead to the cess a woe the less 
insane member has been P under care, an ore insane 
left at large. Our Chairman will remember a case in cae Wii he 
was asked, with me to give an opinion as to the mental condition 
of a husband ; and in the course of our inquiries we found that 
two other medical practitioners had been asked some time before 
to express a like scope as to the wife; and I can recall more 
than one similar experi 
am by no means neers that I have been able to ascertain all 
he insane relations in these twelve families ; indeed, it is highly 
for the most part, only in an undeveloped and shrubby state, and 
the family annals are little subject to correction by the village 
wer or the “ oldest inhabitant.” 
How difficult it is to obtain trustworthy information in —_ 
cases may be judged from the fact that, in one case, a mothe 
denied all knowledge of insanity in the famil preter: feat 
members were under asylum care, and persistently attributed the 
mental condition of one of her children to fright, caused by a 
goose flying over its head when fourteen months o 
‘In the fourth group were fifteen children—thirteen males an 
two females—from five families, Macon a total of tren 
children—fifteen males aid nine poe In two cases 
able to ascertain that there was insanity in the family, pene in 4h 
whole of the cases the parents were closely related. In two 
patient inquiry made through confidential channels, I obtained 
convincing evidence that they were, in each instance, brother and 
sister. In one instance they left England to avoid remark, and 
accounted for their curious likeness to each vite by describing 
themselves, both on board the ship in which they came to the 
Colony and subsequently, as first cousins, but of their price 
relationship there was no doubt. The father died a short tim 
ago, and the mother is bed-ridden from paralysis. Both are 
described as dull in intellect. 
80 the second case, a Magistrate of the Colony writes :—“ The 
an is sober and steady, and the woman who cohabits with him 
is anil known as his sister. Their mother, now ninety-five 
years of age, lives with them, and is feeble both in body and mind, 
the latter possibly from her great age. Besides the three idiot 
children, there are four others—a son and a daughter who are 
marri two unmarried girls. All of these, as well as the 
parents, are more or less simple, and in the children at home 
mental weakness is quite visible. Humane persons have, on 
several occasions, sought to take action as regards the parents, but 
_ found the law contained no provision for such cases. They are— 
2 ora avoided by their — who hold little — 
