Multitudes are now imprisoned, without the least evidence that reason is
dethroned, as indicated by this test. And I am a representative of this
class of prisoners; for, when Dr. McFarland was driven to give his reasons
for regarding me as insane, on _this_ basis, the only reason which he
could name, after closely inspecting my conduct for three years, was, that
I once "_fell down stairs_!"
I do insist upon it, gentlemen, that no person should be imprisoned
without a _just cause_; for personal liberty is the most blessed boon of
our existence and ought therefore to be reasonably guarded as an
inalienable right. But it is _not_ reasonably protected under our present
legislation, while it allows the simple _opinion_ of two doctors to
imprison a person for life, without one _proof_ in the _conduct_ of the
accused, that he is an unaccountable moral agent. We do not hang a person
on the simple _opinion_ that he is a murderer, but _proof_ is required
from the accused's _own actions_, that he is guilty of the charge which
forfeits his life. So the charge which forfeits our personal liberty ought
to be _proved_ from the individual's own conduct, before imprisonment.
So long as insanity is treated as a _crime_, instead of a _misfortune_, as
our present system _practically_ does so treat it, the protection of our
individual liberty imperatively demands such an enactment. Many contend
that _every_ person is insane on some point. On this ground, _all_ persons
are liable to be legally imprisoned, under our present system; for
intelligent physicians are everywhere to be found, who will not scruple to
give a certificate that an individual is a Monomaniac on _that_ point
where he differs from _him_ in opinion! This Monomania in many instances
is not Insanity, but individuality, which is the highest _natural_
development of a human being.
Gentlemen, I know, and have felt, the horrors--the untold _soul_
agonies--attendant on such a persecution. Therefore, as Philanthropists, I
beg of you to guard your own liberties, and those of your countrymen, by
recommending the adoption of these two Bills as an imperative necessity.
The above Bills were presented to the Committee on the Commitment of the
Insane, in Boston State house, March 29, 1865, by