Remarks on the plea of insanity, and on the mangement of criminal lunatics / by William Wood.

  • Wood, William, 1816-1892
Date:
1851
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Remarks on the plea of insanity, and on the mangement of criminal lunatics / by William Wood. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    been previously made to soften down my asperities, and to unite me under the banner of some of those who are now attempting to crush me, but I naturally felt unwilling to sacrifice either principle or conviction. On the publication of the second edition several favourable reviews appeared, * and amongst others, The Lancet strongly and faithfully pointed out the practical value and utility of the work. No author can be so absurd as to suppose that every person will agree with him in all his views, whether social, moral, political, or professional; opinions must ever differ, but still misrepresentation, mis-statement, misquoting, deceit, should never be even tacitly encouraged. The Journal of Mental Pathology had the dishonour to lead the opposition van, and commences the campaign thus :— A stern sense of critical justice compels us to withhold from Dr. Williams' volume the stamp of our appro- bation/' The reviewer then states that he has no right to complain of the President and Fellows of King and Queen's College of Physicians having awarded me the premium placed at their disposal by the present highly dis- tinguished Lord Chancellor, when presiding over the Irish Court of Chancery ! but he does complain that I have re-written the prize essay, and published it under a totally different title ; he says, Sir Edward Sugden's prize was far [sic] the best essay on a specific forjxLoftreating insanity by */ means of narcotics/ Vr. Williams' present volume is / entitled, ' Insanity; its Causes, Prevention, and Cure, \ including Apoplexy, Epilepsy, and Congestion of the \ Brain !' This he considers quite a misnomer, and that \ much mischief to the cause of legitimate literature will \ inevitably ensue. He objects to it on principle, and \ directs attention to that fact. | My reviewer, had he been writing upon the point, would most probably have confined himself to the limits in which I he would wish to restrict me; he appears to think that my subject was circumscribed; but hear what The Medical Gazette, one of the most scientific journals of the day, said : The author has brought under consideration the whole of J the leading plans of treatment which are at present adopted / in the management of the insane: and although his / remarks are given with much brevity and terseness, they / evince very careful research, and sound practical knowledge. / His observations upon the effects of the various kinds of / narcotics, and his estimate of their comparative value, are / * See end of this Pamphlet. —
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