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He keeps everything as secret as he can. It reminds one of the old inquisitorial prisons. Even a letter cannot pass through the office to or from a patient without inspection by himself or his satellite, the assistant physician, and it is immediately destroyed if it unfortunately contains anything which he disapproves of.

I have referred to the screen-rooms and cold baths. I will describe them. A screen-room is where there is a close iron screen covering the window to keep fractious patients from breaking the window, and is a very good place to secure them until their excitement or "spell," as it is usually called, passes over. But it is often perverted to a different use. The patient is usually jacketed, that is, a strong, closely fitting waist, with sleeves coming below the hand and sewed up, with a loop-hole through which can be passed a strong cord. Their arms are then crossed in front with their hands drawn tightly behind them, and when thus tightly and firmly secured, they are thrown upon the floor of the screen-room, their faces downward, their clothing removed or turned back, and then beaten until their flesh is often but a jelly, while their screams might be heard at a great distance, but for thick walls and closely fitting doors.

The cold bath, O, my God! it makes me shudder to think of it. The patient, often for a small offense, perhaps, for striking in excitement an attendant, or another patient, is taken to the bath-room and made to strip; the water is then let into the bath-tub, sometimes hot, but usually very cold, and after being tied hand and foot, plunged into it, and held there under it until almost dead, and then drawn out only long enough to catch their breath and then plunged in again, and so on.

S. A. KAIN.

So notorious had the evils of the asylum now become, that the legislature of 1867 were driven to the conclusion that the honor of the State demanded a thorough investigation into the charges and current evil reports to ascertain whether they were true or false.

They therefore appointed a committee of five -- three from the House and two from the Senate to visit the hospital for the insane, after the adjournment of the legislature, with power to send for persons and papers, and to examine witnesses on oath. They were to ascertain whether any of the inmates were improperly detained in the hospitals, 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. The names of this committee were:

Hon. E. BALWIN, Farm Ridge, La Salle County.
Hon. T. B. WAKEMAN, Howard, McHenry County.
Hon. J. B. RICKS, Taylorville, Christian County.
On the part of the House of Representatives.
Hon. C. A. FULLER, Belvidere, Boone County.
Hon. A. J. HUNTER, Paris, Edgar County.
On the part of the Senate.

The committee first met at the Dunlap House, in Jacksonville, on the 14th of May, and after taking the testimony of a few witnesses found the need of a thorough investigation more and more important.

They therefore advertised in the Chicago papers asking all who had any testimony they desired to present to the committee, to meet them in Jacksonville on the 4th of June. This meeting lasted till the 10th; July 10 and 11 they met at Chicago. On the 17th they met again at Jacksonville, and continued in session until the 26th of July. On the 20th, 21st and 22d of August, they met again at Chicago. On the 26th and 27th of September they met at Springfield. On the 12th of November they met at Bloomington. And on the 29th of November met at Jacksonville again, where they adjourned on the 3d of December, sine die.

At these meetings testimony concerning the mal-treatment of the patients increased to such a volume, and the conclusions arrived at were so unanimous, as left no doubt in the minds of the committee of the existence of crimes -- heinous crimes on the part of the Superintendent, as well as outrages and abuses of the most cruel kind on the part of the attendants. The committee say:

"It plainly appears in the evidence they had presented them, that sixty patients had been abused by the attendants, and about twenty-five attendants had been guilty of these abuses."

It is the honest opinion of the writer that if this number were quadrupled it would not then cover the number of actually abused patients, since the abused patients was the rule at that hospital, while those justly and kindly treated were the exceptions.

So overwhelming was the testimony of mal-treatment and mismanagement that the senior man on that Committee, Mr. Baldwin, most forcibly and frankly remarked:

"I have come to the conclusion that our Insane Asylums are grand failures! That their entire destruction, on their present basis, would be a blessing to the world!"

This Committee very justly remarked: