ABSTRACT
While the first developments in theory and practice were taking place in connection with the county asylums, the parliamentary group considered less satisfactory aspects of the lunacy problem. On 28 April 1815, parliament again proceeded to appoint a select committee on the subject, and this time public opinion was actively and vocally on the side of the reformers. Armed with the evidence of these two cases, and strengthened by public opinion, the parliamentary group was able to press for the appointment of a new select committee with wider terms of reference. The committee set up in April 1815 represented a powerful body of parliamentary opinion. This chapter focuses on the evidence given before the 1815–16 Committee. In order to understand the full story of the events of 1813, it is necessary to go back to the early history of the Asylum.
