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Madhouses Act 1786
The Madhouses Act 1774 (14 Geo. 3 c.49) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which set out a legal framework for regulating "madhouses" (insane asylums). Background By the mid-eighteenth century, the common methods in the United Kingdom for dealing with the insane were either to keep them in the family home, or to put them in a "madhouse", which was simply a private house whose proprietor was paid to detain their residents, and ran it as a commercial concern with little or no medical involvement. This led to two forms of abuse: the first was the keeping of "legitimately" insane people in atrocious conditions, and the second the detention of those who were falsely claimed to be insane – in effect, private imprisonment. At this stage, there was no legislation to regulate the incarceration of anyone other than a Chancery lunatic or a pauper; there was only a vaguely defined common law power to "confine a person disordered in mind, who seems disposed t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney
Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (24 February 1733 – 30 June 1800) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1783 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Sydney. He held several important Cabinet posts in the second half of the 18th century. The cities of Sydney in Nova Scotia, Canada, and Sydney in New South Wales, Australia were named in his honour, in 1785 and 1788, respectively. Background and education Townshend was born at Raynham, Norfolk, the son of the Hon. Thomas Townshend, who was the second son of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, also known as "Turnip" Townshend for his agricultural innovations. Thomas Townshend the younger's mother was Albinia, daughter of John Selwyn. He was educated at Clare College, Cambridge. Political career Townshend was elected to the House of Commons in 1754 as Whig member for Whitchurch in Hampshire, and held that seat till his elevation to the peerage in 1783. He initially aligned himsel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
