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144 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS,

der of one Chisuall. It appeared in evidence that the pris-
over labored under 4 notion that the inhabitanta of the town
of Hadleigh, of whom Chisuall was one, were continually is-
suing warrants against him with intent to deprive him of his
liberty and life; that he would frequently under the same
notion abuse persons whom he met in the street and with whom
he never had any dealings or acquaintance of any kind. In
his waistcoat pocket a paper was found, headed ‘‘list of Had-
leigh conspirators against my life.”’” It contained forty or
fifty names, and among them ‘‘Chisuall and his family.’’
There was also found among his papers an old summons
about a rate, at the foot of which he had written, ‘This is
the beginning of an attempt against my life.’’

The medical witnesses in the cage testified that from the
evidence given, the prisoner, in their opinion, labored under
that species of insanity which is called monomania; and that
he committed the act while under the influence of that dis-
order, and might not be aware that in firing the gun his act
involved the crime of murder.

Ray gives another case, which occurred in 1848—a Seotch-
man named McNaughton met in one of the streeta of London
Mr. Drummond, the private secretary of Sir Robert Peel,
and shot him dead with a pistol. For some time previous he
had entertained a delusion that he was pursued by enemies
that followed him everywhere, blasting his fame, disturbing
his peace and filling him with intolerable inquietnde; and
feneying his victim to be one of the crew, he determine to
sacrifice him. His insanity was not obvious at sight; he had
recently transacted business and behaved with propriety in
the ordinary Intercourse with men. Was it not for the un-
necessary consumption of time I would refer you to other
cases in which this character of delusion has manifested it-
self; but I pass on to the next form of insanity as given by
Taylor and known as dementia. He places under this head
those eases in which there is a total absence of all reasoning
power caused by the destruction, and not the perversion of
the mental faculties. There is a want of memory as well se
& want of consciousness on the part of the individual of what

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