 Four days after the Society was founded Thomas Duncombe spoke in the House of Commons, arguing for the postponement of new legislation pending a select committee of inquiry, and detailing a number of cases of wrongful confinement that had come to the Society's attention.The legislation however went ahead, and the Society would have to wait until 1859 for an inquiry, although the Society's supporters in parliament managed to secure a number of clauses to safeguard patients in the 1845 Act.Although the Society had influential supporters such as Thomas Duncombe and Thomas Wakley (surgeon, radical MP for Finsbury and coroner), they did not gain widespread public support, probably never having more than sixty members and relying upon their own money for funding.