The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-07-06 00:00:00

Till LUNATIC
.ANTLOW.

Mr. PU/11111 moved—That the Committee of Vlsitore
of the Asylum be empowered to take the opinion of
momeel learned In the law no the chargeability of Miry
Brooks now In the any,lum settle, imitsidsr that opinion to be neeuseary.
The CHAIRMAN, In putting the motion, said it Wee
very lirmaible that this ones might be brought there by
appeal, and he should And himself lii a very painful pont-
MOM now to have to IlVe an opinion which, an Clielrinan
of the Court, It would be his duty ki give. BM when a
really vital, substantial ease of ineently wag put Into a
railway carriage in any part of tole esionly, and then
drooped at a particular elation, by law inch a emu Inue4
b• taken ewe of. Then what Amp meet the women be
put to—the union, the misty, or the pariah I There
wee._ however, no /Meshy in adopting the resolution,
Mr, /mew said It WM In In:portent matter, There
were 10 pellente eliarpable to the minty, and he had
VW/ entisiderable doubt all to their being chargeable
to the union and not to the *aunty, No doubt the poor
woman would be ellen* to the comity antes, charged
to the mien. He as a Viellef, should be glad to leeklnto the Neel teemed to, but he 414 not know what
prineiple he wee 19 he guided by,
Mr. Onaillin coked /dr, Potehev if It WU not an iii.
treerdleary Piing for a Coon of Judleatere to lake an
9inien of 'name,? Were they le eureseil to be in.
nuetteed by a,. opinleti sounsel no attend to the
lifnitiellte Additive f le SDI to lin to be very
4
satraordina , 10 would be I very iffermil thing lithe
*mini*, Vlellers were to lake an opinion, Who
ever heard the Court of Qeeen's Month shrilling the
inieoelalp to raw sig.§ ease for miler! t
i
Hr. 71,011111 i we are not a Court of Judleakin
licy
Mr, 'oolllleff i Yes, we are i the Nodose are opened
Able day, le V any
of weh a Mein' premdeut 1 Did y0u.,,, heir
ore 1
i1ir21.417116
toed wise In Wig Court two e? Mini
ep, nPortinen s motion we And It
ifiiianutes that the °pinkie of n leh on
erld be labia
"41r 110111:billirwasa lOen by Plilli vitrt.him.
Mf, lAITIN I I wee drawn up 1.4 the tilierit of the
Feeee,
Mf, 90111101fillefee_dfaell ejobr hiNlark,sr„. ,
Mr, iflio,lllll The nemillinn that le MIMI ise
empowered le la the opinion:re:ran ,
Mr, °onkel I lo the nt, Did the Vial.
tors dolt / WM done en ifill of the Vialtors or of
the Owl/ 1
The CLUE if the Picot: I It wee on behalf of the I
Visitors, eerlainly, I
Mr. ramose i I object very mush to Ala resolution,
es *II ground. You have a ilatipat in the lunatic eq.
lam olio, It appeatu, le paid for by the parish of loin
dlngeen. Upon that parish, therefore, it falls, to lad
out where the pauper belongs to.
Mr. H. wILLIAIN I The pauper, begging 310111' peke,
I. shorted be the county,
Mr. rOIOIIIIN I It is, positively, the parish of hr.
,dinglon. Let the perish of Vordinglon And out the
matter and not the county. It is Al,. parties who are
Injured who are to And out the remedy.
Mr. Tuner said the patient wail in the asylum, and
the superintendent must be (Droned upon whom she win
to be charged. He (Mr. ?toyer) wanted power to live
them directions. He did not know to whom to shame
her, but it would be unjust and tudele to charge her on
the pariah of Fordingion, she having been brought there
In a train, for fay lunatic so brought must be dlisoluirged
there. They would inquire into her ch•resability. and
then they could tell Al,. °Meer to whom, accorng to
law, she was to be °barged.
Mr. POOOll3ll thought in such a case the Visitors
might nee their power as magistrates.
Ir. H. WILLIAMS said the case was brought before
Lim from he borongh magistrates, and he, of course,sent the woman to Foreton.
The CHAIRMAN apprehended that these first questions
might ham been dealt with by the committee of
Visitors.
Mr. GORDON : Have they done so?
The CHAIRMAN thought the Court ought to accede to
the motion because It pledged them to grant a case, con.
taming all the ingrudienta of a settlement, for the canal. I
Aeration of counsel. But before thee, particulars had I
been submitted to the Court the Court was In a state of
perfect ignorance; had they heard the exaininationn they
might have got the evidence of persona to whom the
lunatic was known, and so got some knowledge of where
her chargeability was. Renee it would have been on-
neoessary to take AD opinion. He thought it was better
for the Visitors to deal with the ease in their official
capacity.
Mr. FLOTRR: We can't do it.
The CHAIRMAN : And if they get these facts which
at present are not collected, and bring all under the head
of incidentals, I feel intisfied the Court will sanction it.
Mr. Goiums ; That is the proper course.
Mr. FLOT IR objected to this. He would not ask ILA a
favour that to which he had a right. He war fully pre
pared to argue the case. He must protest against being
asked to incur the expense.
Mr. FARM concurred with Mr. Floyer. This was
not a judicial Court, and be maw no more degradation in
this Court, out of Court, taking an opinion of mined
than in the House of Lords taking an opinion of the
judges. They were not in the least bound by the opt-
Mon ; they were informed upon it, If the committee
put • ease before counsel the Court must assume that
the committee had taken due pains to consider the
✓ase.
Mr. Ponces!' repeated that it always appeared to
hirn to be a simple rule of law that the party aggrieved
should look for the remedy. The parish of Fordington
wan aggrieved, and the way Fordington should proceed
would he by appeal to this Court, when the cane would
be argued.
Mr. FARRICR thought this was only carrying the
matter one step farther. Fordington would summed in
getting the burden removed from thew, and then it
would fall on the oonnty.
Mr. FLOYER oontended that when the pauper was
brought before two Visitors what they would have to
Judge would be not between the pariah of Fordington
and the union but between the county and the ninon.
After Fordington had shown the pauper had no settle.
meat there the cane must peel to the union or the
meaty. What was the use of ordering the charge to be
made against the county. Who was to defend the
county? Would the Court instruct the Clerk of the
Peace to appeal against the Visitors?
Mr. WIIITEHOUSS suggented that the Visitors should
bear the case. It was questionable whether the Court
could require more of them than to decide the case ..a•
cording to the beet of their judgment in view of the Acts
,of Parliainent. Should they decide that the parish
ought to pay, then if the parinh objected they would
come before the Court in the regular way, and the Court
as 0 Court of Judicature would have to decide it. In
much • cam the Visitors would not have to omne to this
Court to give them the (mate of taking an opinion.
Mr. FLOTRE had never before heard the objection.
He should be willing to hear the case, and might perhaps
decide for the payment to be made to the union. The
union would feel aggrieved, but they had no poser of
appeal, and by such • decision the patient might i r ,be.
bly remain chargeable to the wrong fund. Nobody
would rah* the question, and the wrong people would
go on paying the money becaune the Court would not
allow the Victors a couple of guineas.
Mr. Ooanon : Then, why didn't the Visitors take it?
Why did they ootue here bothering us at All?
Ifr. Pontoon said Mr. Floyer called for a decision,
insd that showed it could not be the course tube par-
. stied, for to decide • nice point of law merely by the
' member of votes would not be satisfactory. No doubt
the Clerk of the Peace had a right to appeal. If the
pauper wee charged to the county, and the Visitors
thought she ought not to be so charged, they should In-
struct the Clerk of the Peace to appeal. This was the
proper course.
Tile CHAIRMAN put the motion, and there were for it
16, against 11. Notion affirmed.
Mr. GORDON: Have they or not inquired into all the
faOn of the case?
The CHAIRMAN: No.
WITNICSAIRS' Naze.
Mr. EL Witzratia moved that "The Committee ap-
pointed at the Easter Sessions, 1867, for revising the
Clerk of the Peace's Table of Fees he reappointed
for the purpose of reopening the subject, and in order
to meet a late decision of the Superior Courts."
Motion affirmed.

COURT ROOMS.

Mr. C. J. PARCIL said the application he was to
make at these 441111i011a "That a sum not exceeding
2300, be granted for the purpote of Building a Room
for the meeting of Justices in Petty Sessions, at Whip
borne, in conjunction with the Police Station," fell to
the ground in oonaequenoe of the notice not having been
signed and in the hands of the Clerk of the Peace 14
days.
The Rev. C. W. BINGHAM repeated him notice of
motion for the ranting of • like sum of £3OO for the
erection of a courtroom at Come.