Star.
London, England, 1826-07-19 00:00:00

tUNACY.

Amongst the many complaints which have been rah-
lvd against the delay and expense of proceedings in the
Court of Chancery, there is no branch of its practice
where these evils are more glaring and burthensome
than the jurisdiction of the Court in matters of lunacy.
For the Ototection of the persons and property of those
unfortunate beings, who are incompetent to the care
and management of themselves and their estates, the
King, in right of his prerogative, has generally deep.
ted to the Lord Chancellor, Lord Keeper, or Lords
Commissioners of the Great Seal, by warrant under his
sign manual, countersigned by the two Secretaries of
State, the custody of idiots and lunatics, and the power
of administering their property. This power, being
specially vested in the Lord Chancellor, cannot be ex-
ercised by the Master of the Rolls or the Vice Chancel-
lor, who, of consequence, can entertain no applications
in matters of lunacy. Hence the delay which fre-
quently occurs in proceedings falling under this juris-
diction ; for, whilst applications in causes, for bank.
ruptcy,•or under special Acts of Parliament may be
made indifferently to the Lord Chancellor, or the Vice
Chancellor, and, in the first and third cases, to the
Master •of the Rolls also, all subjects of lunacy mast
came under the purview of the former alone.
This delegated jurisdiction of the Lord Chancellor, in
matters of lunacy, is much more comprehensite, and
embraces a much larger proportion of the practice .of
the Court, than may, perhaps, be generally known to
the public. The office of the Secretary of Lunatics
affords a melancholy preof that insanity is a daily in.
creasing 'malady in this country; and scarcely a family
can be found whose members and connection; are en-
tirely free from this lamentable imperfection of human
intellect. Whilst suits pending in the Court of Chancery
ate confined to some specific and definite objects, the
verdict of a Jury upon a commisson of lunacy, at once
places under the administration of the Great Seal the
whole of the affAirs of the incompetent person, not un-
frequently embracing almost every subject cognizable
in a court of equity, and rendering indispensable the
institution and prosecution of numerous suits and other
proceedings, which, if insanity had -not intervened,
would have been unnecessary. All proceedings in mat-
ters of lunacy are moreover clogged with difficulties,
former proceedings and tee.hnkalities, peculiar to this
branch of the practice of the Court, for the powers ofe
the committee of a lunatic's estate are of themselvsi
most narrow and limited ; no discretion in the manage.'
ment of the property committed to his care is vested in
him ; but the power to do, as well as the indemnity for
doing, every specific and individual act must be ob-
tained from the Court. And the mode in which this
power and indemnity are to be obtained is not less ob-
jectionable than the necessity of obtaining them ; when-
ever it is necessary to do any act for the improvement
of the lunatic, estates, to grant leases, repair buildings,
enfranchise copy holds, adjust accounts or claims, or take
any proceedings whatever relating to the estate or con.
terns of the lunatic, a petition must, in every case, be
presented to the Lord Chancellor, who refers the matter
to the consideration of the Master, who reports his
opinion, which opinion must be confirmed by the Court
upon another petition, before the act or proceeding in
question can be done or taken. For the passing of every
annual account by the Committee before the Master, he
must in like manner obtain an order upon petition, and
he cannot even pay any balance which may be in his
hands into Coon, without a similar order made also upon
petition. The only mode in which any application
whatever in matters of lunacy can be made to the Lord
Chancellor is by petition, setting forth the circumstances
and groundi on which it is made, supported &ederally
by affidavits Vet ifying the facts ; and, upun everrorder,
referring particuldr subjects to the constderation of the
Master, evidence must again begone into and produced
in his office. The power of the Master is strictly limited
to the letter of the order of reference, and he can take
into his consideration no subject relating to the lunatic,
however trivial, without express directions from the
Court. The delay and expense occasioned by thesepro-
ceedings may readily be imagined to be enermour ; but
the expense is still further increased in every case in
which the order of the Courtis to be acted upon by the
Accountant-General. This occurs whenever the Com-
mittee has to pay into Court his annual balance, and
whenever a sum of money is to be paid into or received
out of Court; and also when stocks are to be transferred
into or from the name of the Accountant-General, or
are to be sold or purchased by him. All orders in mat-
ters of lunacy are drawn up by the Llrd Chancellor's,
Secretary of Lunatics ; but all orders to be acted uponi
by the Accountant-General must be drawn up a second
time by the Register, and also enteied by him. Thus
the expense of every order of this nature is more than
doubled.

Another close of grievous expense to the estates of
lunatics is to be found in the office of the elvk of ti ,e
Custodies," whose fees on every grant et the person and
estate of a lunatic, and on the tecognizances of the sure-

'ties *of Committees, ate 'Eery large; and on the appoint-
-mem of evetj new Committee, the same, or very nearly
the same, expenses are again incurred.
To obviate many of the difficulties and delays, and
to render unnecessary much of the expense attendant
upon proceedings in matters of lunacy, it is suggested,
that upon every appointment of a Committee of the
estate of a lunatic, a general order of reference should
be made by the Court, authorizing the Master to take
into his consideration all matters connected with the
lunatic's estate and affairs, and to pass the annual ac-
counts of the Committee, and that the annual balances
of his accounts should be paid into Court upon the
Master's certificate. Proceedings would moreover ba
much facilitated by the extension of the jurisdiction, in
matters of lunacy, to the Master of the Rolls and Vice-
Chancellor, unless a separate Court for this branch of
the administration of justice should be established ; de-
lay and expense would be further diminished, if appli-
cations to the Court in matters of lunacy were allowed
to be made on motion; and if all reports of te Master
were held to be absolute, without confirmation by the
Court, unless objected to within a'certain number of
days after the signature by the Master. The necessity
for orders to be twice drawn up, as above stated, ought
also to be removed. It is further suggested, that on
every appointment of a new Committee, the recogni-
zances to be entered, into by his sureties should be of
the same amount as those required on the appointment
of his predecessor, unless the property shall have been
altered ; and that a revocation of the former grant, and
thk preparation and sealing of a new grays, should, by
assygnment from the former Committee, or his repre-
sentatives, or otherwise, be rendered unnecessary, and
the payment of the large fees above alluded to, be saved
after the first grant.
It is further of the utmost importance that no solici-
tor should, on any pretence whatever, be allowed to
represent both the Committee and next of kin of the
lunatic. 'Amongst many evils resulting from a contrary
practice, within the personal knowledge of the writer,
the allowance of improper and exorbitant charges in
bills of costs, professing to be taxed by the Master, may
be mentioned ; all bills of costs incurred by the Com-
mittee of a lunatic's estate must be taxed by the Master,
before they can be allowed as payments in the Com-
mittee's accounts ; and to protect the estate of the luna-
tic from'profuse expenditure and extravagant charges,
the next of kin are, by the present practice of the Court,
allowed at the expense of the estate to attend before the
Master by their solicitor, on passing the Committee's ac-
counts and the taxation ofthe bills of casts. But this salu-
tary provision is in a great measure rendered abortive, by
the practice of permitting one solicitor to represent. both
the Committee of the lunatic's estate and the next of kin;
and the expense of copies of the accounts and bills of
costs, which are charged for, although not made, by
the Master's clerk, is uselessly incurred. The solicitor,
moreover, charges for copies of petitions, orders and
other proceedings, made, or alleged to be made, for the
next of kin ; for the service of petitions, orders, and
warrants, which in fact are never served; and for at-
tendance in Court, upon the secretary of lunatics, on
warrants before the blaster and otherwise, in his double
capacity of solicitor for both parties. As representing
the committee, it is his interest to support every item
charged Its the account and bills of costs; and as soli-
citor tor the next of kin, being very frequently infants,
it is his duty to see that no improvident payment or ex-
orbitant charges are allowed. The two characters, thus
assumed very generally by solicitors practising in mat-
ter: of kinky, have been thus shown to be perfectly
incompatible.