The Baltimore County union., 1866-01-13
COUNTY ITEMS.

Tue MousT iiSs= UAsn.-In the Circui, Court
for Baliimore county, ON the 5th inst, the eases
OF the State vs. w. u. Stokes, Physician aud
Mary Bhnkinsop, Superintendent Of Mount Hope
Hospital, IN tAis couniy, eaue up tcs Argument
on a demurrer filed
Mr.. Gitiiags began By reading tue indictment
which IL formidable document, consisting of
Some fourteen closely written pages. The frat
part Of the indictment consisting Of about two
pages, charges the said DR.. Stokes aud Mary Bin
ktnsop with conspiracy to cheat aud drfraud, by
inducing persons having charge aud guardian
ship OF insane persons 10 send them TO the Mount
Hope Hospital, representing Il TO be n suitable,
proper aud well regulated hospital, and III for
the reception OF Insane Iefsans aud the latter
part of the indictment charges that the said Mount
Hops Hospital is not well regulated, that the
rooms theIrin ARE low, that 1t u not under the
care aud charge Of proper and efficient persons,
but under the care of irIproper, inefficient, Who'll
ly untrusiwcr,hy and unfit persons, "by reason
that mrv TrTe c' Ms emdie seJ, Il a religious ar
der, gortrnof hy f,rcyH PTissi, destitute y Proys-
/ 'r'g and a. far az IA them lay, eirliy dcad aud
charges that the patients in said hospital are not
properly cared for. are i-ircaie'i Ia various ways
/ 10y leing confined, 10 straighi-jackets sc; are
confined alter they III aud able 20 go ai large
and charges various acts OF improper treatment
| Mr. Cuttings, In support Of the position that
the indictment, Is not good in law, referred To va
I
lie made an elaborate and mastcrly spccch oi
several hours duration. and In conclusion said
,ha, Il had been admitted by one Of the counse
for the prosecution that the object Of this indici-
meni was not so much TO punish the defendant,
10 this case Dr. Stokes and Mary Blinkinsopl n.
to overhaul the institution that this was an II.
legal aud improper manner Of attempting To dc
50 that the proper mode Of so doing was by 4
writ OF '7r, faeids. and that the institution va,
ready ,o meet the Investigation, and iha, numer.
Gus letters had been rccrivcd from many person.
formerly inmates Of the institution Offering tu
come any distance and testify that the facts charg
ci ia the indictment are not true.
Mr.. Cuttings was followed by Mr.. Haicliic ia
an able speech, on the part Of the State, who hc
gan by saying. that, IN his opinion, the Who'll,
ease was contained In a nutshell, that much tim,
had been unnecessarily consumed, and that hi,
speech should be very brief that he supposed
Mr. Cuttings had spetch 10 make, and that h,
must make II. No Raicliifr said there were hut
two facts in the case first, whether the facts
charged constituted an indiciable offence at com.
mon law and secondly, whether those facts
we're properly charged in the indictment with
that degree OF certainty required in the Law, aud
cOnieudcd that the Indictment was good in both
particulars. Mr.. RAicile said he hoped, for the
sake Of humanity the facts charged in the indict-
meni might nO, lie true. but that /; wa. due Ia
the pnac, and due TO the character Of the insii-
tuition that an investigation should be had.