The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1868-04-25
LEGAL
Decision Of the Supreme Court Of
Tennessee, at Nashville, December
Term, 1857.


Reported for thu Union Dpaeh By 3. }. Henderson.
Attorney At Law.
1st. Code, Section 2,29l, provides as fol
lows: The right of action, which per-
son who dies from injuries received from
another, or whose death is caused by a
wrongful act or omission Of another,
would have had against the wrong doer IN
case death had not ensued, shall not abate
or be extinguished by his death, but saall
/ pass to his personal representative for the
benefit Of his widow and next IN kin, free
! from the claims of his creditors" Held
that this section Of the Code gives the
right of action to the wife Jointly with her
| husband for injuries done her, and IN case
! death ensues, the right of action passes to
her personal representative.
ID. Same. The word person being used IN
cludes all classes, and every one Is EN-
braced who, if death had net ensued, could
have maintainee an action.
Philip Broam. admir-. Va R. L. Blown. ct. ais.
This is an action of trespass brought in
the Circuit Court Of Davidson county by the
plaintiff in error, as administrator of his
| wife, for the use Of himself Catliarine
Dream and Bridget Bream5 minor children
Of Bridget Bream, deceased. against II. L..
! Brown, J. P. Forbes and W. e. Evans. The
gravamen Of the charge is that the defend
ants were druggists and prescriptionists in
the city of Nashville and the plaintiff in
testate being sick, applied to them for a
medicine. having written description from
q physician for the medicine known as
colycinth, and the defendant Evans the
clerk and the agent Of the defendants
Brown q Forbes, IN preparing and mixing
s up said prescription did It so carelessly and
negligenty that he mixed up and prepared
other medicines, which were poisonous and
which were taken by the intestate, from
which size died. The damages we're laid at
twenty thousand dollars in the declaration
A demurrer was fled to the declaration,
which was allowed BY the court and the
suit dismissed, from which ruling of the
court the plaintiff in error has appealed to
this court
The important and only question pre-
scented for our consideration is whether this
action can be maintained. Section . POI of
the Code provides as follows The right of
action which a person who dies of injuries
/ received from another, or when death Is
caused frem the negligence, acts or omissions
of another, would have had against the
wrong doer in case death had not ensued,
shall not abate nor be extinguished by his
death, but shall pass 60 his personal repre-
sentatives for the benefit Of his widow and
next Of kin, free from the claims of credi-
tors This section and the section follow
ing, 1892, of the Code, embOdy the pro
. / y,
1850. By the common law all personal ac-
tions for wrongs or injuries abated by the
death of the party. To remedy this, and
throw the protecting influence of the law
around the citizen the act Of 1st February,
1850, was passed, which enacts. that q in all
and every case where any person shall come
to his death by injuries received from an
other, whether the same be inflicted felo-
niOusly or not for which Injuries IN case
| hed moi Of do
ges would lie at law. The personal repre-
sentative of the person thus killed, shall
have the right to institutea suis1of DANA
ges in either Of the Circuit Courts of the
State, etc, etc.
In codifying the laws of the State the
! provisions of this act were carried into the
Code in section ., 29i and 1892
The language of section 2, 29I is broad and
comprehensive in its terms. The intention
Of the Legislature was to protect the life o.
the citizen, by giving compensation in dana
D ges against the party for the commission o.
wrongful or negligent act The increased
facilities for travel by RAILROAD and steam
boat, the negligent conduct of those en-
t trusted with the lives Of the passengers, with
t the frequently recurring accidents, which re
) suited so often in the destruction Of human
life, forced the Legislature to pass laws Civ
S ing the right Of action for injuries inflicted
! The act of 1880 was passed altering TIT
. common law, and giving the right to t
L the personal representative, In the case o
death, in the construction and meaning o
n the section of the Code and the rights unde
! it, we mustlook to the intention of the Leg
q islature and give to the word all possibl
/ meaalng which is consistent with the Ian
q guage used 10 the sections Of the Cod
!, under consideration the most conprehen
siye words are used to express the intention
In giving the right of action. all and ever
Il individual Is embraded IN tho word person
- 1t Is insisted that the word person IN thi
D section of the Code does not include tn
IS wife, as this section by It's terms means th
IS deceased must have left widow and next c
a kin. That section, 2 ,29I, is explained b
= section 2,292, that the term next of kin /
the last section referred to, the language i
IS The action may be brought By the persona
ID representative of the deceased for the benz
IL fit Of the widow and children, and IF he d.
= cline it, the widow and children may brin
= 1t. That section 2 ,29I means the right
ID action which man. whose death Is cause
ID by the wrongful act of another, shall NJ
o. abate if he has wife and children; II thi
:. event the right of action will pass to th
personal representatives FOR their benefit
v in other words the statute provides for th
as death of a man and not a woman
ne 10 this construction Of section 2, 29I, "
m cannot assent To ascertain the intentie
the Legislature in constituting a statute
doubtful meaning, it is well settled that f
the purpose of arriving at the Legislatiy
" intent. all acts on the same subject matte
n, are to be taken together and examined
I'd order to arrive at the true meaning whe
there are different statutes in pari materi,
u though made at different periods, or expire,
shall be taken and construed together as e.
planatorY. Sedgwick on Constitution an
t Statute Law, 247 20 Johnson, 745. App
4 this principle to the construction Of sectio
Il 1921 of the Code. ~ the act of FebruaT
h 1, 1850, the right of action was given in a
m and every case where any person shOul
ID come to his death by injuries received fro
a pnother, whether feloniOusly inflicted or no
10 and for which, IN case death had not T
Is suited, an action for damages weuld lie, ii
of personal representatives shall have the rigl
to bring the suit
It viii be seen by this act of Feb. 1, I85
re that a new cause of action was created, Vi
. known to the common law The terms