Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-09-27
Was lie Insane ?

4 most exciting case has just been triel
% Judge Peek'S Court, a synopsis Of which.
OF rather Of both versions of She case wo
give below
ON the Goth inst. at Montpelier, Calvin
w. Foster DC Noretywn. was brought before
Hon. As4heI Peek, one 81 the Judges Of tl,
supreme Court, by a writ Of haJeas corpus
Itapreared that at the date Of the writ Oh,
said Foster was confined in the Vermont Asv
lam for the Insane. at Brattleboro. and th,
question was, whether the said Foster wa,
InIawluIIy res rtined Of his liberty
On the hearing. DR.. Vs. H. Rockwell ar
pc3red and made return that the said Fostel
was confined in said Asylum as set forth il
the writ. but that The court aforesaid had M
jurisdiction in the premises, ana citeI an
act pissed by the legislature at its session
in ls15, page 207, ND. I29, which provides
that an examiner shall be appointed by thc
Court Of Chancery for the County Of Wind
ham, upon whose certificate Of insanity a
person should be deemed t. be insane. and II
is also provided by the same net that relief If
such cases may be granted BY said Court o
Chancery npon application Of friend O
any patient IN said Asylum
1t aIToa1ed that the certificate q tie *
amiaer required by the first section Of =a
act. had been made, and all the requirement
o. tie statutes relating 10 the confinement Of
insane persons had been substantially com
piled with On the part of the examiner anC
Trustees ol the asylum, and therefore DR.
Rockwell moved the court to dismiss the pc
tlti9o. After a brief argument by Hon. c. II
Heath. tor the complainant, and the Hon
Daniel Kellogg and Homer w Heaton, Esq
for Or. Rockwell, the court held the proceed
ings properly instituted, that the statute o
1858 before referred to did not deprive tn
complainant Of his right to this writ and t
relief under it, Dr. Rockwell and his coun
sci, Hon. Daniel Kellogg and Judge Reyes
thereupon retired and the case proceeded.
Itappeared from the evidence that thi
complainant was married upon the first da
p. last January To one Mad tn Louise Smith
not unknown Is the world as . doctress tina
the current Of their matrimonial life ha
not always run smoothly. Report and aver
ICub Idu IL lNdL El-t v as soon IireQ OF ne
husband and sought some convenient mean
by which to rid herself Of him; at last cor
Guided to try the insanity dodge" 1t wa
also aycrrcd that she had allowed no goo
chance Of circulating the report that b,
hus5s nd, the zaId Foster, ''was at times il
sane, to pass unimproved, and it scene
that She succeeded in inducing doctor
Waterbury to make his certificate that I
had examined said Foster and found him il
sane.
Armed with this certificate, and in con
pany vi'h her attorney. who, it also appea
I'd. was armed with pair of handouts wbic
he had procured for use in case Of necessit,
tAey proceeded, UPON the 10Th inst, to col
duet said Foster to the asylum. 1t appe ire
that said Foster Las an aunt living in Il
vicinity OF Brattleboro, and that the wife
said Foster upon the day preceding the sa
18th inst proposed to said Foster that tht
pay their venerable aunta visit the next da
10 this Foster readily assented, and accor
'ngly they came to Montpelier upon Il