The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-01-21
The Lunacy Law.
EfLfnl.s

ha'itS NlluiJ CUileu lily utLCn- |
ton to an article in the .NeW6cl3v o.
Serre'' ON the recent Act regulating the
adhesion Of lunatics to the Asylum, |
would make the following explanation
Of the justice and necessity of said law.
For several yenrs the appropriations to
this institution have constituted a large
proportion of the expenses of the State.
since IT the State has expended about
TWO hundrcl thousand dollars for en-
Iarging and completing the Buildings of
the Asylum, and from seventy t, ninety
thousand dollars annually for the main
tenunce of its inmates, and vet it is
.d"ubtful whether the present capacity
of the buildings is sufficient for the pa
TENTS who may be admitted in 1885.
The Legislature has made several eff
forts to enact such law$aS would reduce
the nuInhcr of inmates and thus curtail
the expense. Bis have been introduce
cd changing the mode of admission. and
requiring each county to pay for the
maintenance Of her lunaticS, but these
bills were defeated. Acts have been
passed requiring County Commissioners,
Auditor and Treasurer to report all lu-
naticS able to pay for their entire or par
tial maintenance; also an Act requiring
County commissioners to remove such
inmates as the Superintendent and Re-
gents believed were not proper subjects
for the beneficiary care Of the ius,itu-
ton. Yet the number Of patients have
continued to increase from fifty to sixty
per year.
The superintendent in his last report
recommends that some change Lc made
in the lunacy law. The Governor in his
message directs attention to this Su"gcs-
ton, and the Licut-Govcrnor referred
that part Of the Governors message to
the Committee on "Claritabic Institu-
TONS of which have the honor to be
Chairman, under these circumstances
prepared and introduced the Bill to
which the Newberry physicians object.
| regret that objection comes from so
distinguished a source. have often re-
marked that Newbcrry had a CORPS of
physicians equal if not superior to any
rillag" in the State. Many of them arc
my warm personal friends, yet must
think think they arc in error as to this
Act.
Was there Il necessity fur";iTis Act?'
The Superintendent in his last report
says, many are maintained Il, he en-
pcnsc Of the Stat. III the ASYLUM, who
are not fit subjects OF it's charity =: MANY
paralytics. simple c%pilcpli"S, natural
imbcciles, porS"nS HELPLESS from old
age and iachra,cS, and III short all those
who are Troublesome at home are sent to
the Asylum. Many of them are sub
jects of charity Lat their proper place
is not in the %lrnatic ASvlurl." The
Superintendent farther correctly saws.
that he is not [" blame for this class o.
nnfJnnfs hnItr -, .h, A.1,.. 800. a..
1.-THE chief responsibility rests " ith the
physicians Of the State: In Justice to
the medical profession, he saws, 81 have
never known an instance where Il Ger
tiiicatc was signed from an improper
motive but he iinputcs it to haSty exam
nation and Il certain carcleSSncss arising
from 1, want OF appreciation OH the part
Of examining physicians"
DIR. Griffin has directed the removal.
during the past year, OF fifty inmates of
the Asylum who were " proper wards
of this noble institutions charity.
Again, ut the recent session Of the
Legislature DIR. Pope, Il prominent phv-
Stefan and distinguished member Of the
House OF Representatives and one orthc
strongest opponents Of this hct, intro
duced n resolution to appoint a special
COMMISSION to examine and report such
inmates as should he removed from the
wards of the Asylum. Then, with DR..
Griiiin's report with the great differ
cnce in number of inmates from the
several Counties, ranging from ) to lib:
with the superintendent directing the
removal OF fifty i'll the past year with
Or. ropes effort to pass Il resolution
appointing special commission to de-
termlnc what others should be re-
moved; with an annual increase of six
ty with the admission of 800 during
the past year with III" @ln.,i't that there
were many inmates IN the s,!uln at an
expense to the Stat, OF over ;E3Q Der
year, per capita, WHO could wilil,ut Diet
rlment to the patlr!.i, his family or COM
munlty be supported at their RESPECTIVE
homes or iii their County Aims houses
at Sin or seven dollars par month. was
there not n necessity for some law to re-
strict or prevent the past indiscriminatc
admission Of luIatics?
d. The bittercsl opponent of the law will
not question. l.lt what phvSicial.s are
responsible for the class of patients in
the Asylum. Neither 4 Probate Judge.
County Commissioner, Magistrate or
Circuit Judge can assign Ordinarily a
person to the Asylum Without IL c%ertili-
cate from two physicians. Then is it
not rl:sht to make the l.hysiciarn re-
Sponsiblc?
The complaint is that the law is an
unjust reflection upon the medical pro-
tession. Such certainty was not the in
tent and purpose of the intruduccr of the
Bill, nor do ] think the letter Of the Act
jnstities such an inference. What does
the Act require That physicians give
certificates Of lunacy under oath. DO
they not do the same thing in giving evil
dencc ut Il coroncr's court, or as expert ?
ilowcveE--w are not welded to the
oath, as we regard the ordinary ccr:ifi-
cate of honor equally as binding The
spirit of the. Act is simply to make the
physician more careful in his cxuminu-
lions and specifies a class Of patients to
whom he shall not give certificates and
authorizes a penalty if he gives such GER
tiiicates. The penalty is left to the dis