Star. — 1813-07-21 (London, England)

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, 117 LY 17. CHAWNER V. WARBURTON. This was an action by which the Plaintiff, a derg•:ma,n, sought to recover from the Defendant, who keeps a house for the reception of insane persons, at Hoxton, a compensation in damages, for having unwarrantably received and falsely detained him as an insane person, in the house so kept by him, for the • space of nearly seven years. • Mr. Tommie having stated the case on the part of the Plaintiff, a number of witnesses were examined, consisting principally of keepers who had been in the service of the Defendant during the period the Plaintiff had been confined in his house, all of whom concurred in stating that they had never seen any thing like insanity in the conduct of the Plaintiff, during the whole of the time he had been so confined in the Defendant's house. It appeared that the Plaintiff bad been first sent to the house of the Defendent in the year 1805; and that after remaining there Or some !!tenths, having the liberty of the garden and the Use of the front parlour occupied by those who were in the most convalescent state, he was sent home to his own house in the country, in the custody of a keeper, who was to attend upon him so song as might be thought stecessary. Here he was joyfully received by his wife, by whom, in about ten days, the keeper was dismissed. lii the following year, however, the plaintiff was again sent to the house of the decendant, and was for several months confined to the back parlour, allotted for those in a more advanced or dangerous state of insanity. From thence he was removed to the front parlour, having again free access to the garden, &c. but was never discharged out of confinement till he contrived, a few months ago, to make his escape. During the whole of this period, the keepers who atten. ded- on the plaintiff and the defendant's other patients Sever saw any thing but sane calm conduct on the par of the plaintiff. One person alone of this description, named Richards, still in the defendant's service, deposed, that the plaintiff had a high and a low state of mind ; that the high was the irrational state; that the .plaintiff would then talk at random about the King and the Parliament, wishing them all murdered, and would also talk about his wife's infidelity. Oa their cross-examination, the witnesses admitted, that the defendant's house was regularly visited by Dr. Willis once or twice a week, and also' by the visiting Physicians appointed under the Act, of Parliament, and that all of those Gentlemen had' the same opportunities of seeing the plaintiff as they had of seeing the other persons confined there ; while, at the same tithe, the plaintiff was in no fespect precluded from access to them. The ATTORREY GENERAL having addressed the Jury on the part of the defendant, who had pleaded a justification, Dr. Chawner, the plaintiff's brother, and Mr. Croft, a surgeon of eminence, were called, who proved that they had seen instances of insanity in the plaintiff from the year 1801, and that from what they had seen, and from the representations of the family, they were induced to sign the certificates, on the faith of which the defendant received the plaintiff into his house ; the original certificate having been granted by Mr. Croft, and the subsequent one at the time when Mr. Chawner was sent beck after his temporary liberatipn, having been signed by his brother Doctor Chawner. Mr. TOPPING here stated to his Lordship, that he felt himself placed in a very delicate situation ;—and after what he had now heard, he wished to know his Loidship's opinion, whether there was any hope is proceeding further ? Lord ELLENBOROUGH thought not. The defendant bad justified, by stating that he had taken the plaintiff on the representation of his friends, and that justification he had made out. There ought to heve been another assignment on the record charging the defendant with confining the plaintiff longer than was necessary. The plaintiff was accordingly Non-suited. This cause lasted from nitwit in the morning till half past four in the afternoon.