Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British IslesTuke, Daniel Hack
History
Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles
Tuke, Daniel Hack
Mental health laws -- Great Britain; Mental illness -- Great Britain; Mentally ill -- Care; Psychiatric hospitals -- Great Britain
The only novel points in the Act of 1862 which we shall mention here are
these: That when the Lord Chancellor, entrusted under the previous Act,
orders an inquiry before a jury, he may direct the trial to take place
in one of the superior courts of common law at Westminster, the verdict
having the same force as an inquisition under a commission of lunacy
returned into the Court of Chancery; that in an inquiry before a Master
without a jury, it shall be lawful for the alleged lunatic, upon the
hearing of any petition, to demand an inquiry by a jury, the demand
having the same effect as if made by notice filed with the registrar in
accordance with the previous Act; that the inquiry should be confined to
the question whether the subject of the inquiry was at the time of such
inquiry of unsound mind, and incapable of managing himself or his
affairs, no evidence as to anything said or done by such person, or as
to his demeanor or state of mind at any time more than two years before,
being receivable as a proof of insanity, unless the judge or Master
shall direct otherwise; that to save the property of lunatics, when of
small amount, from ruinous expense, the Lord Chancellor, if satisfied by
the report of a Master or the Commissioners in Lunacy or otherwise, that
any person is of unsound mind and incapable of managing his affairs,
may, when the lunatic does not oppose the application, and his property
does not exceed £1000 in value or £50 per annum, apply it for his
benefit in a summary manner without directing any inquiry under a
commission of lunacy; that the Lord Chancellor may apply the property of
persons acquitted on the ground of insanity for their benefit; that
Chancery lunatics should be visited four times a year by one of the
Visitors, the interval between such visits not exceeding four months,
with the exception of those in public or private asylums or hospitals,
who need not be visited oftener than once a year; that the Visitor
shall report once in six months to the Lord Chancellor the number of
visits made, the number of patients seen, and the number of miles
travelled; an annual report being made to Parliament thereof, together
with a return of sums received for travelling or other expenses; that
the sections of the former Act in regard to visitation being repealed,
two medical and one legal Visitor shall be appointed, with salaries of
£1500 each and a superannuation allowance.
In practice, it may be said that, in the first instance, the Court
endeavours to satisfy itself that in the event of an inquiry, it is for
the benefit of the alleged lunatic, and that there is a fair probability
that the verdict will find him of unsound mind and incapable of managing
himself or his affairs, by ordering him to be examined by a medical man,
or by making a personal examination.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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