=Certificates required.=--In the case of a parent or guardian who desires to place a mentally defective person under guardianship, _two medical certificates_ are necessary, one of which must be from a medical man approved by the Local Authority or Board. If the person be not an idiot or imbecile, the certificates must be signed by a Judicial Authority, after such inquiry as he thinks fit. A defective to be dealt with otherwise than by parent or guardian, is so under an order by a _Judicial Authority_ on a petition presented under the Act, an order of a _Court_ if guilty of a criminal offence, or an order of the Secretary of State if detained in prison, a criminal lunatic asylum, or reformatory. The order of a Judicial Authority may be obtained by petition of any relative or friend, or an officer of the Local Authority authorised under the Act for the purpose. Two medical certificates must accompany the petitions, one of which must be signed by a medical man approved by the Local Authority or Board; or, when a medical examination cannot be carried out, a certificate to that effect must be presented, and a statutory declaration made by the petitioner and one other person, who may be one of the medical certifiers, stating the class to which the defective belongs. Upon receiving the certificates the Judicial Authority interviews the defective. When the petition is presented by a parent or guardian, the Judicial Authority, if satisfied, may issue an order for the defective to be placed in an institution or appoint a guardian. If the petitioner be not parent or guardian, consent in writing of one or other must be obtained, without which the order must not be made, unless the parent or guardian withhold their consent unreasonably or are not to be found. If the Judicial Authority be not satisfied, he may postpone the order, or refuse it. When the order is made by a Court, the Court must be satisfied, on medical evidence, that the person is a defective. Two medical certificates are necessary when the Secretary of State makes an order. The order remains in force for a year, may be renewed for a second year, and then for periods of five years. GENERAL SYMPTOMS OF INSANITY