No. V. 55 Geo. III. c. 46. Clerk may convene new Meet ings. Justices to fix Sums to be expended in pur chase of Lands, Houses, &c. or in erecting Buildings. Weekly Rate for Paupers may be increased by Justices. Overseers of Poor to return Lists of all Lunatics and -Idiots within V. And be it further enacted, That if any committee of visiting justices or of visiting justices united with any committee of governors or directors of or subscribers to any lunatic asylum erected or to be erected by voluntary contributions shall neglect to adjourn any meeting held for the purposes of the said recited Act, or where any unforeseen circumstance shall occur rendering the meeting of such committee necessary within the period to which their meeting may have been adjourned, it shall be lawful for the clerk to such committee to convene a new meeting by a circular letter to each member of such committee, informing him of the time and place of such meeting ten days at least before the same shall be held. VI. And be it further enacted, That in every case in which a lunatic asylum shall have been or shall hereafter be erected by any county under the provisions of the said recited Act, it shall be lawful for the justices of the peace of such county, or the major part of them (such major part not being less than seven) assembled at any annual general or quarter sessions of the peace or any adjournment thereof to be held for such county, from time to time to fix and limit the sums which may be expended on the purchase of lands or houses or in the erection of new buildings or in the extension or alteration of existing buildings for the purpose of such lunatic asylum, or the yards outlets or courts thereunto belonging, as well on the first establishment of such lunatic asylum as at any time during its continuance; and it shall not be lawful for the committee of visiting justices appointed for the building erection and management of such asylum to enter into any contract or contracts for the purchase of lands or houses or for the erection of new buildings or for the extension or alteration of existing buildings for the purpose of such lunatic asylum, or the yards outlets and courts thereunto belonging at a sum or sums which may in the whole exceed the sums so from time to time limited and appointed by the justices assembled in sessions as aforesaid; and no contract so entered into by such visiting justices shall be held to be valid or legal. VII. And whereas it is in the said recited Act enacted, That the weekly rate to be fixed by the committee of visiting justices to be paid for each pauper confined in any lunatic asylum shall in no case exceed fourteen shillings per week: And whereas it may be necessary that such weekly rate should in certain cases be increased; Be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the justices of the peace acting in and for any county at whose expence any lunatic asylum shall have been or shall be hereafter erected or the major part of them assembled at any annual general or quarter sessions of the peace to be held for such county or any adjournment thereof (such major part not being less than seven) to make such addition to such weekly rate as to them shall seem fit and necessary, and to make an order accordingly; which order shall be signed by the clerk of the peace or his deputy on behalf of the court, and forthwith published in some newspaper circulated within the county; and such additional rate shall be paid by the overseers of the poor of the parishes townships or places to which the lunatics in such asylum respectively belong, in the same manner as is provided by the said recited Act with regard to the weekly rate from time to time to be fixed on by the visiting justices før the maintenance medicine clothing and care of such lunatics. VIII. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the justices of the peace acting in and for any county at their several petty sessions to issue their warrants to the overseers of the poor of the parishes townships and places within their several subdivisions to return true lists of all lunatics and dangerous idiots being paupers within their respective parishes, specifying the name sex and age of each lunatic and idiot, and whether such lunatic be dangerous or otherwise; and for what length of time such lunatics shall have been disordered in their senses; and the overseers of the parishes aforesaid shall on the receipt of such warrants forthwith prepare and return such lists accordingly; and such lists shall Medical Practi- be verified on oath before the justices of the peace at their petty sessions tioner. as aforesaid and accompanied with a certificate from a medical prac their respective Parishes, veri-fied on Oath, and accompanied with Certi·ficate from a No. V. c. 46. titioner as to the state and condition of each lunatic or dangerous idiot; and any overseer of the poor to whom any such warrant shall have been 55 Geo. IH. directed and delivered who shall refuse or neglect to prepare such list or to return the same at the time and place by such warrant fixed, with such certificate as aforesaid or to verify such list on oath, shall for every such offence be subject to such fine as overseers of the poor and other parish and peace officers are subject for neglect of duty under an Act passed in the thirty-third year of his present Majesty's reign, intituled "An Act to authorise Justices of the Peace to impose Fines on Constables, Overseers and other Peace or Parish Officers for Neglect of Duty, and on Masters of Apprentices for Ill Usage of such their Apprentices; and also to make Provision for the Execution of Warrants of Distress granted by Magistrates;" and such fines shall be imposed levied and enforced in the manner in the said Act directed; and the justices aforesaid shall Lists to be laid cause the said lists to be forthwith transmitted to the clerk of the peace before General or his deputy, to be by him laid before the justices of the peace acting in Quarter Sesand for such county at their next general quarter sessions of the peace or sions. general annual session: and it shall be lawful for such overseers of the Expences of poor to defray the necessary expences of the examination of such lunatics Examination of or dangerous idiots by a medical practitioner out of the poor rates of the Lunatics, &c. parishes to which such lunatics or idiots respectively belong; or where to be paid by the legal settlement of any such lunatic or idiot shall not have been ascer- Parishes. tained, then out of the poor rates of the parish in which such lunatic or idiot shall reside. IX. And whereas it may happen that lunatics by the provisions of the Visiting Juslaws now in force may be unnecessarily detained in any lunatic asylum tices may disafter their recovery during the intervals of meetings of the committee of charge Lunavisiting justices or by reason of the non-attendance of a sufficient number tics. of visiting justices at any meeting of such committee; Be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any two visiting justices at any time, by and with the advice and consent of the medical superintendent of - such asylum, to discharge from such asylum any lunatic confined therein whose perfect recovery may be certified by the said medical superintendent. X. And whereas it is enacted by the said recited Act of the forty-eighth Returns to be year of his present Majesty's reign, That where any two or more counties taken on the shall think fit to unite the proportion of the expences necessary for car- last Returns of rying into execution the purposes of the said Act, to be charged and as- Population. sessed upon the several counties so uniting, shall be calculated upon the numbers of the respective population of the said several counties as -stated in the returns made in pursuance of an Act passed in the forty- 41 Geo. 3. first year of his Majesty's reign, intituled “ An Act for taking an Account Sess. 1. c. 15. of the Population of Great Britain and of the Increase and Diminution thereof;" Be it hereby further enacted, That in all cases of the union of any two or more counties or of the union of any place or places of distinct jurisdiction with any such county or counties, the proportion of the expences necessary for carrying into execution the purposes of the said recited Act or of an Act passed in the fifty-first year of the reign of his 51 Geo. 3. c. 79. present Majesty, intituled "An Act to amend an Act of the Forty-eighth Year of his present Majesty for the better Care and Maintenance of Lunatics being Paupers or Criminals in England," or of this Act, shall be calculated upon the numbers of the respective population of the said several counties and places as shall have been stated in the last returns of the said population which shall have been made under the authority of Parliament previous to the union of such counties. XI. Provided always and be it further enacted, That the number of Limiting the visitors to be appointed by any such place of distinct jurisdiction so Number of Viuniting with any county or counties shall bear the same proportion to sitors. the number of visiting justices appointed by such county or counties as the population of such place shall bear to the population of such county or counties, and shall in no case exceed such proportion. XII. Provided always and be it further enacted, That whenever and When any so often as it shall appear to the justices of the peace acting in and for Asylum can No. V. 55 Geo. III. any county or counties at whose expence any lunatic asylum shall have [No. VI. ] 56 Geo. III. c. 117.-An Act to amend an 56 George III. WHEREAS by an Act passed in the thirty-ninth and fortieth years of c. 117. 39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 94. the reign of his present Majesty, intituled An Act for the safe Custody of Insane Persons charged with Offences, it is enacted, that in certain cases therein specified it shall be lawful for courts of justice to direct insane persons to be kept in safe custody in such place and in such manner as to such court shall seem fit, until his Majesty's pleasure shall be known; and that it shall thereupon be lawful for his Majesty to give such order for the safe custody of such persons during his pleasure in such place and in such manner as to his Majesty shall seem fit: And whereas it is expedient that provision should be made for the due care of persons who may after conviction for any criminal offence become insane; Be it therefore enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with No. VI. the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, 56 Geo. III. That if any person having been duly convicted of any offence, who after such conviction and during his or her imprisonment or continuance in c. 117. any gaol prison hulk penitentiary house or house of correction, under sentence of transportation or imprisonment, shall become insane, and it Offenders beshall be duly certified by two physicians or surgeons that such person is coming Insane insane, it shall be lawful for one of his Majesty's principal secretaries of during Confinestate to direct by warrant under his hand that such person as aforesaid ment, may be shall be removed to such lunatic asylum or other proper receptacle for removed to any insane persons in the united kingdom as his Majesty's said principal Lunatic Asysecretary of state may judge proper and appoint; and every such person lum. so removed as aforesaid shall remain under confinement in such lunatic asylum or other proper receptacle as aforesaid, or in any other lunatic asylum or other proper receptacle to which such person may be removed by any like order, until it shall be duly certified to his Majesty's said principal secretary of state by two physicians or surgeons that such person has become of sound mind; whereupon his Majesty's said secretary of state is hereby authorised, if such person shall still remain subject to imprisonment or to be continued in custody, to issue his warrant to the keeper or other person having the care of any such lunatic asylum or other proper receptacle as aforesaid, directing that such person shall be removed back from such lunatic asylum or other proper receptacle to the gaol prison hulk penitentiary house or house of correction from whence the said person or persons shall have been taken for the purposes of being confined in such lunatic asylum or other proper receptacle as aforesaid during the time of their being insane; or if the period of imprisonment or custody of such person had expired, that such person shall be discharged. No. VII. ] 59 Geo. III. c. 127.-An Act for making c. 127. WHEREAS it is expedient that further provision should be made for 59 George III. the care of pauper lunatics in England who may be chargeable to any parish; Be it therefore enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That upon its being made known to two or more jus- In Cases where tices of the peace of any county that a poor person chargeable to any insane Persons parish or place within any of the said counties is deemed or taken to be are chargeable lunatic or insane or a mischievous idiot, it shall be lawful for the said to the Parish, justices by an order under their hands and seals if they shall so think the Justices fit to require the overseers of the poor of the said parish or place to bring shall direct the the said poor person before them or some other justices of the peace of Overseers to the said county, at such time and place as shall be appointed by the said convey them to order; and the said two justices are hereby authorised to call to their some licensed assistance a medical person at the charge of the said parish or place; and if upon view and examination of the said poor person or from other proof the said justices shall be satisfied that such poor person is lunatic insane or a mischievous idiot, it shall be lawful for the said two justices by an order under their hands and seals directed to the said overseers of the poor, according to the form in the schedule (A.) annexed to this Act, to cause the said poor person to be conveyed to and placed in some lunatic asylum, in all cases where such asylum shall have been established under the directions of an Act passed in the forty-eighth 48 Geo.3. c.96. year of his present Majesty, intituled An Act for the better Care and Maintenance of Lunatics being Paupers or Criminals in England, for the county or district of united counties within which the parish or place to which such poor person belongs shall be situated ; but if no such lunatic. House for Lunatics. No. VII. 59 Geo. III. c. 197. Public Act. Penalty on Overseers of the Poor neglecting to give Information to a Justice as to the State of the Lunatic. asylum shall have been established, such justices shall then direct such poor person to be conveyed to and placed in some house duly licensed for the reception of insane persons; and it shall be lawful for the said two justices or for any other two justices of the peace acting in the division of the said county wherein the said parish or place is situated, from time to time as occasion may require to make order on the overseers of such parish or place for the payment of all reasonable charges of conveying such poor person to such lunatic asylum or licensed house, and if such poor person shall be conveyed to a lunatic asylum for the payment of such weekly sum to the treasurer of such asylum as shall be from time to time fixed upon by the visiting justices of such asylum under the authority of the said recited Act, or if such poor person shall be conveyed to such licensed house for the payment of such weekly or monthly sum to the keeper of such licensed house for the maintenance medicine clothing and care of such poor person as such keeper shall be willing to accept, and as shall appear to the said justices to be a reasonable charge in that behalf; and the said overseers of the poor shall not remove such poor person from the said house without an order for that purpose made by two justices of the peace for the county after due inquiry into the cir cumstances of the case, unless such person shall have been discharged as cured: Provided always, that the overseer or overseers of such parish or place so conveying such insane person to such asylum or licensed house as aforesaid, shall and is hereby required to deliver a certificate from the medical person so called to the assistance of the justices as aforesaid (which certificate such medical person is hereby required to give according to the form in schedule (B.) annexed to this Act to the keeper of such asylum or licensed house). II. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall be deemed and taken to be a public Act, and shall be judicially taken notice of as such by all judges justices and other persons whomsoever, without specially pleading the same. III. And be it further enacted, That if any overseer of the poor of any parish or place to which any lunatic or insane person shall be chargeable, shall for the space of seven days wilfully neglect or delay to give information of the state of such person to some justice of the peace acting within the division of the county within which the said parish or place is situate, he shall for every such offence forfeit and pay a sum of money not exceeding ten pounds nor less than forty shillings (half to the informer and half to the poor of the said parish or place), to be recovered by distress and sale of the offender's goods and chattels, by warrant under the hands and seals of any two justices of the peace for the county within which such parish or place is situate. Schedule (A.) FORM OF WARRANT. WHEREAS it appears to us, two of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace |