194 
APPENDIX OF CASES. 
The justices being of opinion that insanity was not a 
sickness which entitled the members to relief from the 
society under its rules, dismissed the summons. 
The question for the court was, whether the above facts 
justified a dismissal of the summons or not. 
Metcalfe, Q.C., for the appellant, contended that insanity 
was sickness within the rules of the society. He referred 
to Rules 11 and 13, and cited Reg. v. Manchester {a). 
Quain, J., referred to the preamble of the rules. 
The court called upon 
Edmund Thomas, for the respondent. He referred to the 
terms of the Act 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 9, sub-sect. 2, “old 
age, sickness, or widowhood; ” and cited Reg. v. Hudders 
field (h). In Reg. v. Manchester (a) and Hunslet v. Dews 
bury (c), lunacy was assumed by the court not to be 
sickness. 
Blackburn, J.—I am of opinion that lunacy is sickness 
within the meaning of the rules of this society. If we look 
at the terms of the Acts (d) they speak of sickness, old age, 
and widowhood, and it is quite clear that mere temporary 
sickness is not what is contemplated; and I see nothing in 
the rules themselves that confines the relief to temporary 
illness; and Buie 11 shows that the society contemplated 
relief at all events that would not be temporary, but might 
last over months. 
Insanity depends on the state of mind and body of the 
person. The poor law cases proceeded on Acts passed with 
a different object from that of friendly societies, by which 
it was enacted that a pauper should not be removed if his 
chargeability were owing to such sickness or accident as 
would primd facie be only temporary ; and the question 
arose whether insanity came within the meaning of sick 
ness for this purpose, but no absolute decision has been 
.come to, though it seems to have been assumed that lunacy 
\was sickness. It certainly seems to me that lunacy is a 
isickness affecting the health of the body in such a way as 
(a) 6 E. & B. 919; 26 L. J. (M. C.) 1. 
(J) 7 E. & B. 794, at p. 798; 26 L. J. (M. C.) 169. 
,(c) 26 L. J. (M. C.) 3 (n.) 
{d) See 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 2; and 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 9, 
:sub-sect. 2.