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.  Huddersfield ­
  (h).  In  Reg.  v.  Manchester  (a)  and  Hunslet  v.  Dewsbury ­
  (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  sickness ­
  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.