Sometimes the madman conceals his disease, and with such remarkable cunning and dissimulation that the detec tion of it is very difficult: this is more particularly the case when the insanity consists in some hallucination ; and here. unless the nature of the delusion be known, it will often be in vain to attempt to establish by questions any proof of un soundness of mind. Those who are in sane on particular subjects will reason correctly on ordinary and trivial points, provided they do not become associated with the prevailing notions which consti tute their disease.
When insanity is urged as the ground of non-responsibility for a criminal act, it has been erroneously held that the main point to be ascertained is, whether the individual has or had "a sense of good and evil," "of right and wrong." But this, though the doctrine of the Eng lish law, is found incapable of practical application ; and the records of trials of this kind show that the guide to the de cision has generally been the proof, or absence of proof, that insanity of some kind existed at the time of the act, al though before and after it the power of reasoning and the knowledge of right and wrong might be retained. Thus, on the trial of Hatfield for shooting at George III., Erskine argued that the ex istence of a delusion in the mind absolves from criminal responsibility, if it be shown that the delusion and criminal act were connected ; and on this principle Hatfield was acquitted, but confined for life. Bellingham however, who shot Mr. Perceval under an equally powerful delu sion, in consequence of the greater excite ment in the public mind occasioned by the result of the insane act, was convicted and executed. In many instances homicide has been prompted, not by any insane hal lucination or delusion, but by a morbid impulse to kill. Here there is generally evidence of the feelings and propensities of the individual having been previously disordered, and judgment in such cases is aided by the absence of motive to the act. Where the general conduct of the prisoner has been such as to indicate unsoundness of mind, even though considerable con trivance has accompanied the act, or where there is evidence of his having been the subject of an irresistible impulse to kill, it is becoming now the practice to find a verdict of acquittal, in opposition to the older authorities, who confined the exemption from responsibility on the ground of insanity within very narrow limits.
A perfect consciousness of right and wrong may exis•, but the insane person may want that power of self-control which would secure his doing the right and avoiding the wrong. This was the line of defence adopted in the case of M•Naughten for shooting Mr. Drum mond.
A lunatic is, according to law, respon sible for acts committed during " lucid intervals," a term by which is understood however, not mere remissions of the vio lence of the disease, but periods during which the mind resumes its perfectly sane condition. In forming an opinion concerning such lucid intervals, the ab sence of the signs of insanity must have considerable duration before it can be concluded that the mind is perfectly sane; for lunatics, when apparently convales cent, are subject to sudden and violent paroxysms.
One of the most difficult points to be determined is with regard to the mental capacity of old persons, in whom the mind is impaired. The decay of intel
lect in old age is first manifested in the loss of memory of persons, things, and dates, and particularly with respect to recent impressions. But it is not the mere liability to forget names, and such matters which will render the will of an old person invalid ; it should be shown that in conversation about his affairs, and his friends and relations, he did not evince sufficient knowledge to dispose of his property with sound judgment. Many old men appear stupid and forgetful, but when their attention is fairly fixed on their property, business, and family af fairs. they understand them perfectly, and display sagacity in their remarks.
The care and custody of idiots and lunatics form a branch of the royal pre rogative, and were formerly administered by the king himself. Since the dissolu tion of the Court of Wards, the lord chan cellor has been specially appointed to ex ercise this power. [Cusscw.on.1 The method of proving a person to be of un sound mind, for the purpose of depriving him of the control of his property, and, where the circumstances require it, pro viding for the safe custody of his person, is as follows : —The lord chancellor upon petition supported by affidavits, and in some cases upon a personal interview also with the alleged lunatic, when such a course seems necessary, grants a com mission to inquire into the state of mind of the party by a jury, and if the jury should find him to be lunatic or of un sound mind (one of which modes of find ing is absolutely necessary in order to establish the legal fact of lunacy), the care of his person is committed to some relation or other fit person with a suitable allowance for maintenance, who is called the committee of the person ; and the care of the estate is committed either to the same or some other person, who is called the committee of the estate. The acts of the lunatic with respect to the disposition of his property, which he has done after the time at which the verdict finds that he was of unsound mind, are void. The com mission is a proceeding issuing from the common-law side of the Court of Chan cery; but after the appointment of the committee, the chancellor acts by virtue of his general authority, and his orders are enforced by the general process of the court. The committee of the estate is considered as a mere bailiff appointed by the crown for the sole interest of the owner, and without any regard to his sue cessors; but the court will order allow antes to be made to near relations of the party who is of unsound mind, and even to his natural child, where the circum stances of the several parties justify and require it, and will direct proper acts to be done for the management of the luna tic's estate and property. Unless a per son is declared of unsound mind in clue legal form, no person can meddle with the management of his property, even if the person is incompetent to manage it himself. Cases occur in which the ex pense of a commission of lunacy is a great difficulty, when the property is small ; and it is therefore desirable to diminish the expenses of such commissions, and to facilitate the proceedings, so far as is consistent with proper inquiry, and the prevention of fraudulent attempts to de prive persons of the management of their property and of their liberty.