Habitual drunkards : documents relative to propoed legislation (limited to Scotland) for inebriety, caused by disease, which is curable under proper treament.

Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Habitual drunkards : documents relative to propoed legislation (limited to Scotland) for inebriety, caused by disease, which is curable under proper treament. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    46/60 page 46
    they were not able to root out drunkenness altogether by this Bill, still they hoped to be able to do away with it to some extent, and to alleviate the sufferings which resulted from it. Dr Stewart and Dr Yellowlees spoke with great admiration of the preamble of the Bill. He felt sorry to suggest that the preamble perhaps was, as it existed at present, a little out of place. He thought that this very careful definition of a habitual drunkard which was given in the preamble would be better stated in the definition of the word patient. The preamble was a part of the Act of Parliament. He thought it was an awkward part in which to place an important definition; and if he had had the framing of the Act, he would have suggested that the first part of the preamble should simply read, that there was no adequate provisions made in the Lunacy Acts for the proper treatment of patients. There was, he thought, no reason why the definition which was given in the preamble should not be stated in the third clause, where the word patient was defined. He thought that that would put the Bill into a proper form. With regard to the remark that narcotics did not seem to be included by Mr Morton, he noticed that in Schedule E, giving a form of declaration by an applicant for the deten¬ tion of a person, the word narcotic was applied; and he thought there were other sentences in the Bill which plainly in¬ dicated that Mr Morton had in view persons suffering from the habitual use of narcotics as well as of alcoholics. He would not trouble them with the minor alterations, which were merely verbal and formal. He thought that the fear thrown out by Dr Yellowlees with regard to the Lunacy Com¬ missioners not being ready to take up this duty was somewhat odd. The Lunacy Commissioners were the servants of the public, and he did not think they should complain for having put upon them this work, which could be a very slight addition to their present work. Dr Tuke referred to the enormous difficulties that would result in the carrying out of this Act because of the great number of persons who would become candidates, either of them¬ selves or by their relatives, for admission into the restorative homes; but, especially since the taxing clauses had been cut out of the Bill, it should be remembered that the only persons who would really get admission to these homes would be persons who could not only pay, but could absent themselves from business for a period of a year or more. It would not be those who had to earn their daily bread. In fact, the Bill, especially after the clauses about assessment are cut out, would only be applicable to persons suffering from habitual drunkenness, and who had sufficient money to keep them in the homes for the necessary time. The only other remark which he wished to make was about the clause of applica¬ tion for detention by relatives. He quite agreed with what Mr Taylor Innes had said, that he did not think Parliament would look at the clause if it did not provide for intimation being made
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3