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Changes
in the
definitions
56
On the 8th March, 1927, the Council, at the request of the Secretary of State
for the Home Department, agreed for an experimental period of one year to act as
guardian ad litem of infants under the Act when so requested by County Courts and
Courts of Summary Jurisdiction. At the end of the year the result of the work of
the Education Officer's Department and of the Public Health Department was
reported to the Council and it was agreed to continue the work. In the last report
attention was drawn to the fact that from 8th March, 1927, to 14th December in the
same year, 83 full adoption orders and 3 interim adoption orders were made, one
application was withdrawn and one adjourned. All of these referred to children
who were or had been nurse-infants. During the year 1928 the total number of
applications dealt with by this department was 105. The result of the hearings
was as follows:—92 full adoption orders and 4 interim adoption orders made;
5 applications refused; 1 adjourned and 3 withdrawn.
There appears to be little doubt but that the work of the Council's officers in connection
with the filling up of the forms has been of assistance both to the Courts and
to the petitioners. If a petitioner, for the child proposed to be adopted, does not
reside within the Administrative County of London it has been found that details
necessary in connection with the latter have been readily furnished by the local
authorities for that area. In return the Council furnishes information to local
authorities outside London. Although the Court may authorise the public body
to incur any necessary expenditure it has been decided not to make application to
Court for payment, as the out-of-pocket expenses are trivial.
Mental Deficiency Acts.
The passage into law of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1927, has introduced some
changes in the definitions, the conditions under which a person may be subject to
be dealt with under the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913, in the duties of local
authorities and in procedure.
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Mental deficiency has been defined for the first time by Section 1 sub-section
(2) :—
" 'Mental defectiveness' means a condition of arrested or incomplete development
of mind existing before the age of eighteen years, whether arising from
inherent causes or induced by disease or injury."
This does away to some extent with the difficulty which arose from the terms
"from birth or at early age" used in the Act of 1913, and it will now be sufficient
to show that the defect had been noticed before the age of eighteen. The classes
of mentally defective persons are now defined as follows:—
Idiots.—"Persons in whose case there exists mental defectiveness of such a
degree that they are unable to guard themselves against common physical dangers."
Imbeciles.—" Persons in whose case there exists mental defectiveness which
though not amounting to idiocy, is yet so pronounced that they are incapable of
managing themselves or their affairs or, in the case of children, of being taught
to do so."
Feeble-minded Persons.—" Persons in whose case there exists mental defectiveness
which, though not amounting to imbecility, is yet so pronounced that they
require care, supervision and control for their own protection or for the protection
of others or, in the case of children, that they appear to be permanently incapable
by reason of such defectiveness of receiving proper benefit from the instruction
in ordinary school."
Moral Defectives.—" Persons in whose case there exists mental defectiveness
coupled with strongly vicious or criminal propensities and who require care, supervision
and control for the protection of others."
The class " Moral Imbeciles " is abolished and in its place a class of moral
defectives is defined. The old difficulties arising from the use of the terms