6 woollen waste, or other articles liable to spontaneous 7 combustion may be collected, and to cause the same 8 to be removed or made secure by the tenants of such 9 places, or at their expense, whenever in the opinion 10 of such board or selectmen, such action may be ne11 cessary for security against the risk of fire.

ΡΕΤΙΤΙΟΝ.

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled:

The undersigned, selectmen of the town of Carver, duly authorized and appointed by the town for that purpose, respectfully represent:

That, in the year of 1833, in the month of January, James Shurtleff, an inhabitant of the said town of Carver, was, by, a law of this Commonwealth, committed to the Lunatic Hospital in Worcester; said Shurtleff, when he was committed to the institution, was about thirty-seven years of age; he has remained in the institution ever since, subject to the treatment and regulations of that institution:

That, for the term of ten years next succeeding the term of his commitment, as aforesaid, the said town of Carver has been required to pay to said institution, semi-annually, for the board and clothing of said Shurtleff, a sum which was a full equivalent for support thus furnished ;-during the whole time while the said town was paying his support, the said Shurtleff was, as your petitioners verily believe, and think are able to show, by his labor, rendering services to said institution, which were an ample compensation for all the expense incurred by the institution, for his support:

Therefore, your petitioners pray, that the several sums, with the interest which has accrued, which the said town have from time to time paid to said institution, which has been for the benefit of said institution, may be refunded to the said town, or such part thereof as may be just and equitable; and as in duty bound will ever pray.

CHARLES BARROWS,
ELIAB WARD,

Carver, Jan. 27, 1845.

}

Selectmen of
Carver.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, March 12, 1845.

The Joint Committee on Claims, to which was referred the Petition of the Selectmen of the town of Carver, praying for the return of certain money paid by said town to the State Lunatic Hospital, for the support of James Shurtleff, ask leave to

REPORT:

That it appears to have been about the year 1828, that James Shurtleff, then an inhabitant of the town of Carver, and apparently a harmless and inoffensive, though somewhat intemperate man, was convicted of the murder of his wife; and, at the same time, the court and jury became satisfied that he was subject to delusion, and that the crime was committed under the influence of insane impulses. Instead, therefore, of being sentenced, he was imprisoned in the county jail. In 1833, under the provisions of a law of this Commonwealth, Shurtleff, like all other insane persons who were suffering a similar confinement, was removed to the State Lunatic Hospital, at Worcester. Since that time, he has remained at the hospital, subject to its regulations and discipline, and the town of Carver, until recently, has paid for his support in the usual form.

The authorities of the town of Carver, under the plea that Shurtleff, though insane enough to escape the legal responsibility of his own criminal acts, was not sufficiently so to be supported at the hospital at the town's expense, have, from time to time, made efforts to procure his release, by summon

ing him and the trustees to appear before various courts and judges, and, in every instance, after a hearing of the case, the discharge was withheld.

In 1843, the matter was brought before the Legislature, and doubtless by a misunderstanding of the facts, without a hearing of the parties or a notice to the trustees, a resolve was passed discharging Shurtleff from confinement.

Upon notice from the town authorities, that it was their intention to remove Shurtleff from the Hospital and set him free, the Trustees, feeling alarmed at the danger of such a measure, and its probable effect on public opinion, proposed to avoid these evils by allowing him to remain and be subject to the regulations and discipline of the Hospital, without expense to the town. This proposal seems to have been assented to with great readiness by the town authorities, and it would seem with great propriety. The matter, however, did not end here. The town authorities, quite willing to be relieved from the responsibility of setting Shurtleff at liberty among their fellow citizens, by leaving him at the Hospital free of charge, then assumed, that if he could be supported free, by such an arrangement, he ought always to have been supported in the same manner, and thereupon they proceeded to issue an account against the Commonwealth, for all the moneys ever paid to the Hospital for the support of Shurtleff, with interest, making a total of nearly two thousand dollars, and the object of the petition under consideration, is to obtain the return of this sum to the town of Carver. It will be readily seen, that the committee found themselves involved in an investigation of somewhat more importance than a mere allowance of money, and that a full knowledge of the facts seemed indispensable to a right action on the subject. To obtain the requisite information, the committee, by one of its members, addressed the following letter to the Medical Superintendent of the State Lunatic Hospital, to which the accompanying answer was promptly returned.