COLEGATE D. OWINGS' CASE.

tise the former, by prohibiting every man from setting aside his
own deliberate acts by stultifying himself, although it furnishes a
means by which his heirs, after his death, or his friends, whilst he
is living, may avail themselves of this disability. And it is to be
observed, that the law in these cases does not proceed upon the
ground, that the party is bound; for that cannot be, seeing that,
by the law of nature, he wants the capacity to assent to a contract;
but because the policy of the law, which rather submits to particu-
lar mischief than a public inconvenience, sets bounds to the law of
nature in point of form and circumstance."(a?)

The argument, here derived from considerations of public policy,
results in this; that a greater amount of fraud and injustice would
be likely to ensue by allowing men to stultify themselves, in order
to avoid their contracts, than by refusing them permission to do so
for that purpose. And this position is founded on an assumption
of the fact, that it is exceedingly easy to counterfeit madness
without being detected; or that of those who do deceitfully pre-
tend to be insane the far greater number escape detection; and
consequently, but for this maxim the appearance of lunacy would
be very frequently put on, for the purpose of practising imposition
and fraud. The position however, is not sustained by the fact. It
is incumbent upon those who advance this argument to shew, that
instances of feigned madness are common; and also that in those
instances the detection of the deceit has been rare or difficult. In
criminal cases, to defeat the progress of justice, and under various
circumstances to escape from oppression or some imminent peril,
the artifice of counterfeiting madness has often been resorted to;
but no instances of fraud in civil cases, perpetrated by means of
pretended lunacy, have been adduced, and I know of none.(y)

(x) 1 Pow. Cont. 20.

(y) The following observations of Messrs. Paris and Fonblanque, in their excellent
work on Medical Jurisprudence, are well worthy of attention : " There are (say they)
several objects, for the accomplishment of which persons are induced to simulate the
existence of disease—such as, for obtaining military exemptions and discharges; or
certain civil disqualifications; for the purpose of deriving parochial relief, or pecuniary
assistance from benefit societies; or the comfortable shelter and retreat of an hospital;
for exciting compassion and obtaining alms; for creating public interest and curiosity;
for procuring a release from confinement or exemption from punishment; and, lastly.
for the dishonest intention of recovering unjust compensation from some person
selected for accusation, as the author of the pretended calamity."

"The diseases which have been selected for the accomplishment of any of the
purposes above enumerated are extremely numerous, although there* are some few
which may be said to be more generally preferred on such occasions. In general,