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MISCELLANEOUS.

CARMARTHEN BOARD OF GUARDIANS.

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CARMARTHEN BOARD OF GUARDIANS. The fortnightly meeting of this board was held at the Union Workhouse on Saturday, when Mr J. Evans, Alltycadno, actcd as chairman. There was a good attendance of members. RESIGNATION OF THE CHAIRMAN. The Clerk (Mr R. Browne) read the reply of Mr J. Hughes, F.R C.S., to the resolution of the board urging him to re-consider bis determination to vacate the chair, which he has held since 1884, at the end of the present poor-law year. Mr Hughes, after thanking the board for their kind resolution, said be had fully considered the matter before he camo reluctantly to the decision in the first place, and he thought it better for the board and its business that he should adhere to his resolution. Mr Hu-Iies added, "You may get a better chair- man, but you will not be able to treat him better than you have treated me." Mr T. Thomas, J.P., moved a vote of sympathy with Mr Hughes in the matter of his ill-health, which had caused him to resign. He had sat with him at that board for many meetiugs, and greatly admired his independent conduct in the chair. The town and the board would experience a great loss- there was only one John Hughes. The Rev. W. Thomas, vice-chairman, seconded, and the motion was agreed to. THE LATE ME. J. L. PHILIPPS. I The Chairman moved a vote of condolence with the family of Mr J. Lewis Philipps, Bulabaul, who had held the office of chairman for 23 consecutive years from 1861. Mr Harries, Llandilo-Abereowin, seconded the motion, which was unanimously curied I after a few other members had spoken of Mr Philipps's services to the board. THE JOINT COUNTIES ASYLUM. The Clerk brought forward the matter re Ann James, a pauper lunatic, and said a great deal of public interest was excited in the matter owing to the strictures passed by the asylum board upon the relieving officer of the guardians. He read the correspondence which he had addressed to the Clerk to the Visitors (Mr W. M. Griffiths), and also the letter which was brought to Mr J. D. Evans, relieving officer, by the asylum attendant He then read his own letter, which stated: -In my letter there is nothing to suggest that the officials of the asylum had done anything illegal iu discharging the lunatic—what I complained of was the way in which it was done." Mr Browne 8-tid he saw from the reports of the visitors' meet- ing that Dr. Heardcr had said he had only received the commissioners' reply on the morning of the 24,th December, deciding that the woman had been illegally admitted to the asylum. Assuming the doctor got the letter at ten a.m., it afforded him amp'e time to give the relieving officer a couple of hours' notice that he was to discharge the patient so that he might make arrangements for the woman being properly and legally committed to the asylum. Instead of that the lunatic was brought to the relieving officer's house at four o'clock on Saturday afternoon, and that was the very first that officer (Mr J. D. Evans) beard of the case. Lord Emlyn was reported to have severely censured the relieving officer, and even went so far as to suggest a vote of censure, but his lordship's re- marks were based upon most imperfect informa- tion. The woman was not a pauper when admitted, and the relieving officer had no right to interfere in the matter of non-pauper lunatics except in one or other of three contingencies —(1) a lunatic wander- ing at large, (2) being cruelly or improperly treated by those in charge, or (3) not being in charge of competent persons. In the present case° the lunatic resided in a cottage close to Blaynea, Llan^endeirne. One Saturday evening, near the end of November, Mr John Jones, relieving officer, was goicg home from that board, and about three o'clock, when near the Login, he met the husband of the lunatic, whe said he wished to put his wife in the asylun-. Mr Jones replied that before taking action he would have to see his wife and lay information before the nearest justice, Mr A. W. J. Stokes, Ystradwrallt, but he could not do to that evening. Mr Jones then said something as to the law given three days to lay information, and he intended to make enquiries the next day. Nothing in the law required him to take any steps in the case of such a lunatic. He had no right whatever to interfere. In either of the three contingencies mentioned above, neither of which was present in the case of Ann James, the law allowed the reliev- ing officer three days in which to move. The clerk thought Mr Enoch Davies, one of the visitors, took a very practical and common sense view of the matter when be said at the asylum meeting that, instead of (so to speak) throwing the lunatic at the head of the relieving officer for that town, the medical superintendent should have given him notice beforehand. If the committee of visitors bad had the courtesy to comply with the request for notice in such cases in the future instead of censuring an officer over whom they had no control, they would have shown much better taste. The Rev. W. Thomas (vice-chairman) moved that the board was of opinion that no blame attached to either 01 the relieviugoiffcers,"and this being seconded, was carried unanimously. Some questions being asked as to the ability of the husband to contribute towards his wife's tiain- tenance, it was stated that he was in receipt of but 8s a week and food, and therefore they could not expect him to contribute.—There was no other business of interest.

TRADE REPORT.

LLANSAWEL.

LLANSADWRN.

CILRHEDYN.

BRECHFA.

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