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are indigent or inmates of county almshouses. The class of feeble-minded persons and idiots who are not poor and indigent can only be admitted to the asylum after the poor and indigent are first provided for and then only where the cost of the maintenance, training and treatment of such feebleminded persons and idiots is paid at the rate fixed by the board of managers. An inmate of a county almshouse is presumably a poor person and the answer to this inquiry therefore depends to a great extent upon the definition of the term "indigent." There appears to be no definition of the word in the State Charities Law, but the term " poor person " and also the term "indigent person," as applied to the insane, are defined by section 2 of the Insanity Law, as follows:

"The term 'poor person,' when used in this chapter, means a person who is unable to maintain himself and having no one legally liable and able to maintain him."

"The term indigent person,' when used in this chapter, means one who has not sufficient property to support himself while insane, and the members of his family lawfully dependent upon him for support."

The words "indigent insane persons," as used in the Insanity Law, have also been defined by the Court of Appeals in the case of People ex rel. Benheim v. Board of Supervisors, 121 N. Y. 350, as "such as usually provided for themselves, or are provided for by friends, and who only need assistance when sent to an asylum under the visitation of insanity." In the Century Dictionary the word "indigent" is defined as lacking means of comfortable sub

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sistence or support; wanting necessary resources; needy; poor." From the above definition I think it is clear that an indigent feeble-minded person or idiot is one who is unable to maintain himself and whose relatives' liable at law for his support are unable to maintain him.

The parents of the patient in question are apparently well able to care for and maintain her. She could have compelled these parents to furnish her with means for her support and not being, therefore," indigent," was improperly committed to the asylum by the superintendent of the poor.

Cases of this nature are of frequent occasion, because persons, having dependent upon them for support relatives who are afflicted with insanity or feeble-mindedness, often apply for the commitment of such persons to institutions maintained at the expense of the State, notwithstanding the fact that they are financially able and charged by law with the support and maintenance of the person so committed. In cases of this nature where the commitment to the institution is regular upon its face, such commitment is sufficient protection to the institution until it has developed that the person so committed is not a proper charge upon the State. When this situation arises at the Rome State Custodial Asylum, the board of managers, if vacancies exist, should notify the parents or other relatives liable for the support of the person committed that such person will be retained only upon condition that the cost of maintenance as fixed by the board of managers be paid. Where no vacancies exist or where the cost of maintenance is not paid, the inmate should be discharged.

Dated September 6, 1912.

THOMAS CARMODY,
Attorney-General.

TO CHARLES BERNSTEIN, M. D., Superintendent Rome State Custodial Asylum, Rome, N. Y.

§ 95. Detention and discharge of inmates; procedure. The following procedure for the detention and discharge of inmates in the Rome State Custodial Asylum is hereby provided:

1. The Rome State Custodial Asylum shall receive, when it has accommodations therefor, such persons of the class designed to be maintained in said asylum, as shall be duly committed thereto in accordance with the provisions of law and the rules and regulations of said asylum, and it shall be the duty of said asylum, and for that purpose it is hereby vested with the authority to detain all such persons so committed, including the right to arrest and return any who may escape therefrom, until discharged by the board of managers of said asylum, or by an order of the supreme court of the state of New York, obtained as hereinafter provided.

2. Any inmate of said institution, or any person or corporation interested in any inmate as next of kin, or otherwise, may apply to the board of managers for the discharge of such inmate, by presenting to the said board of managers a petition in writing, duly verified as a pleading in the supreme court, which petition shall set forth the interest of the petitioner in the inmate, if the same is presented by any other person than the inmate, the grounds or reasons for asking for such discharge and the home, place or surroundings in which it is proposed or intended to place the said inmate, if discharged, and such other facts as may tend to throw light upon the subject of the application.

3. Such petition may be presented at any legally constituted meeting of the board of managers of said asylum, and shall be acted upon by the board at such meeting, or as soon thereafter as practicable, and the prayer of the petition shall be either granted or refused by the said board of managers.

4. In case the said petition for discharge is denied, the action. of the board of managers shall be expressed in a resolution to be adopted by the said board, and said resolution shall embody the grounds or reasons of said board for refusing to grant such discharge, and a copy of such resolution shall be mailed or delivered forthwith to the petitioner, or the attorney presenting the petition to the board.

5. At any time within thirty days after the mailing or delivery of said resolution, as prescribed in the last paragraph, the peti

tioner may cause a notice in writing to be served upon the superintendent of the said asylum and the attorney-general of the state of New York, to the effect that the said action of the board of managers shall be reviewed by the supreme court of the state of New York at a special term thereof to be held in the judicial district in which the said asylum is located, not less than eight days after such notice is served, and the notice served upon the attorney-general shall be accompanied by true copies of all papers used upon the application before the board, and of the resolution adopted by the board on said application, and any other papers said or documents intended to be presented to the court upon hearing.

6. Upon receipt of such notice and papers, it shall be the duty of the attorney-general to appear in said proceeding and upon said hearing in court, on behalf of the state of New York, and to render such legal service and give such counsel as may be necessary to fully advise the court and protect the interests of the state of New York in the premises.

7. The superintendent and the board of managers of said asylum shall furnish to the attorney-general, upon his application, any information, facts or data in their possession, which he may require to use upon said hearing.

8. The order granted by the court upon such hearing shall be entered in the office of the clerk of the county of Oneida, and a certified copy thereof furnished to the superintendent of the said asylum, and shall be recorded in the records of the said asylum, and the said inmate shall be discharged or detained according to the terms of said order. (Added by chapter 339 of the Laws of 1909.)

9. The superintendent may grant any inmate of said institution a parole or leave of absence under such rules and regulations as the board of managers of said asylum shall adopt to govern such procedure. (Added by chapter 448 of the Laws of 1912.)

10. The superintendent may admit to the asylum temporarily, without commitment, under such rules and regulations as the board of managers may prescribe, for purposes of observation, such children or adults as are suspected of being feeble-minded or idiotic; to ascertain whether or not such person is actually mentally defective and a proper case for care, treatment and

training in an institution for the feeble-minded or idiots. (Added by chapter 448 of the Laws of 1912.)

11. When desirable for the best interests of the state, as well as the wards thereof, the superintendent, subject to the approval of the board of managers, may grant to groups of inmates in colonies on rented premises or on land owned by the state, parole or leave of absence to do domestic work under the direction of the superintendent, or agricultural work under direction of the state department of agriculture, or reforestation and forestry work under the direction of the conservation commission, and any expense connected therewith shall be a charge upon the regular maintenance of the asylum. (Added by chapter 71 of the Laws of 1916.)

ARTICLE 8

Craig Colony for Epileptics

Section 100. Establishment and objects of colony.

101. Managers of the colony.

102. Buildings and improvements.

103. Powers and duties of managers.

104. Annual report.

105. Donations in trust.

106. Officers of the colony.

107. Duties of the superintendent.

108. Duties of agent in the capacity of treasurer.

109. Designation and admission of patients.

110. Support of state patients.

111. Apportionment of state patients.

112. Support of private patients.

113. Discharge of patients.

114. Reimbursement for maintenance expenses. *114. Detention and discharge of inmates; procedure. 115. Sale of products.

117. Designation of special policemen.

The

§ 100. Establishment and objects of colony. colony for epileptics established at Sonyea, Livingston county, is hereby continued, and shall be known as the Craig colony for

*

Incorrectly numbered by chapter 588, Laws of 1911.

epileptics, in honor of the late Oscar Craig, of Rochester, New York, whose efficient and gratuitous public services in behalf of epileptics and other dependent unfortunates the state desires to commemorate. The objects of such colony shall be to secure the humane, curative, scientific and economical care and treatment of epileptics, exclusive of insane epileptics.

§ 101. Managers of the colony. There shall be a board of seven managers of the Craig colony, appointed in accordance with the provisions of section fifty-one of this chapter. (As amended by chapter 449 of the Laws of 1910.)

§ 102. Buildings and improvements. The board of managers shall receive patients as rapidly as the condition of the colony will admit. They shall utilize all buildings and improvements on the lands so conveyed, and construct such additional buildings as may be necessary, and make further improvements upon plans adopted by them and approved by the governor, the president of the state board of charities and the fiscal supervisor, or a majority of such officers and for which appropriations are made by the legislature. There shall be provided. for such colony an abundant supply of wholesome water, sufficient means for drainage and the disposal of sewage and a proper sanitary system. All of which shall be done under the direction of the board of managers in accordance with plans adopted by them, and approved by the governor, the president of the state board of charities and the fiscal supervisor, or a majority of such officers. (As amended by chapter 149 of the Laws of 1909, and chapter 449 of the Laws of 1910.)

Duty of caring for the highways and bridges within the limits of the Craig Colony for Epileptics devolves upon the commissioner of highways of the

town.

STATE OF NEW YORK,
ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
ALBANY, May 27, 1896.

JAMES C. KELLY, Highway Commissioner, Groveland, N. Y.:

DEAR SIR.- In replying to your letter of the 21st instant, in which you ask to be advised as to whether you have "jurisdiction over the roads and bridges included in the Craig Colony," I have the honor to say:

The Craig Colony was established upon a tract of land, containing several hundred acres, in the town of Groveland, Livingston county. The law under

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