and
irresponsible, but in regard to crime, or as a witness, see remarks made
above.

=Imbecility= is a form of mental defect not usually congenital, but
commencing in infancy or in early life. The line of demarcation between
the imbecile and the idiot may be found in the possession by the former
of the faculty of speech, in distinction from the mere parrot-like
utterance of a few words which can be taught the idiot. Imbecility may
be intellectual, moral, or general. Questions frequently arise as to
their responsibility for actions done by them, or as to their ability to
manage their own affairs.

=Cretinism= is a form of amentia, which is endemic in certain districts,
especially in some of the valleys of Switzerland, Savoy, and France. The
malady is not congenital, but its symptoms usually appear within a few
months of birth. The characteristics of this form of idiocy are an
enlarged thyroid gland constituting a goitre or bronchocele, a
high-arched palate, dwarfed stature, squinting eyes, sallow complexion,
small legs, conical head, large mouth, and indistinct speech.

=Feeble-Minded.=--These are persons who are capable of earning a living
under favourable circumstances, but are incapable, from mental defect
which has existed from birth or from an early age, of (a) competing on
equal terms with their normal fellows, or (b) of managing themselves
and their affairs with ordinary prudence. Feeble-mindedness may affect
the moral nature only, rendering the person selfish, untruthful,
obscene, or unemployable. The Act of 1899 controls feeble-minded
children; many such become paupers, criminals, prostitutes, etc.

=Mental Deficiency and Lunacy Act, 1913.=--Those included under this Act
are idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, and moral imbeciles. The
parents or guardians of such children between the ages of five and
sixteen years must provide for them education and proper care. If they
are unable to do so, the School Boards or Parish Councils must do so.

XLII.--DEMENTIA: ACUTE, CHRONIC, SENILE, AND PARALYTIC

In dementia the mental aberration does not occur until the mind has
become fully developed, thus differing from amentia, which is congenital
or comes on very early in life.

=Acute Dementia.=--This is a condition of profound melancholy or stupor,
which arises from sudden mental shock, the mind being, as it were,
arrested and fixed in abstraction on the event.

=Chronic Dementia= is generally caused