116 Ky. 358 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1903
Opinion of the coubt by
-Affibming.
The following indictment was returned against the appellee by tbe grand jurors of tbe county of Crittenden on tbe 1st day of April, 1902: “The grand jurors of tbe county of Crittenden, in tbe name and by tbe authority of tbe Commonwealth of Kentucky, accuse Dr. J. D. McConnell of tbe offense of failing to deposit in tbe county clerk’s office of Crittenden county, Kentucky, a registry or copy thereof
“Sec. 2582. It shall be the duty of all physicians, surgeons and midwives to keep a registry of all births and deaths at which they have professionally attended, showing, in cases of birth, the time and place of birth, name of the father, and the maiden name of the mother, and their residence, sex and color of the child, together with its name, if it shall receive one, and whether it was born alive or dead; and showing in cases of death, the time, place and cause of death, the name, age, sex, color and condition (whether single, married or widowed), name and surname of parents, occupation, residence and place of birth of the deceased: provided further, that when two or more physicians, surgeons or. midwives may have attended profession*362 ally at any birth or death, that physician, surgeon or midwife who is oldest in attendance shall make the registry.
“Sec. 2583. It shall be the duty of the clergymen, physicians, etc., above named, to deposit in the county clerk’s office of the counties in which such births, etc., occur, on or before the tenth day of January, in every year, the said registry, or a copy thereof, embracing the period of one year, ending on the thirty-first day of December last preceding the time of deposit; and the clerk shall deliver copies of the same to the assessor.”
A general demurrer was filed to this indictment, which the court sustained, and dismissed it. From this judgment the Commonwealth has appealed.
Counsel for appellee insist that the act upon which the indictment is predicated is unconstitutional, because the subject-matter is not indicated by its title. To this proposition we are unable to agree. The original act is to be found in volume 1 of the Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwéalth of Kentucky for 1873-74, p. 13, c. 134, its title being “An, act to provide for the registration of marriages, births and deaths.”' The subject-matter of the act is the registry of marriages, births and deaths, and is clearly germane to the title. The fact that there is no mention of physicians in the title does not militate against this view. It is not possible to put the entire body of the act in the title. The constitutional requirement is fully met and complied with if the general scope and purpose of the act is germane to its title; and we think this condition exists in the statute under consideration.
It is also urged by appellee’s counsel that the act is urn constitutional because it requires physicians to perform a service without compensation, and that the Legislature had no power so to do. The public is deeply interested in the
For these reasons, we think .the indictment was clearly defective, and the demurrer thereto was properly sustained; wherefore the judgment is affirmed.