Ouch! You, Me and Bumble: All Innocent but all at Risk
By Reg Green
Friends have expressed their sympathy with my difficulty in answering a question on a form for aged health patients which asks “Is anyone spending your money against your wishes?” (OUCH! June 20.)
It is not a new dilemma. Every iconoclast knows that one of Charles Dickens’ characters, Mr Bumble, described the law as an ass. Some may have forgotten, however, that what led to his outburst was a lawyer’s explanation that he was responsible for his wife’s unlawful behavior. “The law supposes that your wife acts under your direction,” he was told. That was one straw too many, If the law supposes that, Bumble explodes, the law is not only an ass but also a bachelor.
