The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-12-11 00:00:00

A DISPUTED WILL CASE.

In the High Court of Justice (Probate Division) the
cause of "Robinson v. Field (an infant, appearing by
her guardian)" has been heard.
Mr. Inderwick, Q.C., and Mr. Pritchard appeared
for the plaintiff; Mr. Bayford and Mr. Wilberforce
for the defendant.—We take the following report of
the case from The Times :

Mr. John Field, .whose last" will was the subject of
this action, was a retired leathercutter at Sheffield.
He had been twice married. He had no family by his
first wife, but there was issue of his second niaviage
a daughter (Lilian) born in 1875. Some time after-
wards Mrs. Field was afflicted with suicidal mania,
and had to be placed under restraint in an asylum.
She was discharged in 1878, and she died at the end of
that year. Previously to this date a young woman
named Mary Jackson became housekeeper to the tes-
tator. An intimacy arose between them, and the result
of this intimacy was that in March, 1879, Mary
Jackson gave birth to a child, of which the testator
admitted the paternity. It appeared that he had also
promised to marry the mother as soon as he could.
decently do so, having regard to the recent death of his
wife, but he did not live to fulfil his promise. He was
attacked with English cholera on the 11th of October,
1879, and he died on the following afternoon at the age
of 60. He was possessed of several leasehold houses in
Sheffield, and by his will, which was executed on the
morning of the 12th of October, he left to his brother
certain of those houses, of the value of £1,020; to
Mary Jackson five other houses, of the value of £460,
subject to a mortgage of £200; and the residue of his
property, which, it was said, would not exceed £lOO,
to his reputed daughter, Polly Field Jackson. The
will was propounded by the plaintiff, one of the
executors, and its validity was contested by the defend-
ant, the infant legitimate daughter of the deceased,
appearing by her guardian, on the ground that at the
time he signed it the test dor had not testamentaYy
capacity, that he did not know and approve its con-
tents, and that it was obtained by the undue influence
of Mary Jackson.
The Plaintiff, Dr. Robinson, the medical attendant
of the deceased, and Mr. Binney, the solicitor who
tin f he preparedo o
tthe
testator'sw i will,
, mind
declared thattha t .
though
hwo
ua was thh e purefeeble,
emana-
tion an
was a -
full conscious of what he was doing; that he declined to
leave anything to his daughter Lilian on the ground
that she had in her own right an income of £3O a year
derived from property inherited through her mother;
and that Mary Jackson was not present when the
will was made. On the other hand, several witnesses
deposed that the deceased entertained to the last a
strong affection for his daughter Lilian, and that
he repeatedly declared she should be an object of his
testamentary bounty.
The jury, after consulting in their box for a few
minutes, were about to give their verdict, when one of
their body declared that he could not concur with his
fellows, and seemed disposed to re-argue the whole
case with the learned President.
The President told him that the real question for
the jury was this—had Dr. Robinson and Mr. Binney
told the truth? If the jury believed them, and he
saw no reason why they should not be believed, the
will clearly represented the wishes of the testator.
The jury then retired, and returned into court on
the summons of his Lordship a few minutes past five
o'clock.
The President: Am I understand, gentlemen of the
, jury, that you are still unable to agree?
The Foreman: Still one, my Lord.
The President: Very well. As, of course, I must
not do that which would in effect amount to punish-
ment of those gentlemen who are detained by the dis-
agreement of one of their body, and as I have kept you
together a reasonable time, I must discharge you. But
it is with the greatest possible regret that I do so, and
the more so as the gentleman of the jury has written
me a letter in which he states his reasons for remaining
of his opinion, which are in the highest degree diecredit-
able ; for he says, "Perhaps I ought to have objected
to sit on this jury after I felt so strongly on the sub-
ject of the property of the legitimate child's mother
being given to the illegitimate child, to the detriment
of the legitimate child." Opinions on such questions
ought not to influence the conduct of any juryman, and
any !Ilan who allows himself to be influenced by such
opinions as those violates his duty. The effect will
be probably the ruin, certainly of one, possibly of
both, the unhappy children. They are quite young,
and can have no control over this litigation, which
has been entered upon by other people. A second
trial must be had, and the consequence, as I say, will
be that certainly one and possibly both of them will
be deprived of the whole of the inheritance derived
either from the father or from the mother. That is
the consequence of this gentleman taking the view
he has. However, I now discharge you.
On the application of Mr. Tnderwiek, QC., the case
was ordered to be tried anew by a special jury, and
was placed on the list for these sittings.

The Greek Minister of Finance has presented the
Budget for the year 1881. The Revenue is estimated at
51,481,560 drachmas while the Expenditure inclusive of the
supplementary cilia' extraordinary votes is calculated to
a,unt to 113,852,722 drachmas. Of this latter sum,
6i ,500,000 drachmas represent the estimated outlay of the
Ministry. of War.

In ale course of the evidence given before the
Education in Wales Commission at Carmarthen, the chair-
man of the Carmarthen School board said, as a Calvinistic
Methodist minister, acquainted with almost every town in
Wales, he had no hesitation in saying that the Welsh nation
earnestly desired a university. They were not fairly treated
compared with England, Ireland, and Scotland. What St,
David's' College had done for the Church section or the
community a university woUld do for the nation, The
great need of the principality, however, was intermediate-
achoohi.