The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-07-12 00:00:00

A DISPUTED WILL CASE.

A will case of tome interest (Farrell and Harting V.
Gordon) wits commenced in the C .urt of Probate OD
Ssturday. The plaintiff proponnded, an executors,
the will and ten codicils of the late Jane Charlotte
harmless Weld. The pleas in opposition to three
do, unit-nes were 'trine execution, incapacity, and
undue influence. A great number of persons were
charged with the exercise of undue influence, ano
among othere the plaintig, Mr. Harting, Archbishop
Manning., the Rev. P. Gatlwey. the Rev. A. Christie,
the Rev T. Dillon, the Rev. F. Riley, and the Rev.
Dr. Deane, in opening the case, said that thegentwal
effect 01 the will and codicils was to leave all the tea-

tatrix's property, enbjimt to annuities amounting alto-
gether to about £250 a year, to various pious and
charitable Roman Catholic user'. The total amount of
nor property was. in round number% £51,000, and of
this she dieposid of about £4B 000 in bequests and
legacies for religions and charitable objects tionnected
with the Roman Cathol c Church, and the residue,
about £3OOO, was left to Archbishop Manning,
Father Gallwey, and Father Christie. The
tee .atrix, who was the daughter of Mr. Gordon,
formerly of Sunningdale, Berke, married Mr.
Weld, who was a West end solicitor, in 1825. In
1843 Mr. Weld, who had rendered some mervice to the
Grand Duke of Tuscany, accepted the title of a Baron
of that Grand Duchy, and thus the testatrix acquired
the title which cb, continued to bear until her death.
Mr. Weld died in April 1851, leaving bis widow a life
interest in £7.000. and the hulk of his property to his
eon. Mr. Weld had • friend named Winterbotham,
who bad property in Rants and in Yorkshire, and in
1853 this gentleman married the Barone** Weld. In
1863 her son, Gordon Samuel Weld, died, and left the
whole of his property, of the value of shout £20,000,
to his mother. The baroness had during her first
husband's lifetime been received into the Roman Car
t nolio Church by the late CardinalWieeman. Mr. Win-
terbothani, who was•meruberof theChurchof England,
died in 1868 and the tertatrix took out administration
with the will annexed. A suit in Cnancery was
instituted for the administration of his estate, and by
the decree in that suit she became entitled to a sum of
£12,000. Being in delicate health she left England in
September, 1871, and towards the end of the year she
was at Os end, where she died. The learned counsel
said that if he were rightly instructed he should con-
vince the jury of the entire independence of thought
and action of the testatrix, and he read extracts from
her letters to show that she was a consummate woman
of business. _

After some evidence had been taken the case was ad.
journed.

In the Court of Probate on Wednesday,"Bir James
Mennen and a special jury proceeded with the case.
The case for those propounding the will was
strengthened by the additional evidence of several wit-
nesses who spoke to the deschteed baroness being quite
competent to transact the ordinary business of life.
Serjeant BARoutine addressed the jury on behalf
of those who oppose the will, and at the com-
mencement intimated that he should not rely
on the plea of insanity that had been placed
on the record. He should confine himself to
the alleged undue Influence, and would urge
that the will was not that of the oeceacied
lady, but in reality that of other persons. The
learned serjeant urged that the will was a most un-
natural one, for it only left a small annuity to her
mother, an old lady 82 years, and notwithstanding
what the German maid said, it was a fact that the testa-
trix hail always been on good terms with her family.
It was against public policy that a will like the one in
dispute ehould etsrid, and the learned see jeant asked
the jury to upset it. She had left £47,533 to priests
and Roman Catholic institutions, and these legacies on
the face of them showed that they were dictated to the
deceased, as she could not have been &wet" of the
exhort, ea of some of them. Sergeant Ballantine
remarkel on the &beano.° of the prin oipal persons
charged with the undue influence in the witness box.
Of oouree Dr. Deane was not obliged to call them ; but
had he done so, an opportunity would have been given to
crose.examine them. The learned counsel read several
of the decided cases that bore on matters like that before
the court; and then commented on the correspondence
that had passed between the deceased mad iithere, and
said that if specific bequests were left for masses in all
probability they would not be valid. It was impos-
sible for any person to preteens greater power than
that of toremieing that after death masses should
be said for a soul, that such masses would have
a bearing on its future happiness; a person
that could promise such • thing must have great
power over those he promised it to. In this case the
correspondence showed what a weight the. question of
masses tad on the mind of the testatrix, and that she
hail to rely on the generosity of the priests as to how
many would be said for the repose uf her soul after
death.

After the evidence bad been called for the defence,
Dr. Deane submitted that there was no evidence to go
t the jury; but Sir J4unes Hanuen refused to with-
draw it f (OM the jury.
Serjeaut liallaroine having summed up hie case,
Dr. Deane, replied on the whole cage.
ST Jew. Hardiest, in atanuoug 01, the cage to the
jury, soul that there wag no pretence for pleading that
the deceased lady was not of sound mind, as all her
letters and business transactions showed that she was
possess-Li, of a large amount of acuteness. The jury were
nut to Collatibn the will if they sin sill siuiply think
that the provision for the mother was a rogsardly
one. and It wan not because. ilell,oll was a ROLLS.
Catholc and believed in the saying of magaes they
were to ray that he or she wise not competent to make
a will. The real Tiestion for the jury was, had Sr
had there not been any undue influence used to procure
the waking of the will before the court. It wan Lot
for the it'll to say whether the bequette were or wee
not legal, IN if they were not it was the province of
another court to say. Had there been any evidence of
coercion being ex.-missal towards tae deceased. Ile did
not believe there had been.

The jury, without leaving their box, found for the
plaintiffs on all the fames. •
Dr. Tristram asked for the costa of the opposition
out of the estate.

Dr. Deane oppored the application. He stated that
there was no ground for the oppodtion whatever, and
that the defence was a speculative one.
Sir James Hannan condemned the defendants in the
coats a the tuit.

Sulsq ehtly Dr. Deane, raid that his clients had
decided that they would cot press for the cAnds, a
course which the leaned j Age commended.