The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-12 00:00:00

Kati) intelligence.

EQUITY COURTS.-YESTERDAY.
Loot. nu Lours lcsnc■e co. Arm's-

BUSINESS OP THE COURT.

Upon their lo;;l4iips---tiiling their ecato,
Lord Justice Knight Bruce, addressing the Solicitor-
General, said he had a communication to make as to the
business of the court. A warrant bad lately been issued by
the crown, by which jurisdiction in matters of hinscy was
conferred upon the court, analogous to the jurisdiction
hitherto solely exercised by the great ,rel. The COMO.
quence was' that it became necessary to fix upon one day in
each week, during the sittings in Chancery, for the Lancing
of petitions in lunacy. His lordship then n.tmed Wednesday
la each week as the day on which the coin t would hsar pe-
titions of that description.

ATTOONEY-OZNERAL V. )11:1:1•0( f
This was a petition of appeal from dare,. made by Viee-
Chancellor Wigram in November 1519. The suit arose out
of the late secession of the Free church of Scotland, and the
question was the right of possession, and use fin the purpose
of public worship of a meeting hou-o toad premises at Ber-
wick-upon-Tweed, known by the name of the Low
Meeting-house." The information was filed at the
relation of some of the trustees of the meeting-house
against Alexander Murdoch, the officiating mi-
neva r and those trustees who were not plaintiff..
The case made by the information was that though
there was no deed of trust contemporaneous with
the devotion of the premises to religious worship, or within
a reasonable time atter, yet that the nature of the trusts
were evidenced by certain deeds afterwerda cumin d upon
the occasion of changes in the hotly of trustees ; that the
trusts so evidenced were for the appropriation of the pre-
mises as a plac, of religious worship on the model 01 the
church of Scotland, and in as strict connexion with thu
same as was practicable ; that such trust was fur, her evi-
denced by the fact that from the fem.:l:dim of the charity
in 1719, the miuisters appointed to officiate at the meeting-
house had been naiformly licentiates of the kirk, mist in strict
communion therewith. It was then ailq.:-cd I.) the Atter-
ney-General and relators that Murdoch, who, at the time
of his election as officiating minister in lo2n, a Hems-
tiate and ordained minister of the church of Scoland, had
since adhered to that body which, after the decision of the
Auehterarder caw, seceded from the eetablieh,d church of
Scotland and constitutes what is now called the tree church ;
and it was contended that by thus adhering to that body
Murdoch hail become disqualified for sad was incom-
petent to exercise the Wilco of minister or pcstur
of the Low Meeting-house. The information there-
' tore sought a declaration that the L,w Mi (ding-holm
and premises were subject to trusts for the appropri-
ation of the same as a place of public religious worship on
the model of the church of .Scotland, unit in as strict con-
nexion therewith ns was practicable; and that no person
was qualified for or competent to exercise the office of mi-
nister or pastor of the Low Meeting house without being a
licentiate and a recognised minister of the church of Scot-
land, and in full communion therewith ; that the defendant
Murdoch might be restrained from oectipy:ng and using
the pulpit, and from preaching and teaching in, and in any
manner officiating so the minister or pastor of the Low
Meeting-house ; and that the defendants, the trustees, might
be restrained from allowing the use of the pulpit to any person
and Irons permitting any person to ;mach or tenets in the
Low Meeting-house, not being such licentiate and recognised
minister, and prom allowing or permitting the premises to
be otherwise used than as LI place of public religious wor-
ship ou the model and in the strict connexion
alumna The defendants by their answers contended
that the trusts were for protestant dissenters gene-
rally, and that under that description any Christian
protestant dissenter was admissible to the use or the meet-
ing-house as a place of worship, or to the office or
minister thereof ; in fact that any Christian was
admissible, except an episcopalian, who coedit not be said
to be a dissenter ; a Roman catholic, who was not a pro-
testant or a puseyite, who was a composition of both. 'rho
court below had made a deems to the t tfeet asked for by
the information; and had directed the casts of the suit to
beP;idbTictim-G the
erdefeennedrat defendants.
'f he So (with whom were Mr. Little ant
Mr. T. Deere Salmon) was heard fur the plaintiffs, in sup-
port of the Vice-Chancellor's decree. Ills address occupied
the entire day, and was nut concluded at the rising of the
court.

Mr. Itolt, Mr. Malin!, Mr. Selwyn, and Mr. Lewin, ap-
penr fur the different derentlanto.

In the course of the argument Lord Justice Knight
Bruce referred to the bulky character of the pleadings and
evidence iu the cause, and observed that the amount of
costs already occasioned by the proceedings, was more than
suflicieut to have enabled the opposing parties to devote the
present building to au indifferent purpose, and to have
built each a meeting house to be used .li-cording to their
own peculiar view,.
grrit,Gs to I apcorii's-ory. mum me LoaziCaaweas.con!

HAWRISII V. THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY Cot.
1•A71Y.-NON-FULFILVEVT OF AGREEMENT TO PURI:HARM
LAND.-QUESTION OP TITLE.

This was au appeal from an order of the Vice-Chan-
cellor, referring to the Master to ascertain how the matter
of title in dispute stood. The plaintiff was the owner of a
small estate in the neighbourhood of Spalding. In the
years 1846-7 the Eastern Counties Railway Company pro-
jected is branch line from Wiffseach to Spalding, and the
line of deviation included a portion of the plaintiffs pro-
perty. lie offered the. schema much oppo,ition' and atter
some negotiation an agreement was mot: to to the effect that
the plaintiff should forego his uppo,iti ct in consideration
that the cempauy undertook to make au absolute purchase
for the sum of 8,11001. for the property, 4,001 f. by way of
compensation for the removal and some other expenses in-
curred by the plaintiff; and that within eighteen months of
the bill passing into a law. This agreement between the
parties was duly executed. The company went to pasha-
merit, and the bill was passed in July, 1817. 'The plaintiff
possessed a portion of the estate iu fee simple, of the re-
maindcr he was only tenant for life ; but a clause was in-
serted in the act to purchase land fur extraordinary pin-
poses not exceeding a quantity speciff.ll. Immediately after
the act passed the plaintiff prepared to remove, and gave
notice to the company that they might take possuasiou of
his house. Circumstances, however, occurred which in-
duced the company not to construct the line, and the
eighteen months elapsed without carrying into effect the
agreement fur the purchase. Proceedings 'sore thereupon
instituted to compel performance, and the Vice-Chancellor
made a reference to the Master to ascertain hew the
title stood.

Sir k array Kelly (with him Mr. Loftus Wigrarn and
Mr. Follett) supported the appeal. The first objection
raised by the ilefendanta was to the effect that the act of
parliament obtained by the company did nut come within
the meaning of the agreement, inasmuch us a short branch
at Spalding, originally contemplated, had IN.,llahrindoned.
To this it was answered that thus had nothing to do with
the agreement, nor had the branch line anything to do
with the plaintiff's property. It was ti.e projected main
line, and nut the branch, which proposed to encroach uu
the land. The second objection was, that the plaintiff,
being only tenant for life of a portion of the property, was
not in a condition to give a title. The learned counsel
contended that the clause in their act empowering tho
company to take land for extraordinary purposes, taken in
connexion with the provisions of the Linda Clauses Conso-
lidation Act (8 Vic., c. 19, 116, c. 8) enabling all corporations,
tenants in tail, tenants for litc, &c., to dispose of land,
placed the plaintiff in a position to give a valid title ; and
it was contended that the agreement was a good agree-
ment in point of law, and ought to be enforced.
Mr. Bethel! (with him Mr. Groves) was proceeding with
his argument on the other side, when the court rose.

Bast[ TIM MAMA or nit RoLLIII.
POVE O. POPE.
This case came on for hearing uiuu a special case, arising
out of the construction of a will. It appeared that the
testator, John Field, of Oxford-street, veterinary surgeon,
by his will, dated the 30th of January, 1833, devised a sum
of 10,0001. Consols to trustee* in trust, to pay the interest
to his daughter Mary, and after her death to any husband
she might marry, and after the death of the survivor to
divide the fund amongst such of her issue as should survive
her and her husband, and in case any ouch issue dying in
her life time then that the issue of such issue should take
among-t them the share of his, her, or their parent. Mary,
the daughter, married a Mr. ohn Gould, having issue, a
daughter, named Mary, who married a Mr. John Robinson
Pope. Of this marrows there are two children, John
Gould Pope and Ernest Pope. On the death of Mrs. Gould
the trustees under the marriage settlement of Mr. and Mrs.
Pope claimed the transfer of the 10,0001. to theist as the ab-
solute propeity of Mrs. Pope, which the tru.tecs under the
will declined to do. The question now before the court
was whether Mrs. Pope was entitled to the whole of the
fund, or whether het two children were entitled to two-
thirds of it.

The Master of the Halls said there was no doubt that the
word "issue" was used for " child ;" but the word " issue "
in its primary and ordinary signification, meant all the de-
scendants, and in that case it was not incessary to specify
anything beyond the word " issue." la this case, how-
ever, the testator went en to say, " the issue of such issue."
He might have used the word " descendants," but he
used the word " issue ;" and the explanation in the second
clause, " the issue of such issue," restricted the meaning
of it to " child." The testator meant to say' "In ease any
child of my daughter should die in her lifetime, the chil-
dren of that child shall take the parent's share." There
was no doubt the testator meant by the word " issue" the
children of his daughter. Ile therefore decreed that on the
death of Mary Gould Mrs. lope became absolutely entitled
to the sum in question, and that it be trauaferred to the
trustees under her marriage settlement.

Hama THE-Ciu•czia.qi. Sni B. liswzmuLET.
BITSINT.J.4 OF THE COL:RT.—PETITION&

The Vice an -Chcellor upon taking his seat, stated he
wished it to be understood. that all unopposed petitions were
to be lett with his secretary one clear day, at least, before
they were put in the paper for hearing. This course ho
bad adopted in order that he might bare the time of the
court, by looking through all the petitions himself. Thus,
if a petition.were placed in Tuesday's list, it must have
been left with his secretary by three o'clock on Saturday.
THE ATTulltiti-ORNERAL O. LORD AliKAN.—Selislla
FOR A CHARITY &MATZ.
An information had been tiled iu this case by the At-
torney-General, at the instance of certain inhabitants of
Oxford, for the regulation of a charity left by a testator
named Edmund Boultsr, in the year 1736, for the esta-
blishment of almshouse*, and for the support of two apo-
thecaties to supply the poor of the county of Oxford walls
physic and medical advice, and also fur the establishment of
a scholarship at Pembroke College, Oxford. A scheme
had been approved of by the Master, but an objection was
raised as to the application of a surplus fund of 500 f. or
about 161. per annum. The Master had reported that it
would be desirable to accumulate this fund milli
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