The Express.
London, England, 1851-01-25 00:00:00

COURT OF EXCHEQUER.—TestERDAL

07111,61rv• ••••••,..
Tao ATTORNDY.OIIKINAL v.A MMICAL7.—LIOACT Dvty.
This was a special cass framed for the opicinn of this
court for the purpose of ascertaining whether the defendant,
es executor under the will of the late Lord Eardley, was
bound to pay legacy duty on certain sums bequeathed by the
testator. It appeared that Lord Eardley, being in poesession
of landed ebtatei which were settled en his eon, and also of
personal property ot considerable value, such as pictures and
other works ot art, entered into a deed in 1814 with his sou,
whereby he obtained the power of charging his landed estates
after his death, to the extent of 50,010 i., iu aid of his per.
Doha estate, let the payment of his debts met legecies. The
arrangement was entered into and consented to by his son,
as en equivalent for the pummel= of U.. works of art re-
forted to, which his lordship was desirous ot handing down
as heir looms and attached to the title. On Lis death be
made a will containing several legacies, and some of them
basica bees. let to partie s towhom the landed estates ds mended
the form of payment was waived, and the estate was taken
in lieu. The questions now for the opinion of the court
were, first, whether the legacy duty attached on those
legacies at all, and if so, whether the legacies could be said
to have been paid.
Atter a lengthened argument the court pronounced its
judgment in favour of the crown.
Judgment accordingly.
Tam ArroaNzi-liviskAL v. ma LONDON foci
COMPANY.—IiEINNUI
_ _ _

Sir F. Belly showed cause against a role obtained to
rescind three orders bed by the crown for particulars of
data and parcels included in • certain information for
duties. It appeared that various goods had been in the
dock' between March and October last, valued at 9,0001. or
10,0001. The crown officers had tiled ;i8 informations. They
were general in dates and goods, and in coca the crown
charged all the
,eats that could have been done under the
Customs' Act. The delendants could only prepare their
defence by showing that in each of the particular parcels,
which are some thousands in number, all the styles required
by law had been taken is due farm. The law imposed that
burden on the defendants in all such cues, and they
knew not in what order the informations would be tried.
In order to prepare their detente, they must know the date
and the ship by which each boa was imported, and they must
be prepared with ali their witnesses in all the cases at the I
Int trial. Tee watt know what is wanted. They had the
particulate, and all that was wanted was to know what
particular goods they meant to rely on in each case. At
tint Mr. Baron Platt was diainclined to make the orders, but
ow his attention being drawn to the counts he granted them.
Now the crown seek to at aside these order'. }'fret, because
they say the defendants are in fact in pommies of all the
particulars already, as their clerks made entries of the
seizures and all the details of each in books which were
compared with those of the office of the customs. That was
true, and all that was now wanted was to know what par-
ticular parcels are included in each information. For they
had the means of tracing all of them, when that information
shall have been supplied which was sought for by these
orders. The specification of the goods in the indentures
in which they were returned, and in the information was
insufficient to unable the defendants to prepare their defence.
They don't give the dates of each seizure, and the want of
that was the chief grievance of which the defendants com-
plained. The lint item is 85 bags of coffee. They had been
seized on 85 different days; what means had the defendants
of tracing them? .

Mr. Minn Alderscn—The information tends to mielead.
Then, perhaps, the aroma would content to give you the data
of seiner*.

Tee Solleitor• General cud it would be pdte impowdble to
do 00. They know es well ea we do. There wu one costa-
audio= seizure after full information to their officers of whet
wa meant to be wised.