The Express.
London, England, 1848-06-06 00:00:00

tats lintel Hence.

HOUSE OF LORDS.
Preeeat, the Lord Oteneellpr,,Lerd area:tam, Lord Campbell,

&DdQthST FHYL

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL e. COX AND °THERA ST CON•
TRA—YORK HOUSE —SPECIALTY AND SIMPLe CONTRACT
DIL—PitIORITIIOL—Thees are appeals from an order of
thew-Chancellor of England declaring the order in which
the crown and other creditors of the late Duke of York, are
entitled to rank on the ;moored' of the sale of York House,
and of ceirt.in plate of his royal highness. It appeared that in
the year 1811 the duke mortgaged a piece of ground in
Stable-yard (the site of York House) to Messrs. Greenwood,
Cox, and Hanuneraley, army agents, to secure to them the
payment of 30,0001. with interest at 61. per cent., and he alsa
gave his personal covenant for payment of the said sum. la
18234, his royal highness, having then obtained from the
crowu a lease of an adjoining piece of ground (the site of the
garden to York House), mortgaged the same to the said par-
ties for farther security. In 1826 the duke, with consent of
Greenwood and Co., surrendered both these leases to the
crown end obtained one lease of the two pieces of ground
and of the mansion-house, which he was then buedinst, fur
99 yeses at a rent of 7581. ; and be soon afterwards mat-
gaged the whole of the premises to Messrs. Coutta and Co.,
bankers, to secure to them repayment of 30,0001, with 61. per
cent. interest. To this arrangement Greenwood and Co. agreed,
consenting to stand as second mortgagees, and their consent
was testified by a deed, which °raided, among other things,
that this arrangement should not prejudice any other se-
curity they might then have or afterwards obtain fur debts
due to them. The duke was then contemplating the raising
of a loan from the crown, through the lords of the treasury,
for the purpose of completing the building of York House,
and several sums had been already advanced by them under
the expectation of obtaining the second mortgage on the
said premises, in place of Greenwood and Co.' to secure the
repayment to the crown of the monies advanced and to he
advanced. The duke pressed on Greenwood and Co. the
advantage to him of their relinquishing their mortgage in
favour of the crown, and accepting for their security a
charge on the duke's plate, then lying in fifty chests, at
Coutts and Co.'s bank. A long correspondence and sego
tiation took plate between the partite on that subject, and
the duke. under the impression that Greenwood and Co.
had consented to accept the charge on the plate, to the ex-
tent of 10,0001., at least, of their demand (which his royal
highness treated as a running account), directed that the plate
at Coutta's should be transferred to the name of Sir 11. Taylor,
intending him to be a trustee thereof for Greenwood and C0.,0r such other person es would advance 10,0001. Greenwoo
and Co. say they consented to accept a lien on the
plate nr relinquish their weak, as second mortgagees on
York House; and they allege that • much larger aim than
30,0001. was due to them. The Duke of York died in 1827.
very much in debt. Besides the various debts dueto histrades.
people and others, and the said two sums of 30,0001. and
30,0001. for which Couto and Co. and Greenwood and Co.
were first and emend encumbrancer, on York House and pre-
mises, his royal highness owed the crown 47,0001., for sums
advanced at various times franc 182.5 to the time of his death,
and for which he had given his wrioen undertaking to give
a mortgage on York House and premises, with a right of
pre-emption thereof, at a price to be settled by valuation in
case he or his representatives should find it necessary to sell
the same. Soon atter the duke's death, the crown officers
paid off the 30,0001. due to Coutts and Co., with interest, and
I took from them an as-ignment of their mortgage, which was
thereby vented in the commissioners of Woods and Forests in
trust for the crown. The crown then insisted oa the
said right of pre-emption, and the lease and the house.
fixtures, &c., being then valued at 82,0001., the
crown became purchasers at that price, and in 1824 agreed
to sell the whole to the Duke of Sutherland for 72,0001.
That agreement was not completed till 1841. A suit was
instituted in Chancery, in 1827, by Greenwood and Co., in
the name of therneryts and all the other creditors of the
duke, against his executors, Sir H. Taylor and Sir Benjamin
Stephenson, and also the late Princess Sophia, residuary le-
gatee of the duke. By the decree made in that suit it was
referred to the master to take the usual accounts of the
duke's estate, debts, &c. Pending that inquiry. Greenwood
and Co. Wed another bill to enforce their mortgage security;
and a decree being made therein, by consent in 1834 the
officers of the crown paid Greenwood and Co. 30,0001., with
interest thereon, and took from them an assignment of the
debt and mortgage security, with power to sue, &c The
crown was then a creditor on the duke's estate to the amount
of 107,0001. altogether; viz., the said two mortgages, and
47,0001. tor moneys advanced from time to time to the duke,
for which 47,0002 the crown claimed to be third incumbrancer
on York Hausa and premises. The Attorney-General for the
crown became a party to the creditors' suit (instituted
in 1827), and brought in a mate of facts and charges,
and the executors likewise carried in a state of facts and
charges before the muter under the decree in that suit.
The master made his report in 1844, finding, among other
things,—first, that the Attorney-General, on behalf of her
Majesty, Wee entitled to a lien for 10 0001., with interest, on
the duke's chests of plate, and on the proceeds thereat, if
sold, in respect of the assignment to the crown of Green-
: wood and Co.'s claims; secondly, that her Majesty wag
legal mortgagee and specialty creditor for 30,000/., the prize
cipal of Coutta and Co.'s mortgage, with interest; thirdly,
I that her Majesty was specialty creditor on the duke's estate,
in respect of rents due on the surrendered and existing leases;
and fourthly, that her Majesty was an equitatde mortgagee,
in respect of all the sums advanced (47,0001.), and interest
thereon. Exceptions were taken to that report by the At-
torney.Oeneral, for the crown, and also by the duke's per.
sonal reprwentatives, Messrs. Pearce and Nutting, who took
out administration to the Puke on the de- tb of his executors
' befor ,-nentioned.—The Vice-Chancellor, on the hearing of
the exceptions in 1845, allowed sonic and disallowed others,
and made an order, declaring that toe purchase-money of
82,6001., due from the crown under the contract for the par
chase of York House aed premises, was applicable, first, to
the discharge of ties mortgage to Coutts and Co. (30,0001.
and intere,t) ; secondly, of the mortgage to Greenwood and
Co. (30,(001. and interest); and, thirdly, the discharge of the
said advances made by the crown insecurity of York House
and premises; and his Honour also declared that the crown
was entitled to rank as specialty creditor in the duke's
e state, in respect of the reriots due under the said leases.
I iThe Attorney-General, on behalf of the crown, appealed
against the hest part of the order, respecting the application
of the purchase money, on the ground that the securities
held by the crown are in the same plight as against the assets
of the Duke of York and his house and plate, as they were
at the time of his death, and that therefore the crown is en•
titled to rank and prove against his estate, first a.
a specialty creditor for the two sums of 30,0001.
each ; that it has a lien on the plate for 10,0001., part
of the 30,000!. originally secured by mortgage to Green-
wood and Co., end that in respect of these sums the crown
has a right to prove egeinst the duke's general estate and
get a dividend thereout ; and then for such balabee as may
remain, together will other sums due, the crown is entith d
to resort to the purchase money in its own hands.
The duke', personal representatives brought the cross-
appeal against the last part of the said order, on the ground
that the crown was not a specialty creditor, nor a creditor at
all in respect of the rents of the surrendered leases; for that
such rents most be considered as extinguished by the sur-
render, in the absence of any t remise to the contrary.
The Solicitor-General and Mr. 11. Twee have been heard
in support of the Attorney. General's appeal; Mr. Bethel, for
the respondents in that appeal and appellants on the crow
appeal, had not finished his argument at four o'clock, when
the further hearing was adjourned.