The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-27 00:00:00

(Boron. a Common Jury.)

• ‘t,..N ANt. ATMIATie ,TEAM NACtuaTtog CoMPANT
(I !mina.) C. NEUMANN.
• . an acti.m to recover 27:d. balance due for calm
• A sitars in the plaintiffs' company.
W. Willi.trits and Mr. Channell appeared for the
1! ct.titts. :oel Mr. Murphy for the defendant.
eoui se of the ease it appeared that the defendant
pared with his shires to Mr. Michaelson, hut
t'..• company Lot declined to register the transfer as there
dile. Tiny, however, took two biUs for 1001.
(or the calls due to the 111th January, lgski,
aa.l it Aritesreil that one of these bills was running at the
toile of tile action being brought, but neither of them was
psi 1.
I ti her these CirCtllligiallCCE, it was arranged that the
a ..... unt of tie, bill that was running when the action was
biou.dit should be deducted ; and a verdict was taken for
th, balance and intureet,--leoi.

COURT OF PROBATE AND DIVORCE.
(lkfore the Judge Ordinary.)
rne%ri 1..%%1• ANOTHER y. JACOB.; AND MILLS.

Mr. Colo idge. and Dr. Spinks, Q.C., for the
plaintiff ; tin :••olicitor•Denend, Dr. Deane, q.c. , and Mr.
St.:ll:e for the defendant.
The testator. Mr. James Nash, late of Heron's Nest,
Chinford, Essex, was formerly confidential clerk in
Sir Felix Booth's distillery at Cow Cross. He had,
however, for many years been living in retirement.
The plaintiff, Mrs. Jacobs, was an old friend of
in fact, be haul known her since 1824.
:•;11e had been the wife of a comptroller of
eued.,itis at Jamaica; but her husband never was in
circumstances, and he did not make the smallest
provision for his family. The result was that at his death
they were left perfectly destitute. Under these circum-
Pt.UlCell Mr. Nash took a house for Mrs. Jacobs, and under-
t.ok to pmvide for her. He even offered her marriage,
and his offer was accepted ; but the engagement was .Iclayed
by her ill health, and was ultimately broken off. Her
children having died, a Miss Emmeline Knight went to
live with her as a companion, and she haul been with her
ever since. Some years ago Mr. Nash took a cottage for them
at Chingford. which he altered, enlarged, and furnished;
and after a while he went to live with them. They kept
a carriage and went a good deal into society. Last March
Mr. Nash was seized with gout and took to his bed. In
the following mouth Mr. Mills, a solicitor at Loughton,
who had known him for forty years, called on him, and
the conversation turned on wills. The testator Mid be had
not made his, and requested Mr. Mills to call the
next day to prepare one for him. Mr. Mills did so. He
was closeted with him for two hours. Mr. Muth fully
explained the state of his property and gave his instnic-
ti..us. The result was the execution, on the atith of April,
of the intrument now before the court. The testator died
on the 2.ith of the following month, at the age of 74. The
will bequeathed legacies of 100/. to Mrs. Jacobs and
Miss Knight; it gave his house and furniture
at Chingfonl to Mrs. Jacobi' for her life, and then to Miss
Knight, and it left his plate to Mrs. Jacobs for her life
and then to James Nash Thurgood, the son of his niece.
The residue it give to Mrs. Jacobs for life, and then to
bleu. Cornell, his sister, for her life, with power of ap-
pointment to Mrs. Jacob. The value of the property thus
bequeathed wax about 10,000/.
_ . _

The witnesses in support of the will positively de-
clared that the testator was perfectly competent when he
emitted the will ; that he was not too convivial in his
habits ; and that he never had any quarrels with Mrs.
Jacobs!

Mr. Coleridge was quite ready to admit that Mr. Nash's
will would have been a perfectly righteous one if he had
merely given Mrs. Cornell a life interest in his property ;
but there wax no reason why in the ultimate disposition of
it. he should have preferred her to his natural relations.
The learned gentleman ridiculed the statement of Mr.
Mills, that the testator bad adopted that course from a
desire to make Mrs. Jacobs more comfortable in pnesenti.
The principal circumstance, however, on which the learned
counsel relied for the purpose of discrediting the witnesses
called for the will was the fact that they had deposed to
the absolute sobriety of the testator ; whereas Mr. James
Ballantyne, one of the partners at Booth's distillery, and
otherpersons from the establishment, proved that the
testator was a continued drunkard. He had a salary of
600/. a year, and he held on to his situation as long as he
possibly could, but the partners had eventually (in 1860)
been obliged to dismiss him on a pension of 2001.
a year for seven years. He used to be sober enough in the
morning, but he would take as much as an imperial pint of
the strongest gin of an afternoon ; and wham he left he bad
often to be strapped in him little gig. He had a very re-
markable pony, and though he used to sit rolled up in the
gig like a ball, and to pull at the reins like a stick, he
managed somehow, to the wonder of everybody, to escape
serious injury.
(The case was not concluded when we went to press.]

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Goulburn.)
IN RE SLEIGH ANTI COLVILLE,.

Mr. HeatherOpiiosed-;;;VZia(Orthe aasignees ; Mr.
Bagley supported the bankrupta.
This was a sitting for discharge.
The bankrupts were warehousemen and commission
agents, carrying on business in Trump-street, Cheapside.
The adjudication was made in March, 1866, upon the
petition of a creditor, and at the first meeting assignees
were appointed. The accounts relating to the joint
estates disclose unsecured debta of 4.5401., and
liabilities 1,194/., whilst the assets have realised
15/. only. The separate debts are of small amount, and
the estate of Colville has produced 160/. On behalf of the
assignees, and Meters. Morrison and of Dundee, and
Mesas. Preston, Smyth, and Co., of Co.,Haat, creditors,
two objections were raised under the 159th section of the
act to the bankrupts' application for their orders of dis-
charge—first, that they hail contracted debts without rea-
sonable expectation of payment ; and, secondly,
that their failure was attributable to unjustifiable
extravagance in living. In support of the first
allegation the accounts were referred to, from which
it appeared that befbee the bankrupts commenced dealing
with Mews. Morrison and Co. they were deficient to the
extent of 6551., which deficiency was increased to 4,251/.
at the date of the failure. The bankrupts had also sold
goods which they purclamed for 9,700/. at the sum of
9,541/.—a loss of 159/. having thus accrued. Their trading
bad resulted in a continual loss, and their expenditure
had been unreasonable, Sleigh having lived at the rate of
MO/. per year, the yearly expenditure of Colville having
been at least 500/. Reference was also made to the circum-
stance of Sleigh having compounded with his creditors in
1860, and Colville had made an assignment about 12 years
since. A separate objection was also made toSleigh upon the
ground that he bad not given up some furniture, but the
court declined to enter into that question, and upon the
two grounds which have been mentioned a long suspension
of the orders of discharge, without protection, was asked.
Mr. Bagley, for the bankrupts, urged that their failure
was due to extraordinary fluctuations of trade from which
they had suffered considerably. For several yeast they
traded successfully, but they bad been induced to take
large premises in the belief that they would receive the
support of several large houses, which, however, was not
extended to them, and they were compelled tosuccumb toa '
combination of adverse circumstances. Their expenditure
undoubtedly appeared to be large, but that arose in con-
sequence of the frequent journeys they were obliged to
take in the transaction of their business. No doubt the
conduct of the bankrupts was in some degree censurable,
but the learned counsel submitted that there was nothing
in the ease to call for any extreme sentence from the court.
His Honour, in giving judgment, said be was always
ready to show every indulgence to bankrupts who bad
traded honestly and reputably, and who were oom-
jelled by misfortune to come to this court for relief ;
but here the cue was different. He considered it
quite clear that both the charges made against
the bankrupts bad been established, and the orders of dis-
charge would be suspended for six months upon each
ground, making 12 months in all ; protection would be
given for three months only, renewable upon a special ap-
plication to the court and notice to the assignees.
Suspension accordingly.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

(THIS DAY.)

(Before the Recorder.)
THE ISLINGToN BURCLART CARE.
Raphael Ciotti, 50, described as a marble merchant,
Antonin OaMont, 30i, shoemaker, and Mathew Deola,
.R. engineer, were indicted fur feloniously breaking and
entering the dwelling house of John Votieri, and stealing
therein 130 precious stones, known as onyx stance, his
Property. The prisoners Oa'Boni and Decola pleaded
guilty. The prisoner Mai pleaded not guilty and was
put upon hin
Mr. Metcalfe, with whom was Mr. Straight, conducted
the prosecution, instructed by Messrs. Wontner ; Mr.
Wriest:it Itallazitine (specially retained) and Mr. Montagu
'Williams (supported by Mr. Willis) defended the prisoner.
The circumstances of the ease were of a very compli-
cated character, and their investigation is expected to
occupy the attention of the court and jury during the
whole of the day. It may be remembered from the te-
nons already published of the police-court examination of
the prisoners that the prosecutor is a dealer in precious
st"hea residing at 24, Park-street, Islington, and was also
etrcutor and trustee under the will of the father of the
rn.her eiocci's wife, who was entitled to some property
nod, r her father's will. About this a claim had been
mele by the prisoner and resisted by the prosecutor, and
it seemed from the opening statement of Mr. Metcalfe
that the prisoner conceived the notion of pawning him-