The Express.
London, England, 1858-06-11 00:00:00

TEE COEMISSIOII9r LUNACY OY 81E BERRY

MISUX, BART _•
Tbia inquiry was resumed yesterda7 morning, at
10 o'clock, et the Thatched-house, St. James ••street, before
Mr. Cou,wtsluuer MA/10M.

The learned counsel for the petitioner celled several wit-
names, who were examined to 6U op the chain of evidence
upon subjects of apparent unimportance, and et the conclu-
sion of their evidence,

Dlr. M. Chambers said that closed his ceae for the peti-
tioner.

The Commissioner asked Mr. M. Chambers and Mr. M.
Smith at what particular time they axed the incapacity of Sir
Henry Maus to have occurred I'
. .

Mr. Chambers said he considered the evidence clearly
established the fact of his incapacity having taken place on
or before the let of May 1867.
The Attorney-Ormond then addressed the jury on behalf
of Sir Henry ?deux and of his wife end his infant and only
child. He need not say that thou whom he represented
must necessarily feel the deepest intermit in this Inquiry, and
is the verdict which the jury would have ultimately to pro-
nounce. This remark, unhappily, did not apply too far sa
Sir Henry Mau himself was concerned, because the disease
with which it had pleased Providence to 'relict him rendered
it • matter of utter indifference to him what might be the
result, or what might occur during the short remainder of
his unhappy life. He waa now not only in a state of great
physical Infirmity and disease, but his mind was irre-
vocably gone, and the painful duty of visiting him
was only to give regularity to the proceedings, it
being perfectly useless fee any purpose embraced to the pre-
sort inquiry. The cam which had occupied the attention
of the jury for the last two days did not bring before them
the true history of Sir HenryMaus. It was very easy to
bring forward during • period of eighteen months or two
years some particular word. or sentences or actions of a
man who had been affected more or less in his physical con-
stitution, arising from circumstances which could not be
wholly explained, and than to call upon ajury to say that such
• man was not master of himself, or of sufficient capacity to
conduct his own affairs ; but what he would affirm was,
that not one set had been proved on the part of Sir Henry
Meux which mittiot have been due any ordinary
or even extraord transactions of life by any gentleman
there present. Sir Henry ?deux wad a gentleman of some
forty years of age; he was possessed of a fortune exceeding
Ulf-a-minks sterling, of which he had the tuicontrolW
*eyepiece; and yet he challenged his learned friends to
point out • scintilla of evidence to chow that he had ex-
• pound sterling of that vast amount in • manner
indfsti that he was incompetent to conduct he own
main or to manage his own property. There was no
evidence that he bad wasted one penny of that large
property. The jury were at present in utter
of the real history of Sir Henry Meals 1 from
illalll7, 1856, when he married, to September, 18.57,
at which period he (the Attorney-Oenceal) stopped
for reasons be would presently assign, when Sir Henry
occupied shooting quarters in Scotland. And why were the
Joey thus ignorant Because neither of the three leen of
Su- Henry had been called as witnesses before them. But be
would show that daring the whole of those two years Sir
Henry west through not only the ordinary affairs of every-
day life, but entered into, performed, and completed several
most important traneactione, involving • large amount of
property, end effecting the interests of various parties. He
married in January, 1866, a young lady, aged 19 years, the
daughter of Lord Ernest Bruce, the son of the late Marquis
of Ailesbury. That young lady he felt it his duty to call
before the jury, for she would be able to speak se to the
capacity of her husband to perform the acts done by him.
Sir Henry was devotedly fond of his wife and she of him,
and they lived together in • state of uninterrupted happi.sees, confiding in each other, with scarcely a difference of
thioo, down to the moment when this dUesee brought on
that incapacity which formed the subject of the present in-
quiry. He was happily favoured with the birth of a son and
heir to his title and large fortune, who was born in the month
of November, 1866. Having made his will In August, 1866,
he, on the birth of his child, thought it mouser, to make •
codicil to that will. He accordingly gave instructions to
Mr. Hunter, who was his professional adviser, and •
codicil was prepared and executed. Subsequently some
circumstances occurred to which he did not feel himself at
liberty to allude, but which the jury would have an oppor-
tunity of inquiring Into when the witnesses were before
them. This led to an alteration of the codicil. Sir Henry,
is his own handwriting, sent instructions to Mr. Hunter to
the rffect that if his son, Henry Bruce ?deux should not
survive him, and there should be no other moo, then his pro-
perty should be equally divided among his daughters, if
any; but if there should be only one daughter, then it
should go to her and her heirs, subject to certain
legacies; but should there be no legitimate children by his
wife, then he left the whole of his fortune, land, plate,jewels, pictures, absolutely to his wife; treating to her to
make a proper disposal of the Name. Hs also directed thst his
wife and her father, Lord Ernest Bruce should be the
guardians of his child, and he wished Lord Ernest Bruce to
regiment him at the brewery, for which he was to receive
LOOW. • year, observing that, of course, Mr. Arabia (Sir
Henry's brother-in-law) would remain in his preeent produce.
This codicil wee executed on the 3rd of July, 1837, and at-
tested by Mr. Baby Seymour, who had been upecially re-
quested by Sir Henry to oome to his house for that purpose,
and by Mr. Heater. On the 2nd of July, kneel! that Mr.
Seymour would acme, Sir Henry wrote to Mr. Hunter and
requested hie attendance, at the same time saying that
he wished Lord Ernest Bruce to have 2,0001. • year,
se be would be above Mr. Arabia at the brewery,
who was in receipt of 1,20 W. • year. Providentially,
on that very day, the 3rd of July, Dr. Allen called to me
the child, and another medical gentleman, Mr. Weller, also
called, and they would both speak to the fact of Sir Henry
being at that time perfectly competent to conduct and be a
party to the transaction which then took place. From that
time—namely, the 3rd of July—to the 20th of August, when
he took his departure for Scotland, Sir Henry conducted him-
self in all the affairs of life as he had ever bean accustomed
to do; and to those, therefore, who had bees in the constant
habit of transacting business with him, it appeared matter
of smaxement that It should be suggested that helms at that
time of unsound mind, When in Scotland be was abated
with a fit, which was attended with very alarming rplip•
toin• ; though even after that he was capable et intervals of
entering on business transactions. But it was not wormy
to trouble the jury with any other evidence as to the state of
Sir Henry's mind after the 23rd of September, when the
attack commenced, nor would he from that date attempt
to establish the soundness of his intellect. No
doubt, after that time he was subject to insane dolomites,
and it would be idle to say that he was in • conditions fit to
be intrusted with the management of • large fortune. Of
muse, the young lady whom he had made his wife, when
his situation house thus distressing and alarming to all
around him, wee 'exceedingly unwilling for a long time to
embark in • step which had at length been taken- he did
not say impro takes—by others. She was afraid of
aggravating the . At the same time she took an
that he had constently around him the beet medical attend-
ance. By the mouth of March his ease became altogether
hopeless, and he was now in a condition which made it a
question how long it might plow Providence to allow him
to remain, and whether, M fact, it would not be an act of
mercy if his life were speedily to terminate.
Six gentlemen of the jury wore appomted to :sit Sir
Henry at his house in Belgrave•square, and the court
adjourned till ten o'clock this day,