The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-03-26 00:00:00

IZISCOLIISIIIA 2SSi2lt

PUMAS e. CIIOI.IIILIT.
' This action wan to tiy the
.validity of the will'of
Thomas Pitider, gime. eiteepted. at Brortshy Wood
Hall, near Brigg, on the 15th October, 1811. pre-
pared by Evan Foulkes, Ens. solicitor, of South-
ampton-4feet, Loaders (then M.P. for Stainforil),
and witnessed flftlhit ;linkman, roil by Mr. Ben.
Collingwood. of 111‘erringlrem. pnd Mr. JolueLittle.
of Scunthorpe, two re•pectabie farmers on Mr.
Piodar's estate. ailed to for the porpoise. Mr.
Pied., resided foe Ifnany'years in lellfillef life 111 M og.
dalehCellege. etaferd, oT which society he was a
Follies. The large property which was the subject
of this will, ionic to high from pt younger brother,
instead of coining, as he had had reason to expect.
from an uncle. Mr. 'Pantie iris of sat ancient
family, and conceived himself toll* connected with
the pedigree of 'Lord Beatichailip, who.e flintily
name, Ligon. had formerly been l'indar. At ()li-
ked he took much interest in tracing tine •coonec-
lion, and cultivated the actiusininsice of the pre-
sent Lord Beauchemp (then Mr. 'Lygoti) and hie
younger brother, the present Plaintiff, who were
members of the University. From the year 111104
'there was a succession of intercourse between
the lamilie4. Mr. 'Pinder had for many years
formed a connekion with a Mrs. Smith, 'Cs house-
' 'keeper. Which contiheed until his death, used
'by his several wills she was to be considerably
benefited afterwards. It was adMitted by the
Counsel on both sides to be mainly 'from a dis-
' appeiatraeat which this pentbn etperienced after
Mr. Piodar's death, that the present actiou pro-
ceeded. A will was prepared by the late My.
Hutton, of Gate Burton, end eitecuted on the td
April, 1810, giving the estates in tall male to the
Hon. John Lygon, the present Plaintiff, with ul.
timste limitation to the testator's soiree, Lady
Cholturley. Within one month after that time,
however, another will wets made, in favour of Sir
Montague Cholmeley's family, and excluding Mr.
Lygon ; and two codicils to this will gave several
estates for life to Mrs. Smith. Mr. Hutton also
prepared this will. On the 15th October. 1811,
Mr. Pinder Cann back to hie miginal purpose of
benefiting Mr. Lygou; and Mr. Foulkes was
celled down to Breathy Hell to prepare a sui.able
will. By this, Mrs. Smith was seemingly bene-
died more than before; but after Mr. Pinder's
death, it turned out that there was ao clause in this
last will charging the teetator's real estates with
the payment of his debts, which there haul
been is the will by which Sir Montague Cholme-
ley's family were benefited : Mrs. Smith's life in-
terest, therefore, being chargeable with the payment
of those debts, was not so beneficial as wader that
former will; hence great irritation arose, and that
lady. after a quarrel with Mr. Lygon, gave up to
, Sir Moutagne Cholmeley ell the letters which hr
;Mr. Lygoti) had written to her in a coriespendeoce
of two years, commixing a few cloys after the eze-
canoe of the will of October 1811. The letters
were reed in evidence, and Mr. Balguy, for the De•
feudant, heisted thut, coupled with the evidence of
witnesses (servants, a barber from Brigg, and others)
whom he called to speak to Mr. Piodar's miserable
state of imbecility, they clearly proved the will tte
have been executed through asenagensent, and that
Mr. Pinder himself was a complete nonentity.
Mr. Justice BLIT, in ationsiog up to the Jury.
remarked upon the singular feature in the ere be-
fore him, in which a party was attempting to prove
a conspiracy by the assistance of one of the conspi-
Faure. The question of the validity of tie will
rested almost entirely upon the credit they gave to
Mr. Foulkes; for if they were of opinion that the
testator was of an unsound mind, they must consi-
der that gentleman's evidence as a string of infi-
nities perjuries. It had been raid in the course
of the proceedings, that in order to carry into
effect such a conspiracy us had been charged upon
the Plaintiff, nothing more was necessary than to
find an erifel solicitor of goat character. It did
not become hiss. to say in that place what was his
own optnioa and personal knowledge of Mr.
Foulkes, but he could not help observin_g that in
his opinion there were few things more difficult then
to find a person answering such a description—one
who should have arrived at Mr. Foulkes' period of
life, with high reputation for integrity, without
iu the least deserving it. At the same time he
could not but regret it as an act of great impru-
dence on the pert of the Plaintiff to select a pee-
s es so intimately connected with himself as
Mr. Foulkes was, for a purpose of such great
delicacy as the making the will. (Mr. Foulkes
had been for many year. the attorney for Lord
Beauchsmp's family.) For the same reasons
it was to be wished that some of the Pleintiff's
letters which had been read in evidence. had been
written by any one else: still he did not think that
' the Defeudent had proved much by their produc-
tion, as it was to be expected that, :tending in the
relation in which the Plaintiff stood to the testator,
he would take great interest in the property which
he expected soon topessees. With respect it the as-
signment of same heeds ler money lent, latch hod'
been urged man iiistenet of the Plaintiff's knowledge
of the testator's incapacity to teamed business, inas-
much as a fresh bond for the whole would have been
the more natural course—it was for the Jury to say
what force shonldbe given to that objection; but there
was one light in which that transaction might he
viewed, and which he was rather surprised had not
occurred to the acute mind of his learned knottier,
Vaughan:—ought it not be politic in the
to avoid the risk of irritating a capricious old man,
whose heir he expected to be, by demanding a
fresh bond of him, when • an assignment would be
equally valid ? The Defendant had cestaikly
isbliatted a very strong case of the testator's bodily
imbecility and great mental aberrations, but it
would be for them to decide hew far all those state-
' merits might be reconcileable with perfect sanity
at other limes; whether a powerful exciteruesit
might not enable him to rouse up his faculties suf-
ficiently to execute so important an matrumeut.—
The depositions of Little and Colhogwood, made
in Doctors' Commove before the death of those two
witnesses to the will, might lead to such an infe-
rence, end there seemed no reason to doubt their ve-
racity. And here it was much to be iegretted that
the Defeodant had nut brought this case to an issue
while those te• persons were alive; they lied bolls
of them died at ass advanced age, end every year
might reasonably have been expected , to be their
lass. From the saute cause they had also lost the

Important evi enee of the niedMilliTendasix-7 h
great regard of the testator for Mr.tygeo
iy
worthy of coneideratfon. 'Prow a perusesl of thr
letters. teen in throe addiased to Lord Besnelults,
it was evisfent that has brother {the Pleintif)
pied by fir the linker share ils the Orriter's thougits.
He /lustier Bevil. doisisted hot that the Jory would
give itue consideration to all the *tits of the c
and it would be borne its Wad by tittle of Wm gem
impOrtstice the law coMidetecl that Most gelatin Get
of o num% life. his Isla will end trlstament-46t
great precautions had been considered neceisery to
enure its validity=-that proper witnesses here .„
joined to ott ned. its mention, who would be eta
*bled to judge the ',fate in which the testator
might be es to thesi!feeithies of his mind and free,
dons front restraint 'Or coercion of any kind. JII
theie circumstbsices shehld be well considered be.
Pure the Jury -Curet aside so important 1114 'sacred au
iusiruniesit ; and he did not doubt, be their deei.
sion what it would, thitt it would be guided by jos.
tice and linpartislity.
When his I,otchliip nod concluded his Radler,
by which he was much exhausted, the Jury with-
, drew, takiug the two wills with them, sod returned
ip bout hell an hour. with a verdict for IN
Plaintiff, Mr. Pinder (who had 'open that name
is
pursuance of the directions of the Meister, u a coo.
ditiou of succeeding to the estate.) thereby establish.
log the will of the iSch Octo'ber. 1811.
The cause listed horn nine o'clock on Wednes-
day morning, till about half-past fire on Thurs-
day ifteruooa.