The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1806-08-19 00:00:00

father's death, he was their only relation and friend
He represented them as silly women, so illiterate as
hardly to be able to spell ; their Mother, a weak
man, who had a turn for extravagance and dissipa•
tion, and lie certainly would have been a very im-
proper guardian to his sisters. It was evident Ise
never could have made the estate a valuable secu-
rity, and they s'o'd rathtr in need of ptoteCti-n
against him. In 1;76, toe Dilendant was invested
with the agency of this property : and time chewed
what implicit confidence these parties pet iii
him. The situation in which the D-fendant was
placed by the first deed, was rather an unusual
one, and he was made a party for an unusual pur-
pose ; lie having nothing at all to do with the sith-
jrst of the deed, became the middle-man between
the owners of the estate and the inLumbrancer ;
covenants are made hr him as well as John Pur-

cell ; and lie is to g t discharges to himselt, the
snrolui being paid over. A power is reserved to
John Purcell, to appoint a person to receive and
Put ; but either by design or accident. n s such
power is reserved to his sisters, who only could re-
ceive their surplus frem the Defendant, and nothing
from M:. Grant, the incumbrancer, in Tortola
These sums were to he paid to the Defendant, for
some risen to be aponinted by John Purcell ; and
this shewed the implicit cre:fidence they placed in
the Detendint, and the necessity of having some.
body to lo k after their aff sirs Such was the si-
tuation of these parties in 1780. when the first secu-
rities were executed, and when it did not appear in
what state the accounts were between th, m, or
what demands were not yet ascertained. The De-
fendant and ‘largar.l Purcell alleged, that the
deed contained a false result, arid the debt might
have been easily asceetAiiied ; hut the reason they
gave, was wholly unintelligible, and to the pieserit
day they never were Able to see what the account
was ; bur there WAS some negative evidence to sheer
what it was- in 1780 The Defendant had said,
that he was cons in.is advancing motiey,but received
none ; and in 1183, we find an ACCOLIA by himself,
where the whole of his demands on these ladies
amounted to'Bool. being the debt contraaed by their
joint nose of hand ; but, before the end of that year.
the debt was male to Amount to 99001. and he al.
leeward% stand, that after deditaing that 20001.
:from le,ooo .tree ha f due to them 10,7001. odd; and
this toe starem tit of 1783 corresponded with that of
1784, an t, by •he account ke;it by the De!en ant ,
from that the smal hAIAi ce reduced their
cep,. Al to 10,0001 so that there was not more, th ugh
there it be less, one foirn them to the DefendAet II
at that tittle, thee 4001. And thus, 110711 the moment
they execu ed this aced, of I Ith September, 1780,
they could not eat a bit of brea I that was not the
boon of the Defendant ; arid in this way they en-
tered into a contract to p:ty all sums advanced to
Jahn Purcell. Margaret, or the Plaintiff her-
self. What then was this but coilverting their lega.
cies to supply the extravagAncies of ill.. brother
This unlimited prospeftive engagement left them
nothieg for their Oifit dtscrett in 'Extiaerdinary
as this deed was, the next wis ,such more so, by
which they reduced themeelves to indigence for life,
without even the benefit of survivorship; that they
gave to the Deem:feet ; and in this manner he
might have stripped them of all their preperty, and
the nest moment thrown them into a prison ; and
then he says they did all this in gratitude for his
friendship, and he accepter} it as justifiable, for his
own interests. How, • the Learned Jude asked,
had be become isrefed to their gretim ie and remu-
neration ? And then he says, •• tf Toe don't sign the
deed, you must starve." What more could the
most rigid creditor exalt than 'this ? and yet he does
it through motiers of friendship and regard. 11is
Honour eetild nut then see what obligations the De-
fendant t,nd emiterred on any body. He should
have thouein that,' from the deeds themselves,
and all the trans:talons, that he was to derive some
adsantage from the irn'oeeility of these women.
He shoals: have interfered to prevent them execut-
ing such deed. to any o bee pee-on, had they
made such a deed.
By the deed of 1183,
they eeipeAred tOONe2JOOI. ; by that of 1784, some
Addition era. Di4d. ; hut in Melva, 11116, th.: debt
Ltd mounted t:1 42 0.101 ; a ci hutted was charged
against them, *not,only ;Or their oven advancies, bet
those made to the brother. and compound nterest
upon hat again ; acd each deed furnished fresh
evidence that they were imposed upon. After al-
ludisig to some conthadiaions its the evidence. his
Honour continued ; in all these tran.aaiows. it did
not appear that the Miss Purcell, were ever ergs-
stilted upon the subject and when the Plaintiff
sheered a reltatAnce to sign the last deed, at Calais,
where the Defendant a,spointed to meet them,
some expressions of contempteoas surprise escaped
him With respell to the mutilated state of the De-
fendant's books of accounts, it pas not necessary
to make any observations, the evidence not being
sufficient to go into it at length. Atter some fur-
ther observations, his Honour, in conclusion, sub-
mitted to his Lordship as his opinion, that the deeds
in question bad been improperly obtained ; that the
Plaintiff'was entitled he her legacy, after All proper
dedutions were made; and, uneer all the circum-
stances, he considered that the decree of Lord El-
don should be affirmed.
The LORD Cn•iacestoa said. that he hid not
sat in that place abore a week. when a petition was
presented to him, to rehear this cause ; and recol-
leaing the important discussion whic:l had take!,
place upon it beforehis noble predecessor, and the
little acquaintance he himself then had with the pro-
ceedines of the Court, he thought'it highly necessar y
to Ask the assistance of the Master of the Rolls, in
order that whatever might be his final decision, it
should be cimsidered es having the sanction and
weight of so learned an authority. • lie had a fur-
ther reason than this, and that was• that a Judge
should be a total stranger to all parties, and upon
this principle, the great glory of our Constitution.
trial by Jury, existed. The Plaintiff, who was a
womAh, friendless and unprOteffed. was a total
stranger to him ; but the Defendant he had known
almost ell his life, being particularly connected with
him, and was always his well-wisher ; and, there-
fore, for the charaaer of English justice, be wished
to have the best assistance i.e could. But. notwith-
standing this, the judgment must still be his own ;
and, in ease it should hereafter be reversed, he
should state the opinion be had formed on this sub-
j ; and, in order that he might assume nothing, he
did not bring the volumincus mat= he had taken in
•