The Sun.
London, England, 1839-07-20 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF CHANCERY—Juir 19.
SMALL V. it TTWOOD.
The arguments of Air. K. Bruce, on behalf of the re-
spondents in this appeal, occupied his Lordship the whole
day, and had not concluded when his Lordship rose. The
',carded Counsel will conclude his arguments to-morrow
(this day).

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT—Juzy 19.
Short causes and unopposed petitions of no interest oc-
cupied his Honour the Vice-Chancellor the whole day.

ROLLS COURT Jun, 19.
JuDG mENT.—wic c 'Ns 2. POPPIN.
This was a motion made on the behalf of the defendant,
Lydia Spriggs, that a reference might be made to one of the
Masters of the Court, to tax the bill of costs, amounting to
831. 2s. 9d., delivered by Mr. Vane to her, other than and
except the costs of certain proceedings mentioned in the notice of
motion, which it was prayed might be wholly disallowed ; or
that the Master might tax the costs of all the proceedings that
had been properly taken on behalf of the defendant Lydia
Spriggs, and that Mr. Vane might be restrained from all pro-
ceedings in an action at law brought by him against her.
His LORDSHIP, in giving judgment said, Mrs. Spriggs having
retained and employed Mr. Vane, and he having delivered his bill
of costs, she was entitled to the common order for the taxation of
the bill in the usual terms. The question was whether she was
entitled to any other order? It appeared that_Mrs. Spriggs and
her brother, Mr. Clarke, were made defendants t o a bill of rev ivor.
Mr. Clarke, without her authority, employed Mr. Douglas, and
they, as solicitors, to act for both, and they put in an answer
for both, without oath or signature. Mrs. Spriggs did not
acquiesce in that proceeding, and she retained and appointed
Mr. Vane to act for her. He adopted proceedings on her be-
half to have the answer which had been put in for herself and
her brother taken off the file; hut before these proceedings
were brought to a close she dismissed Mr. Vane, and was in-
duced to employ the solicitors who were first engaged on her
behalf by her brother. Mr. Vane's bill was incurred
in these proceedings. His Lordship observed Mrs. Sprigg's
case was a very unfortunate one ; she had been led
into an expense which turned out to be entirely use-
less, and was led into it probably by the competition
of two solicitors, who, after all that had passed, would have
done well to have united their endeavours to save her harm-
less. However, it was clear that she had retained Mr. Vane,
and by two affidavits had insisted upon his being her solicitor ;
and when he had thus acted under here authority, the question
was, whether there ought to be any special direction or qualifi-
cation in the order for taxation. His Lordship thought there
ought net, ➢lr. Vane having acted as her solicitor, was entitled
to such remuneration as the law gave him upon taxation of
his bill. His Lordship could give no opinion on the items
complained of—the Master would deal with them. He could
only make the common order; and if Mrs. Spriggs did not
think fit to ask for that, His Lordship would be under the ne-
cessity of refusing the present application with costs.

PREROGATIVE COURT—JULY 19.
M`faCEEN V. ELWYN—JUDGMENT.
Sir HERBEAT JENNER this morning delivered judgment in
this case. It was a suit to try the validity of a document dated in
September, 1837, which purported to be the last will and testa-
ment of Mr. Raynier, who died towards the latter end of that
year, and which was propounded by Mrs. Elwyn, the lady of
Dr. Elwyn, who was by it appointed residuary. legatee. It ap-
peared that Mr. Raynier had executed a will early in 1836.
leaving a legacy to Mrs. Elwyn of 9,0001.•, and leaving Mrs.
M'Queen, his niece, residuary legatee. In 1836 he had a fall
from his horse in Regent's-park, and in consequence was af-
flicted with a paralytic stroke, which gradually deprived him of the
use of his limbs, so as to reinter it necessary he should give up
housekeeping, in consequence of which he went to reside with
Dr. and Mrs. Elwyn at Boulogne, and continued to reside with
them until his death, which happened in London in 1837.
Against this document Mrs. M'Queen had entered a caveat, on
the ground that Mr. Raynier was in an imbecile state of mind,
and incapable of managing his own affairs, and that he was
under the undue influence, power, and coercion of Mrs. Elwyn
at the time he executed the document propounded as his last
will and testament.

Sir HERBERT JENNER this morning delivered judgment in
the case, and said that there was no evidence to prove that the
testator was in an idiotic state of mind at the time of his re-
moval from the Albany to Dean-street, in consequence of his
affliction ; nor at the time of his removal from Dean-street to
the house of Dr. and Mrs. Elwyn at Boulogne; neither did it
appear that Mrs. Elwyn had at all induced him to remove ; on
the contrary, various friends had, in consequence of h:s bodily
infirmities, recommended him to give up housekeeping. Such
being the case, and his only relations being Mrs. Raynier, his
sister-in-law, and her daughter, Mrs. 11I'Queen, who was mar-
ried to a Captain in the Army, and neither of whom were in a
situation to afford him the requisite accommodation, it was not
to be wo-dcred at that he should domicile himself with Dr.
Elwyn, who had been his school-fellow and college companion,
and who had bi en his most intimate friend through life.
It was true there was the evidence of servants and nurses who
stated that they thought during the time he resided with Dr. and
Nlrs. Elwyn he was ;n an imbecile state of mind, but the facts they
adduced in support of their opinions, merely went to show that
he was in a state of bodily helplessness, and they all related
circumstances which completely disproved that he was in such
a state of mental prostration as to be incompetent to manage
his own affairs ; on the contrary, they all showed that he had
manifested a regard fur his property, and that they had con-
sulted him on questions relating to that property, on which he
had come to a decision which had always been abided by. In
contradiction to this evidence, there had been a mass of testi-
mony adduced, of gentlemen who had been in the habit
of mixing with him in social intercourse, up to the
time of his death, who all proved that he wag in
full possession of his mental powers subsequent to
to the period of the execution of the will of 1837. On both
sides it was agreed that Mrs. Elwyn had paid him most unremit-
ting attention, and that he f-lt grateful to her for her kindness.
He considered it Mrs. M'Queeti's misfortune rather than her
fault, that this alteration had been made in the will, because
had she been enabled to pay Mr. Ilitynier those attentions which
Mrs. Elwyn had paid him, no doubt. she would have occupied
the position which Mrs. Elwyn now occupied. 'faking all the
circumstances into consideration, he did not think that the
deceased, at the time of executing the document propounded
by Mrs. Elwyn, was in art imbecile state of mind, or incapable
nt vssftrasgiug, his own elm's, neither did it appear to the Court
that she had exercised any undue or improper influence over
hilt, in order to induce him to execute the document in ques-
tion, and therefore the Court could come to no other conclu-
sion than that the document propounded by Mrs. Elwyn em-
bodied the real intentions of the testator, and the Court there-
fore decreed that Mrs. Elwyn was entitled to the probate.

WESTMINSTER ADJOURNED

SESSIONS.

These Sessions took place yesterday, before Mr. Walesby,
Chairman, and a full bench of Magistrates.
In the report of the Visiting Justices of the New Bridewell,
it. was stated that the number of prisoners in confinement, is
355 ; namely, 227 ma!es and 128 females, besides 7 children.
Among the male prisoners is the individual who insulted the
Queen on Wednesday. His name is Charles Willet, and
Lieutenant Tracey, the Governor of the prison, informed the
reporter that Willet, upon his first admission, showed some
conscquential airs, but since then the imprisonment has made
him quite rational. The Governor expressed his opinion that
Willet is perfectly save.