The Sun.
London, England, 1806-07-08 00:00:00

LAW REPORT

COURT OF KING's BENCH, JULY 7.
THE KING V. NVII.UADI'VERNON pORANT.

When this cause was called on,'neither Counsel
nor Attorney were in attendance on ,behalf of the
Prosecution.

John Dale Romney Rouvillet, who as brought
up from Ilchester gaol by Habeas Corpus, immedi-
ately appeared on the floor of the Court, announced
himself as the 15rosecutor, and ,addressing his Lord-
ship, said, " Last night I received a letter from my
Attorney, Mr. William Hollamby, and another at
half past eight this morning, returning to me the
briefs in this aaion. My Lord, thus surprised and
obstruaed by the condud of Any Solicitor, it is not
in my'power at this moment to proceed ; and I hope,
under the circumstances, it Will be allowed that the
cause shall stand over until to-morrow."

An 4idavit was delivered in, and annexed to- the
copies of the letters.from the Attofaey. In the first
he begged leave to have nothing more to do with the
cause,,adding, that he had no obje&ion to.deliver
over the Papers to whoMsoever the Prosecutor should
appoint : the second inclosed the papers and
and said, " As you will have all your witnesses ready,
I'setid the briefs that you may proceed in the cause.','

The. affidavit also stated, that Mr. READER was
engaged as Counsel, and that Mr. JklcILL was ap-
plied to as leadhig Counsel.
Mr. READER. —" My Lord, I think my name
has been used improperly. I was offered the brief,
and seeing no Gentleman appointed to at with me
within the bar, I declined interfering. On my so
doing, the Prosecutor put it into the coach in which
I was proceeding to Guildhall, and assured me Mr.
JExyl.r. would be the Leader, It consists of 37 sheets,
and, if I am at all to interpose in the business, I atn-
certainly by no means prepared at the present time."
Lord ELLENBOROUGH (to the Prosecutor.)-.--" It
cannot be tried now. How came your'.Attorney to
abandon the cause ?"

Alr.GAtuow.—" This than (the Prosecutor) was
to be brought up by Habeas Corpus from a country
gaol ; very early in the term he was apprized that
the Cause would conic On, and yOur Lordship will
determine if he is entitled to-ally indulgence."
Lord ELLENBOROUGH.—." the Attorney has
left him in the lurch, there cannot be much incon-
venience in bringing it on, to-morrow,"

PEMBERTON V. PEMBERTON.

This was an issue dire6led from •the Court of Chan-
ters-, for 'tie purpose of establishing, 'or rendering
invalid, a Will, alledgel to be. that of 0-Wen Smith
of Condover Park, Berksliire: The question had
been twice tried before, and a verditt had been fonnd,
on both occasions, for the Plaintiff. The dry legal
iniuiry was this : het her the Win itself was cancelled
before a certain codicil). -purporting .to be of that
Will, was executed. Much of', the learning of tl*
Bar Was concerned in this cause ; Messrs: GAltow,
MIiIVES, and WALsoN, for the Plaintiff; Sir V.
iCiuss, and Ilies'srs. TOPPING and DAUNCEY for the
l)efendant, assisted by several Gentlemen fl'om the
Court of Chancery. A Mrs. Carey, alias Mrs.. Lo-
gan, a Lady of uncommon elegance'and beauty, ar-
rayed in Ml the embellishments.of Parisian taste, was
,principal Witness, she having lived with the testa-
tor, and being with him at the time of his decease.
The Will had been deposited in a closet adjoining
to.. the 'splendid library, of Condover Hall, ..and: the
codicil was in a writing-table of the. same apart-
fluent.

The Rev. F. Layton was examined as to the ta-
lents of the testator, with the view to ascertain if,
from. his gCneral knowledge, he was acOninted with
:the legal efieet of his own ads,- as the Will was in
two parts, the one of which. had been destroyed.—
The Witness said, that Mr. Owen Smith Owen was
educated at Winchester School ; that he afterwafds
went to' College; and that, in the ,earlier, part of his
life, he was much devoted
.to_ literary pursuits, and
that in lAis manners he was an accomplished and per-
fea Gentleman. Being interrogated as, to his vera-
city, he said, that he was greatly in the habit of self-
.contradialiOn, and he 3.vas sorry to say crf a deceased
friend, that .he ftequently affirmed the dire& con-
trary one day of what he had asserted the day pre-
.
ceding.
Lad ELLENBOROUGH—" I thought, Sir, you
ilk', that the testator-was an accomplished and per-
lea Gentleiran ?"

Mr. Forrester Layton—" Yes, my Lord, with this
exCeption to that chara6ter." -
Without detailing the whole of the evidence, we
;ball content durselves with the abstract of the ques-
tion, as Stated by the NOble and Learned Judge. .
Lord ELLENBOROUGH.--" This is an issue directed
from the Court of Chancery, to try if Owen Smith
Owen, by a certain writing, devised certain estates.
The Will is executed in duplicates ; the one part
remaining with the testator, the other deposited with
Mr. Fdward Pemberton, of Shrewsbury. I concur
With the law, as laid down by the Learned Counsel
for the Defendant, that when a Will is made thus in
duplicates, the alteration of the one part is higally
considered the, alteration of both; and if one part be
destroyed; then the other is to be considered as invalid
and nugatory. But when a Will is cancelled, it k
possible that its validity may be restored : it may be
shewn that a man,• intending to destroy a worthless
piece of paper, threw his owu Will. into the fire ; .it
may be proved, that after the solemn execution of
his" testament, intending to apply sand•to the signa-
ture,he cast the contents of the ink-stand over tie. in-
strument ; so that there must not only be the aU of
cancelling, but there must also be the animus.cancel-

ia'di. In this cae,:tlie.i#ll,:is aetitally cancelled ;
that is, one part, which, the construction of lawi,
as absolutely clestrOys the counterpart. as if that also
Jiad.been cancelled in the same manner; and.if this
took place after the Codicil was executed,. the etif,ro
Will is swept away., The material point, then, for
your consideration is,- at what period .the 'Wilt was
cancelled, with relation to the time when the Codicil
waS executed; for if the Will were cancelled prior to
the executionof the Codicil, the Will is again restored
by the Codicil: 'And I hereby confirm the same Will,'
are the concluding words of the Codicil; so that
the publication oftheone is a re-publication of the
other. "—[His Lordship here entered into the pfirti-
culais of the evidence, as far as_they were. applicable
to this question, applying, as he proceeded, the prin-
Ciples of common sense and natural reason to the
fads of the cased
The Jury having: retired for ten minutes, returned
with a \Tali& for "the Plaintiff. •
Lord ELLENBOII.OiTGH—" The .question left to the
consideration of the Gentlemen of the .fury is this :-
if the cancelling- of the Will • took place before the
Codicil was executed ?" _ _

The FOREMAN Of the JURY---'f My Lord, we con-
sider the cancelling of the Will to have been prior to
the COdicil."

STENNET V. EEESTON LONG, ESQ.

•-•
The Plaintiff is a Lessee of, the city-of London,
for the_ landing and shipping of the of Aliens.;
the Defendant is Treasurer of the London Dock.
Company ; and the sole question was, whether, on.
00 bags of wool, landed at the quay of the London
Dock Company,
,the Plaintiff was entitled -to the cus-
tomary charge of Alien Porters under his lease ?
The Clorter .of the City in the time of Charles I.
was -read, recogning"a. preceding Charter in the
3d year of'. Henry VIII. Among the witnesses
brought forward was a igr. Lash, aged 8,6 years,
who was almost blind, and entirely 10-st the use of
his limbs. He deposed to 'the right. of .the Alicn
Porters to the charge upOu Janding the goods
.of
Aliens, fromilatcliie Cross to Iron Gate, through a
period 0157 years. 'On an obje&ion being taken to'
the words of the declaration, it was-agreed that a'
nonsuit should be entered, subject to a case to be,
argued next Term. ,
Mr. ADAM (for the Defendant)—" With liberty,
My Lord, to turn the case into a special yerdi6t.- -
Lord ELLENBOUOUGH—" Yes, if the Court
think tit."

DIED,

On Friday the 27th ult. at
Mr. Richard'Sleigh, in the 2Ml'
On the 3oth ult. at his housi
after a few days illness, WOhip
Wick, in the County of York.
On the ist inst. in Upper ._Baker=street, Portniln-square,
_Mts.,Stuart, wife of Hugh Stuart, Is(' anddatiginer of the'
late Sir Willia►n Dalrymple, of Cranston, in the County of
Edinburgh.
en Monday the 3oth ult. at Bra A-knell, Berks, Mrs. Bur—
den, widow of the,l4:-. Captain Burdett.

Mr. Bichner's, Soho-square,
) ear.ofhis age. • -.
se in Lamb's Conduit.streeti
lm Reveley, Esq. of Newby