The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-07 00:00:00

THE ' Ii,SUN;\ LOADOM MONLMY EVENING, APRITA 1,

E. Perry send a very fine exhibition of japanned

goods of every description. The south end of the
east transept is already entirely occupied by the
trophies of the great manufacturers belonging to the
two classes we have mentioned—namely, iron and

tors,

Than some of these trophies, there will be

nothing more beautiful in the buildirg, and !ler-
' thinly nothing which of their kind will show more
prominently the superiority we enjoy over other
nations in our iron manufactures, It is not too
much to say that the best works that Quentin
Matsys ever produced will, at the least, find their
equals here. Among the finest of them all is the
rood screen for Hereford Cathedral, manufactured
by the Skidmore Art Company of Coventry from a
design by Mr. Scott. This noble work, both in its
form and general effect, and, above all, in the exqui-
site elaboratiod with which every scroll and even
the minutest-leaf among the clusters of flowers that
fill the basement panels are finished off, is left with-
out a rival in the building. On the opposite end of
the transept to this are the trophies of the Cole-
brook Dale Company, which consist of an heroic
statue of Cromwell, 14 feet high, and some most
elaborate metal vases and fountains. They also show
a noble pair of bronzed iron gates, the chief beauties
in which are now hidden under wrappers to protect
them from injury. In our judgment, however, the
design of these latter is scarcely equal to that of the
beautiful wrought iron park gates which are being
erected as a principal nave trophy by Messrs. Bar-
nard and Bishop. These latter, as ornamental gates,
will, we think, be adjudged to be the best in the
Exhibition. Also in this transept is Warner's trophy
of a peal of eight bells, which, though not very hand-
some, will be interesting as illustrating a new inven-
tion by means of which one man will be able to ring
a whole chime. Mr. Bessemer, whose process for
making steel is now fast taking root throughout this
country and the Continent, has also a very beautiful
trophy Court in this transept. It consists of a raised
floor approached by wide steps, and surrounded by a
very handsome carved screen in polished mahogany,
the outer edge of which is surmounted by a fretwork
of bronze and rail of burnished steel. This screen is
double, and its upper side forms a counter, while in
the centre is a very fine glass and mahogany case,the
woodword of which is beautifully carved in bold
relief. In this case, secure from rust and damp,
will be shown some of the most important of the
various applications now made of what is called the
Bessemer steel. There will be a crank shaft of a5O
horse engine in one piece, with piston rods for en-
gines of from 50 to 250 horse power, the powerful
screw of a fly press used in the Mint, with a circu-
lar saw made from one disc of steel over 7ft. in dia-
meter, with teeth of 10in: in length. There is,
however, a larger saw than this shown in another
part of the building, made from steel by the old
process, and either of them, turning at the rate of
500 revolutions a minute, would cut through the
thickest timber as fast as a man could walk. With
these massive examples will be shown smaller ones,
such as plates used in boilers, ships, and bridges,
rising in regular gradations from 1-50th of an inch
to nearly 42 inches thick. Specimens of steel wire
will also be shown, from a thickness too great for a
strong man to bend, :down to the 250th part of an
inch in diameter. Among the applications of steel
wire will be exhibited several specimens of cotton
cardi, used in the best carding engines, with steel
in round, flat, and square bars of every size. Two
important examples of steel ordnance will also ne
shown—one illustrating a mode of mounting guns
without trunnions, the elevation being effected by a
screw, and the axles of the wheels admitting of ad-
justment ; the other a 24 pounder, with trunnions
forged on it out of one solid ingot of steel. Mr. Bes-
semer also shows samples of railway bars made of his
steel, some few hundred tons of which have already
been laid on various lines for trial. He claims
for these metals that they will last between four
and five times as long as ordinary rails, and that
they are not liable to snap in frosty weather, in
proof of which is shown a bar bent double during a
hard frost by an eminent railway engineer. If those
allegations can only be supported, Mr. Bessemer
need not much trouble himself about other applica-
tions of his process, inasmuch as our great railway
companies use about 15,000 tons of rails a year, the
average life of a rail on a main line being only 10
years, and at important stations as low sometimes as
four months. Messrs. Naylor and Vickars also show
in this transept a fine trophy of large castings in
steel, and a peal of beautifully sounding steel bells.
There is a fine metropolitan trophy of class 31, the
chief contributors to which are Bailey and Sons, and
Fulham and Co., who will send some specimens of
renaissance metalwork, while to the same trophy
Hart and Sons and Benham and Sons will contri-
bute equally beautiful examples of medim sal work
in iron and brass. Hardman and Co. are to have a
bay on the eastern side, which they are fitting up
most beautifully as a distinct Court. It is to con-
tain examples of the ecclesiastical, domestic, and
decorative arts of the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th cen-
turies, comprising sculpture in English alabaster
and stone, jewelry in enamels and niello, chalices,
ciboria, flagons, &c., in gold and silver, with monu-
mental brasses and memorial tablets, inlaid with
coloured cements. Class 36 is set apart for the dis-
play of dressing-cases, despatch-boxes, portman-
teaus, &c. This class will furnish a most beautiful
trophy for the nave, to which Messrs, Asprey,
Leuchars, Mechi, and West all contribute their
chef: d'auvres in the way of dressing-cases.

GENERAL SCREW STEAM SHIPPING
COMPANY.

An extraordinary meeting of shareholders in
this dissolved company was held on Friday, at the
London Tavern, for tho purpose of finally wind-
ing up and settling the accounts and affairs of
the concern. Mr. Raikes Currie presided, and
after some preliminary remarks, expressed his
belief that although they had waited a long time
for the final accounts of the liquidators, they
would, upon the whole, ba considered satisfac-
tory. The assets of the company in Indian Bonds,
interest due thereon, and cash in the banker's hands,
amounted to £41,061 18s. 11d.; against which
there were liabilities, ascertained and contingent,
amounting to £1,332 9s. 10d. ; leaving £39,728
19s. ld. This, if divided up close, would give
16s. 10d. per share on the total number of 47,118
shares. (Hear, hear.) But as it would scarcely be
prudent in winding up such a large concern to di-
vide every farthing, making no provision for pos.
sible errors, it was proposed to return 16s. 6d. a
share as a final payment, leaving the small balance
in the hands of the committee as a guarantee against
any claims that might have been overlooked. This
he hoped would be approved. (Hear, hear.) That
being the case, perhaps some shareholder would
move a resolution to the effect that the shareholders
expressed satisfaction with the statement of account,
and the proposed distribution, and resolved that a
final return of 16s. 6d, per share be made, the share-,
holders releasing the directors and liquidators from
all further claims.

Sir D. CROSSLEY, after thanking the winding-up
committee for the care they had taken to realise
the assets to the best advantage, and congratulating
them upon the success of their labours, moved the
resolution as suggested ; and Captain HALSTEAD
having, in seconding it, declared the result was far
more satisfactory than he had expected, it was car-
ried unanimously.

In reply to a question, the CHAIRMAN stated that
the committee guaranteed the shareholders against
being called upon for any lability on account of
claims which might possibly arise hereafter ; and
Mr. PEACHEY road the fo;mal document the share-
holders would have to sign on receiving their
money, showing that the release was mutual, and
and that no after claim could be made by either the
s
t! reholders against the liquidators, or by the
liquidators against the shareholders.

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Iif.ETROPOLHAN / ,:z7:II3TER,-
BANEAN .17AIL TA .

On Saturday afternoon, a eniaber oC. the three-
__a shareholders, and others, interested in this
important line of metropolitan communication, paid
a long visit of inspection to the works as far as they
have yet been completed, from Victoria-street sta-
tion, Clerkenwell, to the Great Western Railway.
A short time since a detailed notice of this very
curious undertaking, and of some of the, great con-
structive difficulties which Mr. Fowler, the engi-
neer of the line, bad to overcome, appeared in our
columns. At that time, however, the line proper
was only completed to King's-cross, for, though the
greater portion of the tunnelling was finished to
the beginning of the New-road, no rails were laid,
and the passage itself was almost filled with ballast.
Since then the works have been pushed on with the
utmost activity, and the line now brought beneath
Coppice-row to where its main station is to be
erected on the dirty piece of waste ground on the
east side of Victoria-street. Now, therefore, we
shortly hope to see at least one side of this disrepu-
table-looking thoroughfare, which has been an eye-
sore and almost a disgrace to our metropolis,
occupied en permanence by the warehouses and
builLngs of a handsome railway station, when, in
the natural course of things, it will not be long be-
fore the ground on the opposite side of the road
will be covered with shops and places of business,
and the hideous ruins of Field-lane and Saffron-hill
concealed from the public gaze. Thus, in every way
the public will be gainers by the completion of this
project. The Victoria-street station being intended
as a main terminus for the Great Western, Great
Northern, London, Chatham, and Dover, and Metro-
politan traffic, is to be one of great size and extent,
the whole of the eastern side being devoted to a
goods station and warehouses. Ultimately the sub-
terranean line will be continued from this place in
an easterly direction, passing under the ground
north of Smithfield by Charterhouse-square, and so
on beneath the Barbican to Finsbury-circus, where
its final London terminus will be erected. Its total
length will then be about four Miles and a half, of
which little more than three miles is through tun-
nels and the rest through open cuttings. The works
for the great station in Victoria-street are going on
very fast, and there being now through communi-
cation into the Great Northern Railway, the earth
is taken away as fast as excavated. The founda-
tions, retaining walls, bridges, sewers, and drains
are advancing, and the temporary offices, which are
to be of timber, are already in frame at the work-
shops, and can be put together in a few days after
the site is ready to receive them. The visit on Sa-
turday was chiefly made to inspect the new stations
on the line, and the accommodation they will afford
with regard to light, space, &c., for the traffic. The
first length of tunnel passed through was that lead-
ing from Victoria-street to Frederick-street, a dis-
tance of some 700 yards. The party were conveyed
through this in trucks, on which candles were stuck,
with a few candles along the walls of the tunnel,
just enough to "make darkness visible." From
Frederick-street the line is continued along an open
cutting to King's-cross, the various roads leading
to Pentonville and Bagnigge-wells being carried
over it on handsome bridges. The station at
King's-cross is one of the principal halting
places on the line, where it effects a junction with
the Great Northern Railway ; this station is about
20ft. below the surface of the ground. The side re-
taining walls are constructed as for piers and arches
spanning a width ofnearly 90ft., and sustained upon
powerful open-work girders is the station building
itself with its booking-offices, waiting-rooms, &c.;
duplicate stairs, one for arrivals and one for depar-
tures, communicating with the rails beneath. The
whole is to be covered with an elliptical wrought
iron roof, let in with glass sufficiently to light the
entire substructure. Another chief station is near
Gower-street, in the New-road, which is constructed
in a different manner. The platforms here are under
the footpaths of the roadway above, and the whole
station is comprised in a huge arch of 45ft. span.
The sides of this arch at its springing are perforated
with circular openings, extending outwards and up-
wards through the thickness of the brickwork, till
they they emerge in the fore courts or front gardens
of the houses on each side of the road, where they are
glazed in. The sides of these openings are lined with
glazed tiles, so that both direct and reflected rays
are thrown upon the opposite platforms, and com-
pletely illuminate the station with a clear and strong
though not a glaring light. Ingress and egress to
the stations are obtained through the booking-offices
on the north and south sides of the Euston-road, in
gardens purchased for the purpose, and thence by
exit and entrance stairs to the platform below. The
Portland-road station is complete, and the rails for
the mixed gauge laid. There will only be one book-
ing-office here, and the station beneath will be lit
from glass doors and openings in the crown of the
arch. The station at the Edgware-road is smaller,
but very similar to that at King's-cross. The brick-
work_ is faced with Ransom's patent stone of which all
the ornamental work of all the bridges is formed.
Throughout the whole journey on Saturday the air
in all the tunnels was perfectly sweet and good, free
even from the peculiar damp and coldness almost
always to be met with in underground works of
every kind. When locomotives were used in draw-
ing the trucks they were those of Mr. Fowler's
patent, which have been specially designed for use
on this line. These engines condense their own
steam and consume their own smoke, so that no
matter how long in the tunnel neither gas or vapour
is perceptible. Of course, without some invention
of this kind subterranean railway travelling would
not only be too disagreeable, but even too painful
and injurious for anybody to endure. With Mr.
Fowler's engine, however, all these threatened in-
conveniences are totally obviated. As a practical
illustration of its advantages, the party wore drawn
on Saturday from the King's-cross station to the
Great Northern line by an ordinary locomotive, and
the gas and vapour in the narrow tunnel were all
but suffocating. The surface of the rails on the line
is all of steel, and the points and crossings of Besse-
mer steel, which is now coming into use for this
and other purposes. The line is laid for the mixed
or double gauge throughout, and it is intended to
open the first part from Victoria-street to the Great
Western by the beginning or middle of next June.
The !carriages will be roomy, well ventilated, and
handsomely fitted, and each one well lighted with
portable gas. Whatever the financial results of the
scheme may be, the line will prove of the greatest
convenience to the public, and will do very much to
relieve the present overcrowded traffic of our great
thoroughfares to the city.

EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE.

PORTSMOUTH, APRIL 6.

An inquest has been held at the Canteen, Crook-
horn, on the body of George Stevens, a blacksmith,
employed on the fortifications now being con-
structed on Portsdown-hill. It appeared that
some three or four navvies were returning from
Bedhampton late at night, when one of the party
was missed. The others went back as far as what
is termed " Capon's Cutting," close to the Old Sema-
phore, and called out the missing man's name, and
were answered by him from the bottom of the ex-
cavation. On going down they not only found their
companion, who was uninjured, but the dead body
of Stevens. Mr. Stedman, surgeon, of Havant, was
sent for, and on arriving at the cutting at 3 a.m.,
he found the poor fellow had been dead for some
hours, and had him removed to his surgery at
' Crookhorn. Having made a post mortem exami-
nation of the body, Mr. Stedman gave evidence
that he found very extensive extravasation of blood
under the scalp, and a fracture commencing above
the left temple, and extending downwards through
the temporal bone and along the base of the skull.
He was of opinion that this severe fracture was
caused by a fall from a height, and that no blow
could have produced an injury of so extensive a
nature. There was no external mark of violence
whatever on any part of the head or body. It was
certainly a most remarkable coincidence that two
men should have fallen down the same cutting, on
the same night, and that one should be killed and
the other perfectly uninjured, and without a mark
of chalk on the clothes of either ; but as no evidence
was produced which would tend to implicate any
other person, a verdict of "Accidental death" was
returned. The poor man had, it appears, some 235.
or 245. when he left work, but not a farthing was
t found on him after death.

WRECZ. OF TILE MARS STEADIER.

112,15t0.L.--Tho following account of ohs loss of
his ill-fated vessel has bcen obtained from jame-s

Case, one of the two seamen who were saved, and,

although it does not account for the precise cir-
cumstance to which the wreck is to be ascribed, it

gives the best history of the !natter that is likely to

be obtained.

Cam states that the Mars left

Waterford at very near to her advertised time,
ten o'clock on Tuesday morning. After they

had been at aea some time the weather thickened,

and although the wind was not very hth a
great deal of fsca got up. As night drew on the
thickness increased and it became very dark, and

for many hours they did not see a thing. Case de-

scribes Captain Blin man as having been remarkably
attentive to the working of the ship, and seemingly

anxious. and it was remarked that he did not go
below for more than five or ten minutes during the

whole of the afternoon and evening. He also caused
the patent log to be kept out, by means of which
the ship's progress is self registered, and so things

went en till approaching 8 o'clock in the evening,
at which time the ship must have been nearing the
Welsh coast—unfortunately nearing it more rapidly

:han any one on board could have been aware.

Somewhere about that time Massey's log wastaken
in, for it was seen hanging on the rail of the quarter
deck. At 8 o'clock the watch was changed, and it
became the turn of Case, Joseph Cross, the other
seaman who was saved, and some of the poor fellows
who were drowned, to go for what sailors call their
" watch below." At about 10 or 15 minutes after
8 o'clock the vessel received a tremendous shock,
and it at once became evident that she had struck
on a rock. The vessel at the time when she struck
was going, Case supposes, about 9 or 10 miles an
hour. The captain was heard to call out " Hard
a-port !" and in a few moments after, "Reverse !"
and it is believed the engines were then reversed.
As may be supposed, all at once became confusion.
The sea broke over the sides of the ship and poured
down the hatchway into the engine-room, and it
soon became evident she must become a wreck.
Case believes that the boats were then hurriedly re-
sorted to. He and Cross, with assistance, got a very
small boat and succeeded in getting her afloat, and
into that he, his messmate, two of the firemen,
brothers named Sutton, a youth who was about to
emigrate to Australia, and a drover named Kane,
got. Another drover was approaching to get into
her, but was too late. The Mars went down, as
near as the survivors can
guess, in about five or six
minutes after striking. Just before her being en-
gulphed Cross saw a woman, who he is certain was
the stewardess, Mrs. Way, standing on the paddle
box, wringing her hands. After the boat
was floating and being tossed about by the heavy
ground swell Case and his companion heard the cap-
tain and others shouting to them as if to urge them
to keep near, but whether they were clinging to the
wreck, to some floating fragments, or had succeeded
in getting into the lifeboat they were unable to say.
But although Providence had so far favoured their
efforts as to enable them to got into the boat and
get clear of the wreck and the rock, the dangers
and difficulties of the unhappy men were by no
means at an end. They were without light, food,
or rudder, and the seamen had very little clothing
on. The boat in which they were was tossed vio-
lently about, while the risk of capsising was every
moment increased by the drowning cattle, some of
which swam about, occasionally thrusting their
heads over the boat, and threatening it and its
occupants with instant destruction. It was besides
dark and very thick, and the greatest difficulty was
experienced, by means of a couple of oars, in keep-
ing the boat's head to the sea, so as to prevent her
being swamped. Luckily, Case was a very good
seaman, and he hit on a plan for keeping something
like steering way on the boat by lashing an oar
through the rudder-hole. In this way the occu-
pants of the boat passed the long hours of the
night, tossing about at the mercy of the elements,
not knowing where they were, and praying rather
than looking for a deliverance. They suffered
greatly from exposure to cold and wet, and after a
time Case and Cross's hands became so benumbed
that they could hardly grasp the oars, in their
power to use which alone their chance of reaching
the coast lay. Break of day enabled them to see
where they were, and they made desperate efforts to
get their boat to the coast. This at length they
happily succeeded in doing, and landed ultimately
at St. Gowan's Head greatly exhausted, but with
hearts overflowing with gratitude at having been
spared. Once on the coast they received assistance
from the Coastguardsmen and others. They went
to Milford, where information of the wreck was
given by them. Since then they have been sent
on to 'Waterford, and it was in that city that Case
gave the narrative from which this is prepared to
his aged father, through whom it has reached us.
The following is a statements of the passengers on
board, as far as we have been able to ascertain,
none of whom have escaped from the wreck :
Cabin passengers—Dr. Blist, of Portlaw, on his
way to Bristol ; Captain Russell, with his wife,
child, and servant, who were coming to this city
previous to their departure for India ; Miss Coombes,
residence unknown. Deck passengers—There were
15 persons entered as passengers on deck, of whom
the following were known to be present, and who
were all pigdealers coming to this city :—Messrs.
Cooper, Belcher, illshire, Keswick, Brien, and
Molloy. These are described as residing at Water-
ford, and most of them have left families to deplore
their loss_

18

/Z E "EEL LIGE C

ClitaLTIT,--KINGSTON, April 5.
(I-?cfcro Mr, J'aFtice AT:.gb.tman and a Common

BELSEN V. 13ELSEN AND ANOTHER—TM. llEllt-AT-
LAW—CISPTOTTS WILL CASE,
This INTu an aetiel of ejectment brt"ight by Jas.
Belsen, egainet Caroline Belson, and Soen Belsen,
h's uncle and aunt, to recover poseession of a house
and land at Frauley, in this county,
Me. Hawkins, Q.U., and Mr. Garth for the
plaintiff; and Sergeant Slice and Mr. Pearce for
the defendants.
It appeared that the property in question for-
merly belonged to James Belson, the grandfather of
the present plaintiff. This James Belsen had seve-
ral children, among whom were the defendants,
and there was an elder brother James, who was the
father of the plaintiff, who, being dead, the plain-
tiff now claimed the property as his heir-at-law,
alleging that his grandfather had died intestate.
The old man, it appeared, died in 1845, and the de-
fendants had been in possession of the estate ever
since, the title upon which they claimed never hav-
ing been brought forward, and it was not until the
present action was brought that they set up a
title under a will which they alleged to have
been made by the grandfather on the 17th
of July, 1844. It was not disputed that,
but for this will, the plaintiff was entitled to
the estate as heir-at-law to his father, the eldest
son of the deceased ; and the question now to be
decided was whether the will in question was a
genuine instrument or not. •
At the request of Mr. Hawkins, the witnesses
were ordered out of court and examined separately.
Sergeant Shee, in his address to the jury for the
defendant, said he should not attempt to dispute
that the plaintiff in the action was the rightful
owner of the property, supposing that his grand-
father had not made a will, but he believed he should
be able to satisfy them that the old man did, in
point of fact, make a will shortly before his death,
and that the will contained exactly such a disposi-
tion of the property as would have been expected,
according to the circumstances of the family. He
should show that the paper upon which the will was
written bore the water mark and date of 1842, and
that it was actually written upon one of the sheets
of a brief for counsel, having reference to an action
at law that was pending about that time, and in
which the family wore interested ; and he should
also produce two most respectable witnesses who
were present when the will was executed, whose
evidence, he believed, would leave no doubt as to its
genuineness. The learned sergeant then read the
will in question, of which the following is a copy :
" I, James Belsen, of Frimley, in the county of
Surrey, revoke all former wills and testamentary
dispositions by me at any time heretofore made, and
declare this to be my last will and testament. I
give and bequeath all my property whatsoever of
which I am now, or at any time hereafter may be
possessed of, unto my daughter, Caroline Belsen,
requesting her to give all orders for my funeral,
and to bury me respectfully, and to pay all funeral
expenses ; and after my death I desire Caroline Bel-
sen to take care of my afflicted son, Edward Belsen,
as long as he do live, and I desire Caroline Belsen
to keep this, my will, secret as long as Edward Bel-
sen do live, and for 12 months after, unless great
disturbance should arise amongst the family; under
these circumstances the will may be brought forth to
protect Caroline Belsen. I desire Caroline Belsen
to reside in the house as long as Edward Belsen do
live, and after he dies to bury him in my grave, and
to bury him respectfully' as myself, and after the
expiration of one year after the death of Edward
Belsen, Caroline Belsen to do as she pleases with
the house and land, being her own property—the
house, and garden enclosed, oneacre and a quarter,
11 acres of common land allotment, with the house
on the opposite side. Should the said Caroline
Belsen die before Edward Belsen, then I desire that
the same property shall be for Maria Augusta Bel-
sen, the illegitimate daughter of Caroline Belsen,
leaving Charles Miles, Bank Farm, Kingston, in
the county of Surrey, and Henry Mumford, of
Frimley, in the same county, upon trust, that Maria
Belsen take every care of Edwara Belsen, so long
as he do live, and to bury him as before said. In
witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this
seventeenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
one thousand eight hundred and forty four:
".JAMES BELSEN t his mark.
" Signed in the presence of us, who were each pre-
sent at the same time, is and for the last will and
testament of James Belsen.
(Signed) "HENRY MIIMFORD, Grocer, Frimley.
"AMELIA GuRNEY,Grove-lane, South-
wark, London."
The learned counsel then said he should call the
witnesses who were present when this will was exe-
cuted by the deceased, and when the jury had heard
the evidence they would give upon the subject, he
believed they would not entertain any doubt that
the will was a genuine one, and that the defen-
dants were entitled to hold possession under it of
the property, of which the plaintiff, by the present
action, sought to deprive them.
Henry Mumford was then examined—He de-
posed that he formerly lived at Frimley, and carried
on the business of a grocer, and knew the grand-
father of the plaintiff, old James Belsen, for thirty
years, and frequently used to go to his house and visit
him. Witness signed the will that been produced,
and saw the deceased put his mark to it, on the
17th of July, 1844. A Mrs. Gurney came in and
witnessed the will afterwards.
Witness read the
will to the deceased, and he said it would do very
well, and he then put his mark to it and said " I
declare this as my act and deed." The deceased
had a son named Edward, who was afflicted with
fits, and after the death of old Belsen, Caroline
Belsen lived in the house and took care of him and
the other children.
Cross-examined—He never saw the will again, or
was asked any questions about it from 1644 to 1862,
and he was not aware who made it, He went into
the house quite by accident on this occasion, and
found the will already prepared, and the deceased
asked him to be a witness to it. The deceased
could not read, and he read the will to him. No
one but witness was present when the old man put
his mark to it, and Mrs. Gurney did not come in
until after he had done so.
Amelia Gurney said in July, 1844, she was
acquainted with old Mr. Belsen, and she went to
his cottage by chance on the day he made his will.
She heard Mr. Mumford read the will over to the
deceased, and he said it would do, and he then
asked them both to sign it, and they did so, and the
deceased then put his mark to the will, and said,
"This is my lest will and testamert." To the best
of her recollection, she and Mr. Mumford were both
in the room when the deceased put his mark to the
will.
Cross-examined—Witness would not swear posi-
tively they were both present when the deceased
signed the will, or put his mark to it.
Caroline Belsen, one of the defendants, deposed
that she was fifty years old, and she had resided
the whole of her life in the house in question. Her
mother died in 1825, esid ever since that time she
had taken her place and had had the charge of
her brothers and sisters. Her father died in
1845. He was very anxious that his son Edward,
who suffered from fits, and was otherwise afflicted,
should be provided for, and he talked of selling
his property and investing it for his benefit. She
knew nothing about the will until about a
month after her father's death, when she found
it among his papers and showed it to Mr. Mum-
ford, seeing that his name was upon it, and he said
it was all right. She continued to provide for the
family as directed by the will, and her brother Ed-
ward died in 1851, and she supported him until his
death. Upon one occasion the present plaintiff came
to the house and told her that she must pay rent,
and she inquired who she was to pay rent to, and
he said that he would show her. He never com-
menced any legal proceedings, however, against her
until the present action.
Cross-examined--She was of course very well
pleased to find the will ; but she
.never said a word
aboutits being in existence to James, the plaintiff,
or her brother John, who lived with her, or any one
else.. She remembered that in 1851 the lord of the
manor set up a claim to the property on the ground
that it was copyhold and belonged to the manor,
add she consulted her attorney and showed him the
will. He took the necessary steps, and the action,
she believed, was abandoned by the lord of the
manor. She believed the action was defended in the
m.me of the plaintiff James ; but it was by her au-
thority, and bile paid the bill of costs. She told Mr.
Binns there was a will in existence at the time of
the action, but requested him not to tell the plain-
tiff anything about the will or show it to him. She
thought it was quite time enough to produce the
will when anybody troubled her in the possession
of the property. A letter that was produced was in
her bandwritin 0., and she remembered saying in it
that she had heard some one say that James was the
rightful owner of the property, and that if he was
in his place he would clear the house of the-- lot
and " muck" them all out, as they had no right there;
but notwithstanding this she never showed the will
to any one, or produced it until the present action
was brought.
Re-examined—Witness considered that by not
bringing the will forward until legal proceedings
were actually commenced against her she was acting
in accordance with the injunctions of her father
that were contained it.
Mr. Binns, the defendant's attorney, was then ex-
amined, and proved that to .the best of his belief
Caroline Belsen showed him the will in 1851, but he
could not swear positively to the fact; and he said
that he defended the action that was commenced by
the lord of the manor at her request, and 147 her