The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-15 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 15, 1853.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

EQUITY COURTS.--JAN. 14.
(Before the Lord Chancellor.)
RE CATHARINE CUMHING.—IN LUNACY.
• In this case, which on former occasions, excited so
' much attention,
The Solicitor-General (with whom was Mr. Southgate)
stated, in consequence of a suggestion from the court, an
arrangement had been made between the different par-
ties, of which the following were the terms, viz., that a
petition be presented, praying for an' order for a super-
sedeas of the commission, and also that a petition
should be presented on behalf of Mrs. Cumming, pray-
ing that Messrs. Robinson and Haynes' costs should be
taxed ; that the next of kin having agreed to the
supersedeas, Messrs. Robinson and Haynes should un-
dertake to furnish Mrs. Cumming's solicitor with full
accounts ; that there should be a reference to the
Master, to inquire what property Mrs. Cumming was
possessed of in August, 1846, the time when the
lunacy was alleged to have begun ; that a medical at-
tendant should be named by Mrs. Cumming to attend
her, who should be subject to inquiries 'from the next
of kin ; that the costs of the commission should be ascer-
tained and taxed as between solicitor •and client ; that
the,cdsts as certified should be secured by a mortgage on
Mrs. Cumming's property, but which was not.to come
into operation until after her death ; that Mrs. Cum-
ming's income should be secured at 4001. a year, exclu-
sive of a residence ; that all mortgages, debts, and liabi-
lities of Mrs: Cumming should be forthwith paid ; and,
lastly, that at Mrs. Cumming's death her property should
go in equal shares to Mrs. Hincks and Mrs. Cooper, 'her
daughters, and the next of kin, 'and failing them; or either
of them, to their children.
Subject to this arrangement two petitions had been
presented folk carrying it into effect, another petition had
been presented which would have 'the effect of nullifying
the arrangement altogether, and unless it was withdrawn;
all that had been done would be ineffectual, and all that
could now be asked would be an extension of the time
for trying the traverse which had been directed.
The Court was urged to sanction the arrangement.
Mr. Follett and Mr. Morris, for the next of kin, did
not oppose it.
The Lord Chancellor said that a supersedeas could
only be granted when a lunatic was proved to be no
longer of unsound mind, and when that was the case the
party could make any arrangement for himself. The
present was in truth a suggestion that the lunatic was
not an object of a supersedeas, but that' if the Court
would supersede the commission, something would be
done by way of boon, which would be of equal force for
her protection as a commission. That was entirely out
of the ordinary course, and he must refuse the petition.
Mrs. Cumming being in attendance, his lordship pro-
ceeded to have an interview with her in his private room.
On his return,
The Lord Chancellor said that he would do nothing in
the case but extend the time for trying the traverse.
There appeared to be no 'change in Mrs. Cumming's
condition, and the traverse must be tried. She was
most anxious that it should be tried as soon as possible.
It was then arranged that the time for trying the tra-
verse should be extended to six months, with leave to the
Attorney-General to apply to fix the time in a fortnight.