The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-26 00:00:00

HAMPSTEAD HEATH AGAIN.

This evening a sixth application will be made to the
House of Peers by Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson for a
decision which will, virtually, enable him to block out
the public from the use of Hampstead-heath. There can
be little fear as to the result, but still it is desirable, just
at the moment the matter is about to be taken in hand,
that the public should be reminded of the exact facts of
the case. Sir Thomas Wilson is tenant for life, under
his father's will, of an estate which comprises the greater
portion of Hampstead-heath. Annexed to this will
were certain codicils. By the codicils were granted
leasing powers over certain sections of the property in
question, but none over the Hampstead estate. The
point has been raised whether this silence was inten-
tional or accidental. The necessity of proof naturally
lies upon those who would set aside the fair inference
arising upon such arrangements made in a solemn and well-
digested deed—namely, that the testator's real intention
wa., that his legatee should enjoy the property in the
manner pointed out in the will, and not otherwise. The
matter has been referred to the judges for their opinion
under an order of reference from the House of Lords.
By a return to this order dated the 29th of May of the
present year, and bearing the signatures of Chief Baron
Pollock and Mr. Justice Williams, we find that their
opinion is adverse to the present pretensions of Sir
Thomas Wilson. "It may well be," they say, "that the
testator abstained from extending the laming power to
the lands in question for reasons which would have ope-
rated in his mind with equal force, even if the lands had
been as valuable for building purposes at the date of his
will as they are now." They conclude to the effect
that, even if the petitioner should succeed in establish-
ing the allegations of his preamble, there is no tale
for the interference of Parliament. In the same way,
when ten years ago a bill was introduced into Par-
liament at the instance of Sir Thomas Wilson, which
would have enabled him, not to lease, but to sell the
property in question, Mr. Baron Parke and Mr. Justice
Cresswell gave it as their opinion that, if it should
appear that the testator, by giving to his son the power
of granting long leases on certain portions of the estate,
intended that he should not have similar powers over
the remainder, then by the bill such intention would be
evaded. The intention of the testator, as a question of
common sense as well as in point law, would seem to be
obvious enough from his manner of dealing with his pro!
perty. In addition to these considerations, it is said to
be notorious that an4understanding, to which he was a
party, existed that he would not authorise any building
speculation at Hampstead. It would appear, then, that
the present tenant for life enjoys his Hampstead property
in the way in which his father intended that he should
enjoy it, and there can be no reason why the public ad-
vantage should be sacrificed in order that the present
Sir T. Wilson may be made a richer man than his father
ever intended he should be.
The story of Sir T. Wilson's repeated attempts to
evade the language and intentions of his father s will
and the established rule of construction is curious"
enough. Upon five different occasions—in 1829, 1830,
1843, and 1844, and 1853—a similar attempt has been
made and frustrated. It would perhaps be more correct to
say that Sir Thomas having hitherto been unable to ob-
tain a decision in his favour upon the whole of the
Hampstead estate, has now altered his tactics, and is
Dealing only with a part. Should he succeed, of course
this success will be drawn into a precedent, and a brick
wall round Hampstead-heath follows as an inevitable
corollary. The bill brought in last year, by a very odd
coincidence, made no mention of the codicils, but
recited only the provisions of the principal deed.
This year Sir Thomas has been compelled to rehearse
his codicils, and the effect of their reinsertion is the
answer • returned by the Chief Baron and Justice
Williams to the order of reference made by the
Peers. There is another very odd coincidence. The
hill of last year was for power to build over the whole of
the Hampstead estate. This was rejected. The bill of
this year deals with the property in a less sweeping
method. The very title is modest. Sir T. Wilson's
advisers, having found that there was something in the
name of? a Hampstead Enclosure, Hampstead Leasing,
Hampstead Building Bill, which gave offence to the
nerves of the Peers, have upon the present occasion dis-
guised their object under the title of " the Finchly-road
Bill." Who would suppose that so much mischief
lurked under so unassuming a title as this? The Finchly-
road Bill, however, is but a piratical craft. Her master
showed his real colours in 1829, when he hoisted his ,
proper ensign, and boldly applied for leave to build on
and entirely round the heath. The bill of 1829 con-
tained express provisions for so building thereon and
surrounding it. It is needless to repeat that if Sir
T. Wilson should furtively obtain a Parliamentary
sanction to build upon a portion of the estate on
which his father intended that not a brick should
be laid, he will soon resume his former pretensions
and be in a condition to enforce them. Most fortunately,
the scheme was discovered, and we give the matter this
notice in order that the Peers may fully understand that
this evening they are dealing with the very same point
which has already been raised and decided five times in
their house. , Four law lords—Lords Tenterden, Denman,
Brougham, and Campbell—have, on three former occa.
sions, given their opposition to the measure. We yen.
ture to trust that two of the number will be found to.
night in their places, to guard the interests of the public
once moil. Especial attention, too, should be given to
the manner in which Sir T. Wilson's advisers have dealt
with the codicils to his father's will. By suppressing
them last year, they obtained a favourable report from
the Chief Baron, but were very properly ordered to
amend their recitals. When the amended doomaasta
were again submitted to Sir P. Pollock's consideration,
rtnoendca%ionpcinoniojnuncmti:t
tensions of the life tenant of thne-
wstirteh Justice
glilyr.adversetoWithlleiame,p
returned
pro-
perty.
We have, in this brief recapitulation of the chief cif'.
Hampatead•heath
cumstances of this remarkable case, omitted all mention
of the petitions of the copyholders, but enough has been
said to put every person snore or less interested in the
The householders
rbouata Bill"we
decision of the Peers on their guard.
of the neighbourhood are
re
the
inththe Times.
their interests alone at
We write in the name of the public—of
stake,Prisn atrihelY"aFffeinetcehdly,
have derived healeth aener renlie a.
would never have obtained a linepf notice
nay, of the millions, who ha
afternoon spent on Hampstead-
heath.
breezy
tion from many smoke-dried Where would the worn-out, smo ene Lon-
doner,heath' afternoon of health and country air,
turn for an
if his favourite
place of resort were closed rgainst him
ihropstead-heath, with its clumps of Scotch firs, with
its delightful prospects, with its merry thousands, and
happy children, is essentially the park of a large portion
of the population of London. We have little fear, after
this notice, that it will be taken from them to-night, but
it would be most politic if some arrangement could be
made which should effectually put an end to all similar
attempts for the future.—Times.

The King of Portugal and the Duke of Oporto, at-
tended by the Viscount de Carreira, Baron de Sarmento,
Colonel Folque, Lord de Tabley, and Major-General
Wylde, went on Saturday morning to the printing-office
and establishment of the Times newspaper, and after.
wards visited St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Christ's
Hospital, the central station of the Electric Tele-
graph Company, and London-bridge. The King and
his party went down the river in a steamboat, and re-
turned up the river as far as Hungerford-bride, from
whence they proceeded to inspect the St. Martin s Baths
and Wail:louts.