The Sun.
London, England, 1836-12-21 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1836.

Ama, whilst another body attempted to gain the head of,
the river above the bridge, by pushing through a wood that
came down to the water's edge. What hideous hydras or
Organs dire they saw id the wood they never told, but in a
Verii feW irffintites their whi l ?Ccii liying With as much preci-
pitation and terror as if the ' Old Gentleman' himself and
his infernal posse comitatus were at their heels. The party
back with, ;1 Itaeptv
which had dashed at the bridge were soon seen splashing
than. they had gone
6,1(1 tli4 eHOristureet befot c
twa p.m. 'he depini'ably aliOrtiV6 result Of these two
atteitipts Seemed.t6 be owing id the Want Of OffieerS to lead, as
the risen appen'red eager and reSOltit,C enough; but failed from
the absenee Of a aid. These two attempts occa-
sie?..ta the.loss of, Sev.eral then killed ,and Wotinded without
the gain of 1 Single addiiiOndl
•flick i4,iirniind: 'the three
following day 5 .‘;.ae Unprofitably passed; though the weather
bad again taken tin and wai most faVOnrable. for active
oNiatiOns, rejecting new
and vg.t.et,":l'', piaiis and projects. Some guns were taken
from his Britannic Majesty's brig the Saracen, to arm a
battery on ShOre;,iti or 6othr proposed bridge of
iicliktoons ilia, 114 OttiN; st,eing g;:,i-; 4, the
guns were taken back Again. On the 4th an officer de-
serted to the CarlistS: *At tiot till the that, after
kitapy iiTak;eliq!*: abd hirthei- piei 9f kii4ssing
at Castrejana was reverted to; and finally resolved upon ;
and the indefatigable and patient commander of the Comet
Again fettikrtti orders se tow the iteet ehassemarees,
launches, &c., to their former station under the Desierto,
whence he had brought thetii oti the 'Bth ttiti This Up and
clown the thiclit_ dance of steamers and small craft, besides
being as ineffectual with regard to the fad of Bilboa
as the same number of moves on a chess-board in the
cabin of the Comet, had the doubly bad result of dis-
heartening tied disgusting the General's own army, whilst
it inspirited and gave confidence to that of the enemy.
'That the latter, at least, was the case was proved by the
Carlists thetnselves becoming so impatient at lspartero's
delay, that they actually attacked, on the sth inst., his
troops in their encampment in the valley of Erandio, and
inflicted a severe loss upon them in killed and wounded, the
whole of the afterpart of that day being employed in bring-
ing down the wounded and passing them over to Portuga-
lette. Though the new bridge of boats opposite the De-
siert° was completed towards the evening of the 6th, the
army was not put in motion until 24 hours after, when, hav-
ing received abundant supplies of provision and ammunition
from Santander by sea, they crossed to the other side of
the river, but when there, instead of proceeding in the di-
rection of Castrejana, they, to the utter surprise of all those
not in the secret of the General, took the road back to
Portugalette, and Lieut. Le Hardy, in furtherance of some
new plan of Espartero's, set about constructing another
bridge over the Galinda, somewhat higher up than the
former one, which was within long range of some of the
Carlist guns. Since the 6th, up to the 12th, though in the
interval he had received abundant supplies of provisions and
ammunition, and had been joined by his coips de
reserve, upwards of 3,000 strong, making in all nearly
17,000 men, he still remained, for what reason Heaven and
himself alone know, perfectly inactive and stationary, be-
ing still exactly in the same position—Portugalette—that
he was on the 25th of November, and with no other re-
sult than a diminution of between 900 and 1,000 men, put
hors de combat in the abortive and futile attempts already
mentioned. His troops, as was naturally to be expected,
have not only become dispirited, but not a few of them
mutter something very like a desire to change sides, and
many of the officers cannot restrain the open expression of
their disgust and shame, when they perceive, every time
the weather will permit, the telegraph at Bilboa imploring
immediate succour. On the 9th the weather again became
wet and gusty, but on Sunday, the 11th, the sun again
shone out in a cloudless sky, but the invitation was not ac-
cepted, not the least symptom of an onward movement be-
ing perceptible, though the roar of the Carlist guns about
Bilboa has been echoing in our ears since eight o'clock
that morning until dusk."—Times.

PRIVY COUNCIL.-SATURDAY.

(Before the Judicial Committee.)
g(oirr V. SCOTT.
This was an appeal fidrn it entetide of John Nichol!,
the late Judge of the Prerng'afiVe Coda, by which he pro-
nounced for the v:ilidity of the will of Christopher Scott,
formerly of iaint, Anth•ew's/ in New Brunswick, who died
his lodgings in Tower-hill on tilt (2.l)th of July, 1533.
o
ment on Thursday, Dec. 8,
The easialfo. On tor 12.;!!
and ociiiiiad tlia# Ana two following
days, Mr. Thessiger and Dr. ilVaii:Ols'',Ttle,7tring,f3r the ap-
pellant; and, Mr. Pemberton and Dr. Nichol! foV
:iit re-
spondent. arr:eAeitthat the will in question, which was
dated on the 20th of July, i83:1'; /7":',nointed Mr. William
Scott, the respondent, a natural son of the his
sole ekccdt7.+Tiiivauoiversal legatee, its validity being op-
posed by Air. Jo .r?cdt,,t! thp brother of the de-
ceased; On i,he grdtind hi.st.,sr end of
the 3o 0t 1848'; or Elie b'effuiang, of 1829; ihi; de-
ceased became of unsound thithi! add that the c±ecu-
don of the will was clandestinely prodilfiA Aetti' he-

wat" tHO4O.F.> inc. p. of doing any testamentary aet:
On the part of eti°llgrrt it was alleged in the Court
below that the deceased, who was d '.!'!ti-To of Greenock,
but who, early in life, had settled at New Drito,tfißk.
where he edffitd ho
,thq trade of a merchant and ship-
owner, having acquired et/nOiderAl° property, had re-
turned to Scotland in 1827 or 1828, aild tiottght an estate
near Greenock, intending to reside upon it ; at £haf
residing hie brother, the appellant, who was a banker
at Greenock, and being dii thti be,t terms with him and his
family. In the autumn of 1828, th4defreagefl, determining
to go out to New Brunswick to wind up lil6 afklir, there,
executed a tell, by which he devised his real and pef6titiai
estates to and _artidnet hia brother and his nephews and
nieces, which will was delivefed iiitd Ftt own custody ; but
what had become of it did not appear. It Oft 3 further al-
leged, dri the part of the appellant, that, dufltig
residence in this country; the deceased was given to habits
of drinking to excess, and thefdliy greatly injured and en-
feebled his constitution ; and that, shortly after hi* arrival
in New Brunswick in 1828 or 1829, he became of tinwsund

mind ; that instead of winding up his affairs in New Bruns-
wick, and bringing them to a conclusion, for the purpose of

a final return to this country, he entered into many hazar-
dous speculations, and lent his money improvidently; and
without due security ; that for the purpose of carrying on
the same, he drew bills to the amount of many thousand
pounds upon Mr. Alexander Sinclair of London and his
brother Robert at Greenock, which they accepted under

the guarantee of Mr. John Scott, the appellant. That ap-
pellant, however, being at length convinced that the deceased
was out of his senses, and would ruin himself, refused any
longer to guarantee his bills ; upon which they were
refused acceptance by Messrs. Sinclair, and were re-
turned protested. It appeared that in the spring of
1831, the deceased returned to this country ; and as he

. -
continued to pursue his speculations in trade, his brother
and nephews, who had advanced him about 20,000/4 for
the purpose of settling his affairs, refused to sanction his
further proceedings ; and his affairs became so embarrassed
that in the month of July, 1831, he wits arrested and
lodged in the gaol at Bristol, where he remained until the
riots .7hich took place in that city in the month of Oc-
tober, 1831, when he was released by the rioters along with
the other prisoners, and a commission of baribruptcy was
shortly afterwards issued against him. The allegation then
went on to state that from this period the deceased had
no fixed place of abode ; but was continually travelling be-
tween Scotland, Ireland, Liverpool, Bristol, Leaden, &c.,
without any rational motive or object ; also that his pre-:
pensity to excessive drinking increased upon him, so that he
was frequently intoxicated, even in the middle of the day,
and that he also from that time constantly entertained and
expressed the most absurd and extravagant delusions re-
specting himself and his property. Pereral instances of
such delusions were then stated, and it appeafe'd that he
had conceived a violent hatred towards his brother and big.,
other reLitiong, 4,9-141h001 he attributed all his embarrass-
ments. It was further alleged that 4ti the 30th of May,
180,, the tleeeased took up his abode at the White Bear
in Basinghall-street, where he remained until the 13tli of
July, When he was 'removed by Mr, Alexander Sinclair to
some lodgings an Tower-hill, and that during the whole of
that period the deceased continued daily to grow worse,
and mare enfeebled and reduced in bodily strength, in eon-
seqtterien of *Nell Mr. Sinclair sent Mr. John Hunter, a
surgeon and apotlieezify, to prescribe for him, who was of
opinion that he would not long and ho so wrote to
Mr. John Mwtt, the appellant, who arriVt'.4 in London on
the 19th of July, and the next morning he and Mr, Bins
clair visited the dontased just before the execution of the
will in question, and again just after its eAeention, accom-
panied by Mr. Hunter, who was of opittlatt that on those
occasions the deceeased was incapable of making a
It appeared, however, that on the 22d, Mr. Sinclair himself
accompanied Mr. MiDougal, who bad prepared the for-
mer will, to the bedside of the deceased, in order to ascer-
tain whether he was desirous of giving any instructions for
the disposal of his property, or of making any alterations
in his will. After alleging the bodily and mental incapacity
of the deceased to originate a will or any other act, and that
on Sunday the 21st of July, Mr. Sinclair entreated him to
be reconciled to his brother, the appellant, to which the de•
ceased apparently assented, the allegation went on to state
that Mr. W. A. Greatorex, solicitor, London, procured
the will in question to be executed between the hams of
9 and 10 in the morning of the 20th of July, in the absence
of the landlady, and without any communication with the
medical attendant or the friends or relations of the de-
ceased; that the nurse, and a clerk of Mr, G. were the
only persons present at its execution ; that the titu46 was
enjoined to keep it a secret, which she did until the day
of the funeral ; and on the 2gd of July, Mr. Greato-
rex was in the room with Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Mac-
Dougal, whoa the state of the deceased, and bee capa-
city to make a will, was discussed in his presence, witliottt
his (deceased) being conscious thereof, or taking any part
therein ; and that on such occasion the said Mr. G. said
the deceased had made a will, but in such terms as to give
the persons clearly to understand that the will was one
made some time before, and the friends of the deceased re-
mained ignorant of the date and contents of the present
will until after the funeral.
This case was supported at great length by the Oldenee
of the several witnesses.

On the part of the respondent, Mr. William Scott, it
was alleged, in substance, that the Conduct of the deceased
in his mercantile, and other transactions, id the tittle of
his bankruptcy, was perfectly rational ; that up td tvli tithe
of his death he was a person of sound and disposing
mind, &c., and that as well before as after the exe-
cution of the will he talked rationally and sensibly
arid was fully capable of doing any net tvbateret requiring
thought, judgment, and reflection. That the decdaged had
very great regard and affection for the respondent, uhe
was born in 1807, and from his infancy treated him with
great kindness and parental care, and that deceased's love
and affection for him continued until his death, and ho fre-
quently expressed and declared the same to his friends, as,.
quaintances, and others. That after the deceased went into
lodgings on Tower-hill, he expressed great anxiety to see
Mr. Greatorex, and on the 20th of July expressed great
pleasure at seeing him, shook him by the band, and en-
tered into conversation with him in a rational and sensible
manner. That at the time of the preparation of the will
Nis.- G. had no knowledge of or acquaintance with the re-
spondent, save and except from the information given to
him by the deceased ; that he never had any correspon-
dence or communication with him directly or indirectly, nor
was he acquainted with his Christian name, until he was in-
formed of it by the deceased, who told him the name of his
son, for the express purpose of having it inserted in the will.
The subscribing witnesses were Mr. Greatorex, his clerks,
and the nurse, who all stated that the time of the execu-
tion of the will the deceased was very feeble, but was per-
fectly conscious of what he was doing, and on the will being
read over to him by Mr. Greatorex he approved of it, and
after signing it, on being asked if he published that as his
last will and testament, said " Yes ; certainly I do." He
also requested the witnesses to attest it ; and the nurse
stated, that in hearing the will read he objected to his son
being called illegitimate ; but after having signed it, be ob-
served that he had made his son doubly secure.
Their Lordships having taken time to consider, this morn-
ing, Lord BROUGHAM delivered an able and elaborate judg-
ment, in which he recapitulated all the leading parts of the
case, and after applying to them the principles of law which
govern the decisions of the Courts upon questions of
sanity or• competency, concluded by affirming the judg-
ment of the Court below, and thereby pronouncing for the
validity of the will. His Lordship said there were two
grounds upon which the opposition to the will rested,
which were distinct, but not inconsistent—first, the
gsneral incompetency of the testator, produced by exces-
sive drinking and other causes, as manifested by the various
acts spoken to by the witnesses for the appellant ; and,
secondly, that the executio❑ of the will was procured by
contrivance, at a time when his mind was so enfeebled by
disease and bodily infirmity, that he was totally incapable of
performing any testamentary act. Upon the first part of
the ease, their Lordships were clearly of opinion that the
allegation of insanity or imbecility was wholly unsupported
by the evidence. The various acts spoken to by the wit-
nesses, such as •his extravagant speculations, and his quarrels
with his relations, to whom he attributed his misfortunes in
trade, might be irrational, or unjustified by the truth of the
facts ; but by no means established, the existence of any
delusions on his part, such as were generally understood
to constitute or characterise unsoundness of mind. The
other circumstances from which the same conclusion was
sought to be deduced also admittesl of a similar explana-
tion ; they might arise ,from a state of mind which had be-
• come weal; from irregylar habits, or irrational from feelings
of _irritation at imaginary injuries ; but there was no proof

of any total want of capacity to execute a testamentary act.
With respect to the charge of contrivance in procuring the
execution of the will, their Lordships were also of opinion
that the appellant had equally failed in making out any
such thing.- it Was true that Mr. Greatorex, the solicitor,
had sugges'ed to hitt/ di; protriety of making a will, lest
he should die intestate, and WithOW ptotiding for his son,
who appeafiid id be the object of his love LW affection ;
and so far it waS 1.0 Pe 'wished that the facts had hen/
otherwise, for the executidd of rr will was an act which
ought Orrays to originate with did ritOfy himself ; but
at the same dri'l6. tt ,appeared that Mr. Greatarqx had
no pei-:pnal or pecun;ari 14telra,st in the matter, atid
if fit!!! clearly estaLlished by his evidairev, supported by that
of his clerk the muse, who were preset!, at the time
that the deceased adopt rm 4 signed the will, rnalimF use
of expressions which clearly sluitial, that he approved of
its eeEtchtl? Arid was perfectly conselong Of what he was
doing. It was httird,ible, therefore, not to with*, Mr.
Greatorex of all impropelT Wotite in the transaction, and the
tjttestion was, whether the state of 4te testator's mind, at
thd flint' of the execution of the will, cVdtiolch as to ren-
der it invalid. Their Lordships were of opinfoft that the
evidtUee' in- support of the affirmative of this propoiiitiou,
had only gone Cos length of showing that the deceased was
at that time in a state of great weakness from disease and
tAtl age, and there was no proof whatever of any such total
want of eapagity as was necessary to support the appel-
lant's allegation. it was remarkable, that Mr. Sinclair,
who was the chief witness called to establish the fad of in-
dtpaeity on the 20th of July had himself given efflence to
the coneary by his own acts, for on that day he had in-
duced the testator to be reconciled to his brother, the ap-
pellant ; and on the 1241 he requested Mr. M'Dougal to
speak to him on the subject of making a will. Upon the
whole, therefore, their Lordships were of opinion that the
sentence of the Court below must be affirmed, except in so
far as it directed that the appellant should be condemned
in the costs of the 'whole proceedings. 'Although the
charge of insanity was wholly unsupported, and ought not
to have hem brought forward, the circumstances attending
the execution of the will were sufficient to justify the ap-
pellant in putting the parties upon proof of its validity,
and therefore as to that part of the case, he ought to be re-
lieved from the payment of costs.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF CHANCERY; DEC. 20.
POWYS v. MANSFIELD.

Mr. JACOB having concluded his argument against the
appeal yesterday evening,
Mr. WALKER was also heard on the same side to-day.
Sir C. WETHERELL then replied, and contended, as in
his opening, that if Sir John Barrington was to be held as
standing in loco parentis with respect to his niece, then
that his debt as a parent was discharged by the sum given
to Mrs. Powys under her marriage settlement. The deci-
sion of his Honour set aside the law of the Court with re-
spect to double portions for nearly a century, but it was
now confidently hoped that his Lordship would once more
restore it to that state in which it bad remained for so long
a period, under the sanction of some of the most learned
and able Judges who ever presided in a Court of Equity.
The LORD CHANCELLOR directed a copy of the judg-
ment of the House of Lords in Wharton v. Lord Durham
to be handed up to him, along with the pleadings and the
will and settlement.—Judgment postponed.

VICE-CHANCERY COURT, Dm 20.

BELL V. BELL.

Mr. KNIGHT stated that this bill was filed to establish
the will of the late Dr. James Hamilton, of Edinburgh,
who did in 1835, seised of considerable estates in this
country, as well as in Scotland. The only specialty in the
case arose out of the circumstances of the attestation and
of tito witnesses to the will. The attestation, which had
been wtitten in Scotland, omitted to state that the will had
been signed by the witnesses in the presence of the tes-
tator ; and of the witnesses, one was dead, another was
blind owl in Scotland, and the third only was resident in
England, and hs,l been examined in the cause.
His HoNoun thought that as the only witness in this
<4145.0 who could be examined had been examined, the evi-
dew VMS sufficient.
A question then arose whether the decree ral;ght not
simply declare the will established.
Mr. JACOB contended it was not the practice of the
Court to pronounce a declaratory decree as to a conclusion
of law, where it had not to give any direction as to the per-
formance of any trust.
It was ultimately arranged that the decree should con-
tain an order for the trustee to perform the trusts of the will.

COURT OF RINGS' BENCH, DEC. 20.
BLUNT V. HESLOP.

In this case, which vfas not concluded when our paper
went to press, the Jury found a verdict for the plaintiff for
the common-law proceedings, for the plaintiff also as to the
negligence, and for the defendant as to the proposal to
carry on the equity suit.
The amount for which the verdict should be entered ;vas
afterwards the subject or discussion among the Counsel,
and we understood that the sum was finally entered for
128/. 10s., the verdict being taken subject to the right of
each party to move the Court on the point found against him

EMPSON V. FAlftrA% AND ANOTHER.

This was an action brought by the plaintiff, an attorney
at Leamington, against the defendants, proprietors of the
Leamington Chronicle, for a libel inserted by them in their
paper, and impugning the character and. conduct of the
plaintiff. A person named Gomm, who kept a hotel at
Leamington, had become rather involved in his circum-
stances, and the plaintiff had issued a fiat of bankruptcy
mal-Ist him. In consequence of this proceeding, a meeting
of his creditors was held. The alleged libel, which was in
the form of a letter, consisted of a statement of what had
been done at this meeting, and of the plaintiff's conduct
thereupon. The statement was published in the form of
an advertisement, and was signed " Weston Hatfield."
The filleged libel was put in and read, and the publication
was admitted.
The ATTORNEY•GENEBAL, for the defendant, had never
before seen a case of this sort left to the Jury without one
single witness being called. The Learned Counsel then
went through the letter, with a view to show that it con-
tained nothing which could be called libelous.
Lord DENMAN summed up the case. As no evidence
had been sailed for the, defendant under this plea there
must be a Vertli,et for the plaintiff upon the issue raised by
it. Then came the question to what" damages he was en-
titled. As to that point, the Jury had been reminded that
the defendants were only the publishers of newspapers.
Such d observation was often made in cases like the pre-
sent, but it had often occurred to him that the publisher,
without whose moistened the libel could have no currency,
and who inserted it merely for pecuniary advantage, was
Vicitse than the writer, who might be actuated by strong
motiveB at the time of composing the libel ; certainly pro-
prietors of neWspitro:) ought to be careful as to what they
thus inserted. But, on the other hand,in this case the Jury
would take into their consideration that which was certainly
Withettt precedent, namely, that a man came into Court
seeking tiff thmtiiges for a libel, and yet called not one single
witness to speait 111 the value of that character which he
complained had been injured by the libels published by the
defendant. lb should himself have little doubt in saying

that the letter was libellous.
The Jury returned a verdict for Ole defendant, saying
that their vetiliet was that it was no 'Ad. The verdiet
was then entered tor the plaintiff on the jotification, and
for the defendant on the plea of not guilty.

PREROGATIVg COURT, lige. 20.
WOOD AND OTHERS V. GOODLAKE,', HELPS, AND OTHERS.
This was-an allegation in a suit respectingthe will of the
late Mr. James Wood, d OlotleeSter, propounding an al-
leged codicil to the will. The i#lftrioe died on the 20th of
April, 1836, ageit eighty, possessed tit *6l'7 considerable
property, the real estate being pleaded in the tglation to
be worth 250,0001., but which the deceased), ig soid to
have estimated at 10,000/. per annum, and the i;ersonal pro-
perty is upwards of a million. (Th the day but one u:!''
the deceased's death instructions were given for a commis-
sion to swear the executors, tvlio arc Alderman Matthew .
Wood, Mr. John Chadborn, Mr. Jacob Osborne, and Mr.
John Surman Surman. The commission was issued, and
was executed at Gloucester on the 25th of April. Caveats,
however, were entered on behalf of Mr. Thomas Helps and
Mr. Thos. Wood, supposing themselves to be next of kin,
by which probate was stopped. On the first Session of Tri-
nity Terra a proxy was exhibited for Mrs. Elizabeth
Goodlake, widow, alleging herself to be second cousin,
and next of kin of the deceased ; upon which MeFsrs.
Helps and Wood authorised their proctor to discon-
tinue proceedings on their behalf as next of kin,
having ascertained that they were more remote relations
of the deceased than Mrs. Goodlake. The will was pro-
pounded on behalf of the executors, and opposed by Mrs.
Goodlake. Thus the matter stood, when, on the Bth of
June, Mr. Helps received, through the medium of the
threepenny post, a letter addressed to hint at his residence
at Balham-hill, enclosing the codicil now propounded, the
contents of which have been already given. This document
was accompanied by an anonymous letter, written with
pencil, to the following effect Enclosed is a paper saved
out of many burnt by the parties I could hang. They pre-
tend it is not James Wood's hand. Many will swear to it.
They want to swindle Inc. Let the rest know." On the
13th' of July these , documents were brought into the re-
gistry of this Court, sealed up, and on the 1-Ith they were,
on the petition of the executors, directed to be opened. On
the 2d of August an appearance was given for Mr. John
Phillpotts, and on the 15th of November for Mr. E.
chins, alleging himself to be a second cousin, and next of
kin of the deceased. The allegation now before the Court
consists of 58 articles with twenty-six exhibits.
' :On the last Court the KIN ms's ADVOCATE an Dr