The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-14 00:00:00

ROLLS' COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

WILLIS V. cunTon.

The question in this case arose under the will of Dr.
John Willis, dated 6th February, 1835, who for a consi-
derable number of years attended on his late Majesty
George 111. The plaintiff was the nephew of the testator,
and the defendant his executor.

Mr. Pemberton and Mr. Lowndes were for the plaintiff ;
Mr. Kindersley and M. Russell for the defendant.
The nature of the case will be collected from the judg-
ment of the Master of the Rolls.

His LORDSHIP said the testator had three places of
residence. His town residence was in Tenterden-street,
and lie had a residence at a place called Chillingthorpe,
where there was an establishment for the cure of insane
persons, and he had another establishment at a place
called Drakeford in Leicestershii e. Those two establish-
ments were conducted by him in partnership, or with the
assistance of the present plaintiff, who was in the same
profession. The first question that arose was upon the
household goods, furniture, and other things, it being con-
tended, on behalf of the defendant, that it must be restricted
to such things as were at Drakeford, and no where else, the
words being, " I give my said nephew all my carriages, &c.,
at Drakeford, and also my household goods, furniture, aad
personal ornaments," and so on. His Lordship thought
the words must be construed in the general method ex-
pressed, and that the gift was of all his household goods,
&c. The next question that arose was upon what passed
under the word " books." The testator, in his house
in Tenterden-street, had a library of printed books,
and also a selection of books, bound into volumes,
containing manuscript notes of his attendance upon the
late King George 111. Those volumes were no doubt of
very considerable value, and must b-a considered to have
been made by the testator himself for important purposes.
It was important to himself that he should have made them,
and it was important to the public, because he might, from
time to time, be called upon to give information, with all
the particulars connected with the illness of his late Ma-
jesty ; and it was known from history that he was seve-
ral times compelled to do so. It was, therefore, his
duty to preserve them, and with the greatest care
which appeared to have been done, for they were found in a
chest, sealed. Those manuscripts were very valuable, not
only as furnishing him with the results of medical experience
but as showing what was the sort of even moral conduct which
a physician under such delicate circumstances was bound to
pursue. The question was, whether these volumes came
under the desciption of " all and every these books, in and
about my house in Tenterden-street." It was alleged they
ought to be considered as mere loose memoranda, pot up for
the convenience of the testator, in a form in which they
could be more easily consulted ; and it was contended that,
under these words, nothing could pass but such printed
books as booksellers were in the habit of keeping in their
shops. Recollecting that in this case the legatee to whom
these books were given was a medical gentleman en-
gaged in the like branch of the profession as the testator,
and to whom books of this sort would be most peculiarly
valuable ; and taking into consideration that the probability
was, if the testator had had his attention drawn to them,
he would have specifically mentioned them in the gift
to his nephew, and the words being sufficient in the
construction of the will to comprise these books, his
Lordship thought he must consider these books
passed under that clause in the will. The next question,
which related to a bust of the testator found in Tenterden-
street, was, whether it passed under the words, " all my
household goods and furniture," &c. ? Upon this his Lord-
ship said he would look into the authorities. The inclination
of his opinion was, that, looking at the particular words of the
will, the words "and effects" not being used, the bust did not
pass. The remaining question was, whether an ivory
tooth-pick case, a pencil case, a pocket case of surgeon's
instruments, and an eye glass, came under the words
"watches and personal ornaments." His Lordship expressed
a wish that things of that sort had not been submitted
to the formal decision of the Court, but that the parties
had come to a settlement out of doors. The case of in-
struments his Lordship did not consider to come under
those words. With respect to the other things they were
certainly articles of utility, and the question seemed to be
whether those things that were ornamental and capable of
being applied to useful purposes were to be considered as mere
ornaments. A common ring, which might be set round
with diamonds, and of extreme value, was of no use except
for ornament ; but it might be converted into a signet-ring,
and then, although ornamental, it would be useful to seal
letters. His Lordship thought there was a case in which
that had been considered, and would look into it before
disposing of that point, although he was sorry that he
should be called on to decide upon such a trifling matter.
It was afterwards mentioned, that a compass presented
by George the Third to the testator had been found by the
executor, of which no mention was specifically made in th.o..
will ; but the parties thought they would he able to agree
upon that out of Court, and also would endeavour to settle
those minor points of difference, last ,mentioned by his
Lordship.

COMMON PLEAS.-(THIS DAY.)

GREEN V. CURWEN.

This was an action brought by the assignee of a builder
to recover part of the amount of a contract for work and
labour, &c. The defence set up was, that the contract had
not been completed within the required time, eight weeks ;
and that the builder had incurred the forfeiture agreed to
in the contract, of 2/. per day for the term over that period
of eight weeks, and which forfeiture ought to be deducted
from the amount contracted for. To this the plaintiff
answered, that the delay arose from the defendant interfer-
ing with the progress of the work.

Mr. Sergeant-WILDE W 3.3 for the plaintiff ; Mr. PLATT
for the defendant.

FROM A CORRESPONDENT.—The rapid march
of splendour and magnificence, as displayed by the Licensed
Victuallers in the palaces of late years, has more than once
engaged the attention of the Press ; but such, however
great, has been tar exceeded by Mr. Gibson, the Architect,
in the American Wine and Spirit Stores, 56, Oxford-street,
which establishment is indeed entitled to a visit from all
who would behold correct taste allied to elegant. arrange-
ment and decorative display.—Morning, Paper.
Mount Vesuvius, as we find by a recent letter from
Naples, is again in a state of eruption. The weather has
been so mild in the south of Italy and at Naples, that many
people have not yet put on their winter clothing.
In November last a tragedy, a parody, four dramas,
two operas, and seventeen vaudevilles, altogether twenty-
five new pieces, were brought out in the theatres of Paris.
On Tuesday a meeting of the members of the Market
Gardeners' Association, and of horticulturalists residing in
the four counties adjacent to London, was held at the
King's Arms, Palace-yard, Henry Pownall, Esq., in the
Chair, for the purpose of petitioning the Legislature to
impose a protecting duty on the importation of foreign
fruits and vegetables, in place of the present ad valorem
duty.

An inquest was held on Tuesday in the New-road on
the body of Ann Butler, aged about fifty, who was found
drowned. It appeared from the evidence that deceased,
who had no settled place of abode, went about under pre-
tence of telling fortunes, which, however, was to her a
very unprofitable trade. She had not been seen in her
usual haunts lately, and on Sunday morning her body was
discovered floating on the Regent's Canal, near St. .Tohn's-
wood Bridge. She was quite dead, and the body appeared
to have been in the water some days. No person came
forward to own the body ; and the depositions having
been read over, the Jury returned a verdict of Found
drowned."

On Monday morning Blissey White, a young woman
in the service of Mr. Smith, an independent gentleman. re-
siding in Glebe-place, Stoke Newington, after having pre-
pared breakfast for the family, suddenly absented herself,
and on being missed, an immediate search was made, but
without success, until a considerable time afterwards, when
the footmen discovered her lifeless body in a water-tank
behind the house. From the position of the tank it is
scarcely possible that she could have fallen into it by acci-
dent, and it is believed in the neighbourhood that she com-
mitted self-destruction.
The John and Mary brig, from Sunderland, left
Miramichi, on the coast of North America, the Ist of
November, being laden with timber. Almost from the
first hour of her sailing she had to contend with very
severe gales, so that she had speedily four feet water in
the hold. Off the banks of Newfoundland she became
completely waterlogged, and capsized. By the very great
exertions of' her crew, however, she was at laat righted, but
not without sacrificing her foremast, and the loss of life in
a boy, who was washed overboard. The rest. of the crew
were obliged to lash themselves to the round tops of the
vessel, in order to prevent the same fate. The mainmast
now fell with a dreadful smash upon the deck, killing
one sailor and maiming several others. The crew now
lashed themselves afresh to the stumps of the masts, mid in
this horrible condition the poor wretches remained during
five days, when they were picked up by Captain Keys, in
the ship Kingston, for Newport, and landed upon our quays.
Some perished, but the six remaining persons were on Wed-
i
nesday last brought to our inArnaary, where they :attain.
The mate has a very seee.re fracture of,
near; all the ribs
on one siilo tlioy ape all more or less oyeadfu ty contused,
and a lad has his legs frost-bit,teu indeed, we learn that
every one suffered 11104 4eadfully from cold and hunger,
and conse:':aont eyihoustion.—Bristol Mirror,
of 7A44ioe, was ott Wed-
4ow-street on A clarge
Ilymciothni,,moifttteh,eifoEr
nes\dVa‘;lf.o
of having robbed a ke1:.809, calmed Griffith% Valk on his way
with Lidty, the stattep-house, 9 intoxicated t
the time,