The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-04 00:00:00

IVESTENRA V. GREGORY.

This suit was instituted by the plaintiff, Col. Westenra,
a younger son of Lord Rossmore, to charge the separate
estate of his late wife, with certain debts that had been
contracted by her during her coverture. A marriage
having been contemplated between the plaintiff and Lady
East, indentures of lease and release were executed on the
28th and 29th of March 1834, between Col. Westenra and
Lady East and the defendants, wherby she assigned to
the defendants all the estate she was entitled to under
the will of her late husband, to hold the same after the
solemnization of her marriage with the plaintiff, upon
such trusts as she should at any time thereafter
appoint ; and she alse assigned a leasehold house in
Green-street, Grosvenor-square, and all other the lease-
hold estates and property in which she had any interest,
to the defendants, to hold the same as to the leasehold
estates, upon such trusts as she during her lifetime
should appoint, and after her death, at the discretion of
the trustees, to invest the moneys arising therefrom in
the funds. and to stand possessed of the same to such
uses as she should have appointed, and in default of ap-
pointment in trust for her next of kin, as if she had
died unmarried. The marriage took place on the
31st of March, 1834, and Mrs. Westenra died on
the 17th of November, 1838, having made a will on
3d Feb. 1837, whereby she gave certain bequests to her
husband, and the residue of her property to her four
nieces, and appointed the defendants her executors, who
proved her will. After the death of Mrs. Westenra, it
appeared that the property she had directed;to be invested
for the benefit of her husband, realised 16,0001., and that
the debts remaining unpaid at the time of her decease,
amounted to about 4,0001., which the nieces, as the re-
siduary legatees, objected to the payment of out of her
separate estate. A bill was accordingly filed by the plain-
tiff, praying that an account might be taken of the separate
estate of Mrs. Westenra, and of the debts due from her
on account thereof, at the time of her decease, and that
the defendants might be directed to pay the same out of
her separate estates.
Mr. Pemberton and other Learned Counsel appeared
for the plaintiff, and Mr. Turner and other Learned
Counsel for the defendants. And after some discussion,
at the suggestion of the Master of the Rolls, it was ar-
ranged between them that the inquiry prayed for by the
bill should be made, with liberty for the Master to state
special circumstances.

VICE C FIANCERY.-(THIS DAY.)
(Before the VICE-CHANCELLOR Of ENGLAND.)
HERRING v. CLOBERY.

This was an application, on-thepait of the plaintiff,
that he might be discharged from the custody of tho
Warden of the Fleet prison, and that the processes of
contempt, in the several attachments issued against him,
at the instance of the defendant, for the non-payment of
costs, might be stayed. It appeared that the costs in
question had been incurred by the plaintiff in a former
suit, which his Honour had decided against him, and
those costs not having been paid, he had been committed
for contempt. The decision, however, of his Honour
was now under appeal to the Lord Chancellor ; and
the plaintiff prayed that he might be discharged
from prison, for the purpose of enabling him to conduct
the appeal, while he offered security for his re-appearance,
in case it sheuld be decided against

The nature of the application having been stated by
Mr. RoMILLY for the plaintiff,
Mr. RICHARDS objected, for the defence, that the Court
could not entertain it, until the plaintiff had cleared him-
self from a contempt of Court, by paying the sum of
271. lls. ld., the costs of a former application.
After some discussion the Court decided that the pre-
sent application could not be heard until the plaintiff had
cleared himself of the contempt. The money was then
paid in, His Honour observing that that looked more
like business than anything he had for many a day seen
in that Court.
Mr. ROMILLY was again about to proceed with the ap-
plication, when
Mr, RICHARDS observed that the plaintiff should fur-
ther clear himself of contempt of Court by the payment
of two different sums; the one amounting to 161., and the
other to 131.

These sums having been also paid in,
. Mr. Romnxv again rose to address the Court, and
was again interrupted by
Mr. RICHARDS, who contended that the Court could
not entertain the application to discharge the prisoner
until he had paid the sum of 8001., the costs of the
former suit, in which his Honour had decided and
awarded against him. By the non-payment of that sum
he had been guilty of a contempt of Court, from which
he was bound, before he could take any proceedings
there, to clear himself. The plaintiff did not complain
that the attachment was wrung, or that it had been in-
formally executed ; and he could not, therefore, at pre-
sent, obtain its suspension.
Mr. ROMILLY said that the plaintiff did not wish to
evade the attachment, as he would give sufficient security
for his re-appearance in case the appeal to the Lord
Chancellor was decided against him. The plaintiff
would have been entitled to wake the application to his
Honour at the time the bill of costs had been lodged ;
and he should not now suffer from having delayed
taking such a step.
His HoNoun said that it was a well-established rule
of Court, that proceedings on a decree should not be
stayed merely because an appeal had been lodged. If
the effect of the decree might be to place in jeopardy the
very thing at issue, that might be a reason why the
Court should interfere to stay proceedings. But he did
not see any grounds for such interference in the present
case ; and he should, therefore dismiss the application
with costs.

SUDDEN DEATH OF A MAN WHILST ILL-
TREATING HIS WIFE.-Mr. Baker held an inquest on
Thursday at the Royal Statidard, Arundel-street, Bethnal-
green, on the body of Thomas Bird, aged 49, a silk-
dyer, of No. 1, Selby-street West. It appeared in
evidence that on Monday night last, at about ten
o'clock, deceased returned home in a state of intoxi-
cation, and, as was not unusual, began quarrelling with
and beating his wife. At twelve o'clock he went out,
followed by his wife, who was persuading him to return,
but he refused, and did not come home until two o'clock
the next morning. The quarrel was then renewed,
though the lodgers could plainly tell that :deceased
was in fault, for, without any provocation what-
ever, he threw her forcibly on the floor, and bea
her severely. The wife at length, to avoid his blows,
ran down stairs, and, as he followed, the placet
being in darkness, he fell headforemost to the bottom.
He called to his wife to raise him, but she, fearing
further chastisement, refused. The lodgers were unable
to remove him to his room, and not being then
aware that he was seriously hurt, placed a pillow
under his head, and let him remain there until
six o'clock. At that hour he was removed to his
room, when he complained of pains in different parts
of his body, and at one o'clock he died. Mr. Burchett
said he perceived no marks of violence upon the body,
and judging from that he thought death to have resulted
from the rupture of a vessel in the head. It might, how-
ever, have been caused by the fall. Verdict, "That
deceased was found dead, but whether death was occa-
sioned by a fall or by other means there was no evidence
to show." _ _

VENTNOR, ISLE OF WIGHT, Nov. 30.--
THE WEATHER.—These heavy gales are making sad
havoc with us poor creatures under cliff to have our
windows blown in is a common occurrence ; and on
Monday night the wind and the rain brought down three
houses I none of your lath-and-plaster things, but what
appeared to be of the substantial order, with stout stone
walls and slate roofs. In go the windows, and off the
roofs. Pray God the wind would shift. From frost,
snow, and keen north-easters we arc protected; but these
south-welters are terrible things.