The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-18 00:00:00

kNOTHER STRANGE WILL CASE.

The hearing of " Goss v. Hill and others," which closed
in the Probate Court on Thursday, developed some in-
teresting features. The case is an inquiry into the validity
of the will of Mr. Moreton, a solicitor of Liverpool, who
died last March at the age of 70. By the will the property
of which the deceased was possessed at his death,
amounting altogether to about £15,000, was given to the
Right Rev. Alexander Goss, Roman Catholic
Bishop of Liverpool, the plaintiff. It was pre-
pared by Dr. Fisher, Dr. Goss's vicar, from verbal
instructions given by the deceased in his last
illness, and was executed the day before his death. The
deceased was in bed at the time, and was very weak, and
it is alleged by the defendants and intervener, who oppose
the will, that he was then incapable of understanding any
instrument and that he was so feeble that he had to be
helped to sign the wilL In support of the plaintiff's
case, which closed on the 4th instant, Canon Fisher, who
is vicar to Dr. Goss, deposed that the testator was per-
fectly conscious when he signed the will, and that he did
it without assistance. Ellen Chatterton, a servant in the
house, who attested the will with him, deposed to a like
effect, and maintained that she had never stated to any
one that Dr. Fisher had helped the testator to sign the in-
strument. Evidence was adduced in support of the pleas
filed by the defendants and intervener. Dr. John Stock-
port Taylor, who attended the deceased for eight years,
stated that on the morning of Tuesday, the 23d March,
1869, he was sent for to see the deceased; that he saw
him about half-past ten o'clock ; that he was then in a
comatose state, his disease being an advanced stage of
senile bronchitis ; that he was utterly incapable of trans-
acting any business ; and that from his appearance in the
evening, when witness saw him again it was utterly
impossible he could have rallied in the interval. Dr. Tay-
lor further stated that in coming down from the sick room
he met Canon Fisher, and informed him that the deceased
was then dying. Two friends of the deceased, named
Rushworth and Shaw, saw him immediately after the
will was executed, and affirmed that he was then quite un-
conscious. They further affirmed that Ellen Chatterton
informed them of the execution of the will, and that the
deceased was so weak that Canon Fisher had to guide his
hand. Mrs. Moreton, the widow, also deposed that she
saw the deceased, her husband, shortly after the execution
of the will ; that he was then insensible, and remained so
until his death. She added that he was dissatisfied with
the will, that she thought a portion of the property
—22,ooo—which she had brought to the deceased, should
go to her friends, and that she had withdrawn her oppo-
sition to the instrument on being secured £2OO a
year. In addition to this evidence the defendants relied
on the appearance of the document itself, the signature of
the testator being in no respect like to his signature in
any other paper. Lord Penzance said plaintiff had to es-
tablish to the satisfaction of the court that the paper which
he propounded as the will of the deceased was well exe-
cuted, and that at the time the testator signed it he was of
sound mind, memory, and understanding. The burthen
of proof lay upon him, and the question was whether he
had satisfied the requirements of that burthen. It might
be admitted that the deceased, who was a Roman Catho-
lic, contemplated leaving his property to spiritual pur-
poses connected with his religion ; but it was strange
that he, an attorney, should have confided to a
clergyman the task of preparing his will. One
would have thought that if . he had made up his mind
to carry his intention into effect, and to make his will, it
would be necessary to get Canon Fisher to put it into
writing for him. He had two clerks who were in daily
attendance on him ; and he might, if he had been dis-
posed, have dictated the will to them. Having detailed
the history of the execution of the will as given by Canon
Fisher, and the evidence on the other side—especially that
of Dr. Taylor—his lordship observed that the plaintiff had
failed to satisfy the court that the deceased was of testa-
mentary capacity at the time he signed the paper. The
appearance of the paper itself, he added, confirmed that
conclusion. The signature was different from every other
signature of the testator. The "S " of the Christian
name was a loop " S." The testator invariably, as ap-
peared by his books, used the simple "s " enlarged. The
letter " M " in the surname was still more remarkable.
The deceased always used the capital " M ;" in the will it
was the smaller "m " enlarged. A habit invariably be-
came stronger with age. The weaker the mind
the stronger the habit, and it was inconceivable that
in his then condition the testator could have
departed from his habit in the matter of his signa-
ture. The circumstance, therefore, pointed to the
conclusion that the hand of the deceased was guided either
by Ellen Chatterton, or—what was more likely, he being
the more intelligent person, by Canon Fisher. It might
be said that, if the Court surmised that, it should also sur
mise that Canon Fisher had perpetrated a fraud in using
the hand of the deceased to make his will. But that did
not follow. In many cases testators had been assisted
to sign their wills, and the whole of the transaction
depended on the condition in which the testator might
then be. The plaintiff had failed to discharge the burthen
of proof resting on him, to satisfy the Court when the
deceased signed the instrument he was in full possession
of his senses, and the Court should therefore pronounce
against the will.—The question of costs was reserved.

SCIENCE FOR ENGINEERS.—It is reported that the
Secretary of State for India has determined upon estab-
lishing in this country a complete college of science for
civil engineers, for the education of those who are to
be employed on the extensive Government works of
India. _

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A BRACE OF ODDITIES.—One of the witnesses
examined before the Coventry Election Committee said
that he had partaken of no refreshments at Mr. Johnson's
expense, and this arose from the fact that " twenty years
ago be had made a declaration that he would never eat
or drink at any one's expense but his own." Another
was certain he had never eaten a breakfast at the expense
of the member, because he had never eaten a breakfast in
all his life ; he always took his morning meal in the middle
of the day! -

- - -
AN lnisH SCHOOL SCENE.—As an illustration of
the quick-witted humour of the Carrick boys the follow-
ing incident is mentioned in an official report :—I was
examining the school at Carrick, in presence of the school-
master and schoolmistress, the priest, and my car-driver,
who took special interest in schools. Before me stood a
little barefooted Irish boy, of about 12 or 13, with a bright
intelligent face, fine dark eyes, and black hair. His name
was Moses Erskine. I asked him to spell " excellent,"
which he did. I asked him what it meant. The boy
hesitated. But the priest said, "Do you kw anybody
who is excellent at anything ?" " Yes." "no
And who is
it ? " rejoined the priest. " Myself," was the prompt retort.
" And what are you excellent at ? " continued the priest.
"At dancing, Sir." I found that Moses was celebrated
for his powers at an Irish jig, and that he was by no
means shy of giving strangers a taste of his quality, Being
asked whether it would be " indecorous " to see Moses in
action, I said certainly not. Preiently the rest of the
scholars were allowed to go. The door was shut, and
Moses was left alone with us. But I observed that the
windows outside were filled with the eager faces of his
schoolfellows. At first there was a difficulty about music,
but the schoolmaster whistled an admirable jig, and
Moses set to work with a vigour and a natural grace
which did him infinite credit; and as one step succeeded
another, increasing in quickness and complication, the
little wretch's feet looked, as one of the party said, like
" electrified drumsticks." When Moses stopped he was
duly congratulated and rewarded.