The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-25 00:00:00

ILEDDIE V. TODD.

The arguments in this eTs-e,-;1iCI; were commenced yesterday,
were resumed to-day.
.The case came before their Lordships upon an
appeal from the judgment of the Court of Session in Scotland, and
the question ra sed was whether the trustees for improving the navi-
gation of the river Clyde were empowered by the statutes under which
they acted, to acquire, by means of a compuls iry sale, net only the
grounds adjoining the river necessary for the purpo- es of the trust,
but also the pier duties, and all the other righ:s and profits belonging
to the superior of the grounds, at prices to be flied upon by a verdict
or a jury.
The Solicitor-General and Mr. flethell appeared as Counsel for th.-
appellants, and Mr. Turner and Mr. Audi ews were in support of the
dealsion pronounced below.
The arguments had not concluded when ourEventng Edition went
to press.

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT, March 24.
(Before the Viet-CnANceLton of ENGLAND.)
His Honour sat this morning in Lincoln's Inn, but in consequence
of the absence of Mr. Bethell, who was engaged in the Ifouse o
Lords, very little progress was made with the causes on the paper,
and his Honour rose at half-past ten o'clock.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND CHICUIT.—Derby, March 18,19, and 20

DOE DEL THORNHILL V. THORNHILL.
• This action was brought to recover possession of what is
called the 011erenshaw eatate situated near Chapel- en- le-
Frith, claimed under the will of the late \V. Thornhill, Esq.
The counsel for the lessor of the plaintiff were Mr. 'Win-
frey, Q.C., Mr. Waddington, end Mr. Haynes • for the de-
fendant, Mr. Cockburn, (s.c. (specially retained), Mr. White-
hurst, Q.C., and Mr. Wildman.
Mr. HUMFRIKY, in substance, stated the case as follows:—
The plaintiff, Mr. Walter Thornhill, resides in London, carry-
ing on trade there; the defendant is Mr. Jonathan Thornhill,
the brother of the testator, their common ancestor being one
Joseph Thornhill, who resided at Wardlow, in this county.
The older branch going to London, the families became sepa-
rated, and knew not each other for years but by repute. The
testator was apprenticed to an uncle at Stockport, as a currier,
as was also the present defendant, and to their uncle's business
they ultimately succeeded. The twitter was a penurious man
and had saved a considerable fain of money. He was also
an eccentric man, In 1822, he purchased the 011erenshaw
estate, consisting of 170 acres, for which he paid 8,0001. In
1830, he retired from business, and went to reside on the
property, and continued so to do until his death. The mind
of the testator was swayed by two motives, penury and os-
tentation. lie was at the same time kind to the poor, but
here his love of money showed itself, for though engaging
large numbers of them when out of employ, he would, ne-
vertheless, give them the smallest wages he could: The tes-
tator was in the habit of corresponding with hla relatives in
London, that is, with the father of the present plaintiff; and
ids family, and on ene occasion he went with them to seethe
Melts," such as the Parliament Houses, the Opera House,
tee. It would appear that, having risen flan a humble sta-
- ion, hie chief obi et wan to found a fitted.), name, and nu
leing, in the year 1839, married, an-1 11i5 brothet, the
:labs. lout, having only thite daughters, whilst the
plaintiff, young Mr. Thornhill, liath two or three sons,
tie leacame atten- ive to him, and in a letter to the
father of the plahttifr, he speaks of Mr. Walter as " Ilia
good son Walter;" he also mentions that his hrother
has only daughters, and if he (the testator) did not
marry, he should like to show some respect to the name
of Thornhill. The testator belonged to a religious sect calico
" The New Methodist Connection," who have some peculiar
notions as to the world beyond the grave, and like the Puri-
tans and Covenanters in former times, are very strict in their
religious notions., In 1839 the testator married a Mise Bar.
Jew, the daughter of a widow lady, at ivhose, death 13he Would
inherit near 10,0001. Quarrels arose between them ; while
just a year at:er the marriage a charge was made by one of
. the female domestics against tier master of .aft attempt
at rape. The deceased always protested his innocence,
and attributed the making of the charge to a con-
spiracy between his wife and the girl. It would appear no
settlement was made at the marriage, and all the testator
got was a bad debt, in the shape of an old note for 3001.,
which Mrs. Barlow, knowing his penurious habits, and that
if any body could get the money he would, banded to him,
and ha did squeeze out of the party 1001. On one occasion
the lady having a legacy of 2501. left to her, she, accom-
panied by her husband, went to receive it. She signed her
name to the receipt paper, but the husband refirsed to sign
his own until he had got the money. She contended it was

hers, he took the contrary side of the question, and a scene
of recrimination took place, which ended in her scratching
her name through, and they left without the money. In
consequence of these disagreements, the wife, on two
occasions, left her husband's borne, and only re-
turned shortly before his death, which took place on the
7th of May, 1845. On the 25th of March, 1845, he made
his will, giving the estate in question to the lessor of the
plaintiff. He also left a large sum for the building of a
chapel, and made his brother, the defendant, a residuary
legatee, Which'in effect was giving him the bulk of his pro-
perty, but cutting off his wife with 5/. ; alleging in his will
her misconduct towards him as the reason why he had done
so. The intention of doing something for the plaintiff was
shown to have been in the testator's mind long before
making his wilt, for in a letter written shortly afta his
marriage he says, he has not "much hopes of a family, and
in failure of one I do intend to think well of you." In
that letter his love of ostention broke out, for he states his
house is forty-two yards long, and in order to give it an im-
posing appearance the stables were in the middle, and to
save in taxes no room bad more than one window. Mr.
Humfrey then read several letters from the testator to his
relation in town. We insert the following as showing his
political opinions :—" As respects politics, we in this country
beLeve that Peel has been called to the head of the National

Assembly to rescue it from total destruction, which ten
years of bad policy and misgovernment have well nigh
effected. As for Cobden, I was on the hustings at Stock-
port when he first offered himself a candidate for the bo-
rough, but lost his election, my brother being returning-
officer, as mayor. He (Cobden) is very malicious, and of
fiend-like passions, and therefore if he should do any good it
will be by misadventure.—(Loud laughter.) You ask if there
is not a deal of distress ? I answer in the affimative. How

must is be otherwise when neither our home or foreign trade
are protected. Look at the home trade of lace, silk, and
gloves. By the admission of French articles of this descrip-
tion, those mechanics who used to earn 20s. now get ;but
and not employment for them at that. Woodstock, in Ox-
fordshire, for gloves, is quite ruined ; Coventry for ribbon;
-Nottingham for lace ; and look at Spitalfields and other places
for silk ; and in Sheffield, Russian cutlery and German saws are
sold at 30s. per cwt. under English. Now trade is bank-
rupted agriculture must be so too—American cheese at sd.
equal to English at 7d. Consider all foreign nations under
the idea of single men in lodgings, and English tradesmen as
householders who have rent and taxes to pay. Would it be
right to have all householders out of home to live in caves
and under hedges? Need we a.ik how a river is dried up
when its sources are dried away ?" The Learned Counsel then
went on to detail the circususi antes under which the will was
witnessed, and to remark upon the insanity that was intended
to be set up, citing cases to show,
however eccentric or even
insane a man might be on any particular point, yet, if lie was
sane with reference to the disposition he was making of Isis
property, the will would stand good.
The great body of evidence adduced on the part of the
plaintiff went to show that, however eccentric the testator
alight be bocce .austter4 cli ;41. believiogigclr eats6l4