The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-31 00:00:00

THE MORETON WILL CASE.

Very strong feeling is expressed in Liverpool respecting
the Moreton will. It will be remembered that the late
Samuel Holland 3loreton left by will his whole estate
to the Rev. Dr. Goss, Roman Catholic Bishop. of
Liverpool. His widow, who had brought him a consider-
able sum of money, not only had no share in
her husband's property, but was deprived of her own as
well. It was said that Mr. Moreton made his will just
before he died, that he was away from his relatives in a
lonely house in Islington, and fell under the influence of
a Roman Catholic priest who visited him. His estate was
valued at about £40,000. Mr. Moreton was a Catholic
but was not supposed to be sufficiently zealous to dispose
of his money in such a manner. His 'widow, also a
Catholic, at first intended to dispute the validity of the
will, but afterwards made a compromise and accepted an
annuity. The Crown entered a caveat against the will, but
it does not seem to have been proceeded with, several
persons having put forwitrd their claims as heir-at-law,
and the tenants on the estate have been served, and coun-
ter notices given, so that they pay no rent at all. At the
Liverpool Police Court, on Wednesday, these difficulties
came under notice. The occupier of a house in Was wick-
s treet, belonging to the late Mr. Moreton, first re-
ceived a notice from Bishop Goss to pay the rent
to him alone; then one from Messrs. Snowball and Cope-
man, " solicitors acting onbehalf of the widow and heir at-
law of the late Mr. Moreton," to pay to them alone; then
another came from Bishop Goss announcing that the
widow had withdrawn her claim; and finally there was a
notice from Mr. John Godfrey, " solicitor for the represen-
tatives of the late John Bell," making a peremptory
demand for the rent. Mr. Bell's attorney made a seizure
of the goods of ono of the tenants to enforce
payment of the rent, and the tenant on Wednesday
applied to the magistrates for an order compelling the
auctioneer to deliver the property on the ground that the
question of ownership was in abeyance. Pending the
decision of the Chancery Court, restitution of the goods
•
was ordered.

.REVOLTING CRUELTY TO AN IDIOT
BROTHER.

.4.

A shocking story comes from Ancoats. On Wednesday
a man named Thomas Lightfoot, a grocer, carrying on
business in Every-street, Ancoats, was taken into custody
on a charge of confining his brother in the cellar of his
house and generally neglecting him. The moans of the
confined man, who is blind and idiotic, attracted the
attention of tho policeman on the beat, on Tuesday night ;
but, the window of the cellar being boarded up, he was
was unable to discover whence they proceeded. The house
was entered on Wednesday and searched. In the
cellar, in which there was no fire, a man, about 60
years of age, was found lying in a corner, in
a most filthy condition, with nothing to cover
him but an old horse rug and some rags.
He was shivering from cold, and judging from his appear-
ance, his clothes had not been changed for years. His
hair, which was thick and bushy, hung matted over his
shoulders, and his beard and whiskers, which had recently
been worn long, were shaved off one side of his face.
He was so bent and weak that he was unable to walk,
and the officers had to carry him out of the cellar and con-
vey him to the police-station. When given food ho ate
ravenously, although those who had him in charge say he
was regularly provided with three meals a day, and that
previous to Monday there was a fire in the cellar. The
neighbours say that the unfortunate man, whose
name is Samuel Lightfoot, has been confined in the
same place for six years, but that previous to
his becoming unable to walk he was allowed
to go out into the backyard. It is within the knowledge
of the police that ho was in the keeping of his brother five
or six years ago, but for a long time they had lost sight of
him. His father, who was in easy circumstances, left him
an annuity. The money was paid to his brother quarterly
by the executor, who always understood that he was in
good health and comfortable.

11'.1LL OF A HOUSE IN LIMERICK.—At six o'clock
on Thursday morning a house fell in John-street, Limerick,
during the prevalence of a storm,,by which five persons
were killed and several were injured, some of whom are
not expected to recover.

About 300 brigands confined in the fortress of
Bzegedin, in Hungary, are now awaiting the sentence of the
High Court of Pesth, which was specially appointed to tr)
them. The charges against these brigands are of the most
varied character.

Nature states that bonzol has been applied to a
somewhat novel purpose. If poured on a piece of ordinary
paper, immediate transparency is produced, to such an
exteat as to enable one to dispense entirely with tracing
paper. On exposure to air, or, better, a gentle heat, the
liquid is entirely clissipated,the paper recovers its capacity,
ind the original design is found to be quite uninjured.
WASHINGTON'S ONLY JOKE.—During the debate
in the Continental Congress on the establishment of the
Federal army, a member offered a resolution providing that
it should never exceed 3,000 men; whereupon Washington
moved an amendment that no enemy should ever invade
the country with a force exceeding 2,000 men. This joke
was perfectly successful, and the laughter which it excited
smothered the resolution.

An investigation is taking place respecting the
death of an inmate of the Lancaster County Asylum, who
was found, at the post-mortem examination, to have 12 ribs
fractured, the result, as the medical testimony states, of some
one kneeling on the chest of the deceased. The attendants
positively deny having used any violence, and say they
never saw any of the other patients ill-use the man. The
inquiry is adjourned, the visiting justices expressing their
determination to have the matter thoroughly inquired into.

At a meeting of the British and Colonial Emigra•
tion Fund Committee a proposition for amalgamating their
society with tho National and the Workmen's Emigration
Societies was considered. The feelirg of the meeting was
decidedly against amalgamation. Mr. Henry Kingscote
said that. their funds must undoubtedly decline if they took
such persons as Mr. George Potter and Mr. Edmond Beales
upon the committee. Sir George Grey and Sir James Law-
rence both expressed the opinion that amalgamation would
not tend to promote the cause of emigration. A resolution
to that effect was unanimously passed.

-We heard a good story the other day of how a
reverend Lancashire lecturer was "sat upon" in the south
by one of those " voices " which sometimes put such ugly
queries when least expected. The speaker was proving
that doers of good were always in the minority, and,
by parity of reasoning, that the Conservatives were
worthy of all support and admiration, being
fewer in number than their opponents. Pro-
ceeding to illustrate his argument, he said :
"Paul was in a minority, but who was right? Peter was
in a minority, but who was right? Christ was in a
minority, but who was right ?" But the lecturer was
literally " sat upon " [when a " voice " in the gallery
bawled out, "Judas Iscariot was in a minority, but who
was right ?" The effect was indescribable. The lecturer
was dumb, and for some minutes he could not utter a
word. The audience, on whom some effect had previously
been made, literally roared.— Warrington Guardian.

Jritical theologians have contended that Christ was
not born on the 25th of December, but probably in the
autumn, when harvest and vintage were over. In the
fourth century some celebrated it in January and others
in April and May. The Greek Church continues to ob-
serve it in February. The time, as we observe it,
was fixed by Popo Telesphorus, and was subsequently
adopted by the Protestant Churches. The Puritans, averse
to Romanistic practices, abjured all their festivals. A
search tract, published in 1648, informs us that on Wednes-
day, December 22, 1647, "The Crier of Canterbury, by
the appointment of Master Maior, openly proclaimed that
Christmas Day and all other superstitious festivals
should be unknown, and that a market should be kept
on Christmas Day." Among the single sheets preserved
in the British Museum is an order of Parliament, Dec. 24,
1652, directing that no observation shall be had of the
25th day of December, commonly called Christmas Day,
nor any solemnity used or exercised in churches upon
that day in respect thereof.

The very extensive Distillery now being erected
at Belfast, with all recent improvGments for the manufacture of
Irish whisky, by Messrs. DUNS- ILLE & Cu., who have gained
a world-wide celebrity for their tine old Irish whisky, is to be
called "The Royal Irish Distillery."

LHIGLI WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Morning. Evening.
FRIDAY ...20 min past 12 ..... .50 min past 12
SATURDAY 12 min past 1 40 min past 1
SUNDAY li min past 2 28 min past 2
MONDAY .....50 min past 2 15 min past 3
TVESDAY„, ,x,,.37 Will past 3 56 min past 3