The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-07 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, Feb. 6.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.—Feb. 6.

COURT OF PROBATE.
(Before Sir C. Cresswell and a Special Jury.)
BROADBENT V. HUGHES.

--------
Mr. Sergeant-
Shee, Dr Wambey, and Mr..
Francis were counsel for the plaintiff; Dr.
more, Q.C., and Dr. Tristram for the defendant.
The testator, Joseph Hugh Hughes, died at
Islington on the 3d of September, 1859, at the age
of 88. By a will dated the 18th of August, 1859,
he left the whole of his property, consisting of
about £4,000 in the funds, to his niece, the wife of
the plaintiff, and appointed the plaintiff sole
executor. The defendant, Mr. Alfred Hughes, was
the son of a deceased brother of the testator, and
he pleaded in opposition to the will undue execu-
tion, incapacity, and undue influence.
The deceased was formerly a surgeon in the Royal
Navy. He was taken prisoner at the siege of Dant-
sic, was confined for about 10 years at Verdun, and
returned to England upon his release when the
Bourbons were restored. He was offended at some-
thing that had been done during his absence by his
brother Charles, the defendant's father, and gave
up all intercourse with him and his family. The
wife of the plaintiff, who was the daughter of a
deceased sister, was then at school, and he had her
at his house during the holydays and proposed two
or three persons from whom she might choose a
suitable husband. She married Mr. Broadbent
against his will, and he was at first angry, but be-
came reconciled to the match in the course of a few
months. In 1842 he retired from the service, and
between that year and 1857 he travelled about a
great deal on the Continent and in England. In
June, 1857, he stayed for a few months at Winches-
ter, and in October -went to Exeter. In November,
1858, Mr. Broadbent, who lived with his wife and
family in London, went to Exeter to see him, and
they returned together to London. He stayed with
the Broadbents, at Islington, until April, 1859. He
then expressed a wish to leave the house, because
he wanted to make a will in Mrs. Broadbent's
favour, and he thought it would be advisable to do
it elsewhere. He went to Worcester, but only re-
mained for a day or two, and when he returned to
London resided at the Glocester Coffeehouse in
Chelsea. He remained there until July, receiving
frequent visits from, and sometimes visiting, the
Broadbents. In July he removed to lodgings near
the Broadbents at Dolby-terrace, Islington, where
he remained until his death. He was taken ill on
the morning of the 16th of August, and was at-
tended by a medical man in the neighbourhood, Dr.
Lafargue. Mr. Broadbent told Dr. Lafargue that he
had not settled his worldly affairs, and Dr. Lafargue
expressed an opinion that it was time for him to do
so, and mentioned the subject to him. He said he
was very ill, but he did not think he should die yet.
A solicitor (Mr. Bolton) was introduced that even-
ing, but he then refused to make the will. His
first illness arose from an attack of paralysis, and
on the 17th of August he had an attack of bron-
chitis. On the 18th of August Mr. Bolton was in-
troduced again by Broadbent, and Broadbent said,
" This gentleman is come to make your will." Mr.
Bolton asked him how he intended to leave his
property. He said he wanted him to leave some-
thing to the son of an old friend, named Adam-
th waite. Broadbent reminded him that both
Adamthwaite and his son had been dead for some
time, and added, " You know you said you would
leave the property to my wife, your niece." He
said, " Well, let it be so." Mr. Bolton asked whe•
ther he understood rightly that he intended to
leave his property to his niece, Mrs. Broadbent,
and he assented. Broadbent asked him whether he

would leave anything to his other nephews and
nieces. He said "No!" in a very decided manner.
While the will was being drawn up the question
was repeated, and received A, similar answer. After
Mr. Bolton had drawn up the will he began to read
it aloud. The testator said he would rather have it
read by the doctor, and he accordingly read it.
The testator was then propped up with pillows, and
he took a pen to sign it. lie began his signature
at a wrong place, and his hand shook so much from
paralysis that Dr. Lefargue steadied it while he
sirmed. It was then attested by Dr. Lefargue and
Mr. Bolton, the testator thanked them, and they
withdrew.
Mr. and Mrs. Broadbent, several of their chil-

dren, and many persons who had seen and con-
versed with the testator during the last three or
four years of his life were called and gave strong
evidence of his testamentary capacity. He was
fond of reading the newspapers, he was accustomed
to converse on the various topics of the day, and he
transacted his own business. A great deal of cor-
respondence was also read for the purpose of con-
firming that evidence. Dr. Lefargue and Mr. Bol-
ton both believed him to be perfectly competent,
and Dr. Lefargue and Mr. and Mrs. Broadbent said
that his mind remained unaffected until within a
few days of his death. His family were Roman
Catholics, and he was educated in the same faith,
and, as Mr. and Mrs. Broadbent said, he died in it.
On the part of the defendant, Mr. and Mrs.
Hawkes, with whom the testator had lodged at
Exeter for a twelvemonth, from the autumn of 1857
to the autumn of 1858, were called, and said that,
in their opinion, his mind was then very feeble.
He was fond of reading the newspapers, and
talking about what he had read, but he did not seem
to understand it. He was visited by Miss Susan
Hughes, the defendant's half-sister, who stayed with
him for a short time, and was taken by him about
the neighbourhood. In the autumn of 1858 they
thought he was getting worse, and communicated
with Mr. Alfred Hughes, his nephew, the chief of
the police at Bath. Mr. Hughes came, but did not
see him, and it appeared that he felt angry with
Mr. Hughes, because he was under the impresion
that Mr. Hughes had employed the police to track
him. Mr. Broadbent afterwards arrived, and the
testator was pleased to see him. The landlords of
the inns where he had stayed at Worcester, and of
the Glocester Coffee-house, and several other wit-
nesses were examined for the purpose of proving his
defective memory and incapacity to take care of
himself. They described him as dirty in his habits,
and further said he was unable to tell whether he
had reer.ived the right change after paying a bill,
and was accustomed to want to pay the same bill
over ar.d over again. The landlady of the house at
Dolby-terrace, where the testator lodged at the
time of the making of the will, also said that, in her
opinion, he was incompetent to Make a will. Be-
fore he was attacked with paralysis he used to go
out for walks, and he always ordered what he
wanted and paid his bills. After his attack he did
not seem to know Mr. and Mrs. Broadbent or any
vne else. The most material witness, however, in
opposition to the will was Mr. Briggs, a managing
clerk in Sir John Lubbock's hank, who had trans-
acted business for the deceased for many years. lie
said that Mr. Hughes, during the last few months
of his life, called several times at the bank, that his
mind was so feeble that he did not even understand
how to fill up the form necessary to' enable hint to
receive his half-pay, and that he advised him to go
and live with his relations, who could take care of
him. A cheque was produced which had been
signed by the testator a few days after the making
of the will, and had been paid ; but Mr. Briggs said
he should not have allowed it to pass if it had come
under his notice. Mr. Briggs added that he should
decidely have refused to attest any will made
by the deceased as late as the summer or
autumn of 18.59. But it was proved that in Jan.,
1859, he entertained apprehensions that his money
was not safe, invested as it was then in the Dutch
funds, because there was danger of a Continental
war, and he wrote a very sensible letter containing
directions that it should be transferred to the Eng-
lish funds, and the transfer was made.
- - -

It was contended on the part of the plaintiff that
the testator had always preferred Mrs. Broadbent
to any of his other relations, and was carrying out
an intention which he had for years entertained
when he made the will in her favour; and on the
part of the defendant that his intention was to die
intestate, and have his property fairly divided
among his relatives; but that the Broadbents in-
duced him when his intellect was so far gone that
he did not know what he was about to make the
will now propounded.
Sir C. Cresswell summed up.
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff, in
favour of the will upon 1.11 the issues.
llis Lordship then decreed probate.
The ease has
occupied three days, and was not
concluded until
seven o'clock.

. cAPE OF A DETECTIVE _FFICER.—
NARttov E 9 ------------
o
Sergeant Jar •
Via, of the City detective force, had a narrow
es, cape on Saturday from2ffatesimilar to that which befel
1 hamesonae time since.
ton received information thatew days ago,
namede
p l oy We
rm..ivirMßoor.o
Inspector Tiamil-
Walter, aged 26, had absconded-;tre;hnis
se.tt, ar,
confectioner, of Sheffield
his employer. On Saturday morning £lOO, the iropert "-f
panicd by a Sheffield constable, arrived iti..
Bassett, accoYmo
having been obtained, secured the vaed.in town, and a clue
Jarvis, who succeeded in arresting Walter,ssstanco of Sergeant
in the cab with • the , officer and Mr. l whoa was placed
formed Jarvis that he had received a threatening let
in_
from the prisoner, intimating that he would bleonwini lett,r
brains of any person
.who arrested him. Jarvis suddenlytith
seized Ills arms, and discovered that he held a loaded pisoi
rcaiy cocked, in encl.], hand, concealed beneath the loose
sleeves of one of the fashionable Inverness capes which he
wore. Ire was immediately disarmed, though not without
some difficulty, as he is a muscular and determined young
man. On arriving at Bow-lane station-house he was
searched and the pistols - examined. One contained two
bullets, and there is et-cry probability that, if Sergeant
Jarvis had not displayed great couraga and readiness, the
prisoner would have'attempted his life. His apartments
were subsequently searched, and £5O in bank-notes, a gold
watch, and other article, were discovered. In the evening
he was conveyed to Sheffield, handcuffed, as there was reason
to suppose that he would attempt suicide.

The February General Sessions commenced this
morning at the Guildhall, Westminster, before Mr.
Bodkin, Assistant-Judge, Mr. Payne, deputy, and
the following very full bench of magistrates :—Mr.
Pownall, chairman ; Mr. John Bentley, Mr. H. H. '
Harwood, Col. W. Wood, Mr. Wolsey, Mr. T. E.
Baker, Mr. White, Mr. Parbury, Mr. Beetham, Mr.
Halsey, Mr. E. W. Cox, Mr. Hogarth, Mr. Harvey
Lewis, Mr. T. Cotterell, Mr. Rankine, Mr. Faul-
coner, and Sir James Tyler.
The calendar contains the names of 61 prisoners,
54 charged with felony, and 7 with misdemeanour.
SOLDIERS' BELTS.—Two powerful-looking young
guardsmen, named George Hales and Chas. Hum-
phreys, were indicted for unlawfully and maliciously
assaulting and inflicting grievous bodily harm upon
Henry Summerfield and George Stevens, police
constables, in the execution of their duty.
Mr. Cooper conducted the prosecution on behalf
of the Treasury. The prisoners were not defended.
It appeared that on the night of the 18th Jan.
the prisoners were at the Clock-house Tavern,
Knightsbridge, where their conduct was of the
most riotous and disgraceful character; they were
quite drank. The constable Stevens, 266 A, was
called upon to remove them, and Hales went away,
but returned and wanted to go in again, but the
constable would not permit him. A mob had col-
lected, and Humphreys came up, unbuckled his
belt, and with dreadful exclamations said he would
use it ipon the first person that came near him.
Hales rushed into the crowd and struck a poor old
woman, and also Lieut. Gilbert, of the West York-
shire Militia, who was standing by. Hales was
then taken into custody, when he fought and kicked
desperately, one kielt being of so severe a nature
that the constable's stocking was saturated with
blood from the wound it caused. Humphreys struck
at Summerfield's head with the buckle end of his
belt, and the blow cut a piece nearly out of his hat,
one side of which was smashed in. He also kicked
him twice in the groin, which resulted in a serious
injury, and instruments had to be used upon him.
Lieut. Gilbert stated that he resided in Montpe-
lier-square, Brompton, and was passing at the time
this transaction occurred. The conduct of the police-
men was most forbearing, and they were persuad-
ing the soldiers to go quietly home to barracks.
They used their belts indiscriminately, and one of
the blows fell upon witness's shoulder. For the
protection of the police, who were only doing their
duty, he " fell" upon Hales, pinioned him, and held
him until another constable came up. A gentleman
who was standing by had his chin cut open by one
of the blows, and the policeman Summerfield had
to be taken to the station in a cab. Neither of them
have been able to go on duty since, and are under
the care of the divisional surgeon.
In summing up, the learned Judge said the con-
duct of Lieut. Gilbert was deserving of the utmost
praise, and he was entitled to the thanks of the
Court and of the public for what he had done.
The Jury found the prisoners guilty of the whole
charge.
The Assistant-Judge told them that their conduct
had been of the most atrocious character. They
had merely urged in their defence the old plea of
intoxication. That, in his opinion, was rather an
aggravation of their case, for they wore the Queen's
uniform, and ought rather to be the first to preserve
order than, as they usually were, the first to break
it by attacking the police, who were the servants cf
the public and engaged in the duty of preserving
order and protecting the public. They were armed
with these belts, which were really weapons of a
very dangerous description, and it was impossible
to tell the amount of mischief and personal injury
that might be inflicted with them in the hands of
savage, drunken men. They had thoroughly dis-
graced the coats they were wearing. The pease of
the town was not to be outraged in this way, and a
severe example must be made of the prisoners, each
of whom he sentenced to hard labour for one year.
James Murray, 39, was convicted of an assault
upon James Simmons, a police-constable in the ex-
ecution of his duty. The constable found the pri-
soner drunk on a door step, and was about to get
him to go home, when he turned suddenly upon
him, threw him down and dashed his head on the
kerb stone, cutting the skull open. The prisoner
was a Scotchman and a habitual drunkard. He
admitted himself that his character in this respect
was and always had been very bad.
The Assistant• Judge said, the sentence of the
Court he was about to pass would alter it for at
least six months, for which period he must go to the
House of Correction and be kept to hard labour.

(Before Mr. Payne.)

Frederick Alexander Thompson surrendered to
take his trial on an indictment, in which he was
charged with having stolen a number of cubic feet
of gas, the property of the Gaslight and Coke Com-
pany.
Mr. H. Giffard was counsel for the prosecution ;
the prisoner was defended by Mr. Ribton and Mr.
F. H. Lewis.

It appeared that the prisoner had been in the oc

cupatioh of a room called Rosoman-hall, in Roso-
man-street, Clerkcnwell, which he let out for tem-

perance lectures, balls, and concerts, and the gas
was supplied by the prosecutor. In consequence
of his being in arrear of payment it was intimated
to him that the supply would be cut off, but he
begged that it might not, as he was under a con-
tract with a teetotal society to supply them with
the use of the room and gas for lectures two or
three nights a week, and said it should be paid ; he
offered first half a sovereign, and then said he
would endeavour to get V.. After a second applica-
tion the fitter went and cut the gas Off from the
main, took away the supply pipe, that is, the piece
which passes from the main to the meter, and
plugged up the hole in the main, and that in the
meter also. Nevertheless the teetotal society had
their gas as usual, and the chandelier gave a better
light for at least three nights after the supply pipe
had been taken from the meter, but in consequence
of information which reached them they thought it
prudent to remove furniture and fittings, forms,
banners, &c., from the hall, when it was discovered
that up in one of the corners of the ceiling a piece
of gut had been attached to the end of a disused
pipe, which was connected with a main at the back
of Northampton-buildings, and to the end of the

pipe which supplied the chandelier, so that a supply
was procured direct from another main, the meter
having been supplied from the main in Rosoman-
street. It was calculated that about 300 feet would
be consumed on each of the three occasions when it
was used by the teetotallers (several of whom gave
evidence), and the value of which was put at
about 4s.
The cross-examination of the teetotal witnesses
by Mr. Ribton, particularly one named Penne-
father, who said he was teetotal to the backbone,
and had been so for 20 years, was most amusing,
and created great merriment in court..
Mr. Ribton, in his address to the jury, com-
plained in very strong terms of the manner in
which the company had treated this man, who had
always borne a most irreproachable character, in
resorting to the criminal law, and charging him
with a felony under such circumstances, for it could
not possibly amount to anything beyond a breach
of contract. The company contracted to supply him
with gas, and he contracted to supply the teetotal
lers with it, and though at the moment he was un-
able to pay up the arrears he did all he could do,
and had not the company cut his supply off, he
would have continued to carry on his rooms and
been enabled to pay. As it was he was compelled
andis es
it) another
ptoaigdivethuep
ahrirseparreem,resorting person,
t e
the
mode who h
head
had of getting a supply from th old pipe he had
no more committed a felony than a man would in
cutting a slice of his' own bread for his
him
a
luncheon.
company
He declared he would have done the same thing
self; and defied the company, and had the eteup
asked to be paid for the extra gas used of o
would have been paid. The prisoner had, as her" n.
it
sidered, been improperly deprived of his supply
through the meter, which was done in his absence,
and he thought he had a right to resortto the other
pipe for what he himself was under contract to sup-
ply, as he fully intended to pay for it and not to
purloin it, :and, if the prisoner had not paid for it,
then their remedy was the County Court.
itnesses to character were then called.
The learned Judge said, he thought the contract
between the company and the prisoner was deter-
mined when the supply was cut off. It seemed to be
admitted that the prisoner placed the piece of gut
on the old pipe, by which means he got the supply
in another way, and the question was, did he then
wilfully and deliberately intend to steal the gas
and not pay for it, or think he might do so tempo-
rarily, as his regular supply had been stopped,
without any intention of fraud. If the jury had any
doubt about the matter they would give him the
benefit of it.

The jury retired, and after a short deliberation
found the prisoner not guilty.

[ADVERTISEMENT.)-11r. Benson, Ludgate-hill, has just
published a new illustrated pamphlet on watches (free by post
for two :stamps). It should be read by all who are about
buying a watch, as it contains prices and important informa-
tion as to—What watch to buy ! where to buy it ! and how to
use it

[AnvuuTtsEmENT.].—Holloway's Ointment and Pills.—
Be careful —The damp fogs and sudden changes of tem-
perature in winter always produce colds, influenza, and
catarrhal fever. Holloway's Pills readily remove the
.first
symptoms of these diseases but when neglect has:pernutted
them to gain a stronghold on the system, his Ointment
should be well rubbed twice a day upon the back and
chest; this course perseveringly followed for a short lime,
will rescue many who,through inattention, seemed doomed
to serious or fatal consequences. .Asthma, bronchitis, and
consumption, are thus prevented. The irritable chest is
soothed, the cough becomes looser and less frequent, and the
breathing is strengthened. IThe appetite returns, good
digestion is restored, bringing with it ease, strength, and
vigour.