The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-09 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

lIOUSE OF LORDS.
THE YELVERTON CASE.

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Cranworth, and Lord
Colonsay took their seats shortly before 11 o'clock.
Lord Westbury was absent.
A vast number of people clamoured for admission,
principally ladies, and the police had great difficult),
to resist their claims. They did their work, how-
ever, with great good humour, and the majority of
the ladies were obliged to be satisfied with remaining

outside.
Mrs. Yclverton (Longworth) appeared at the bar
with a large mass of papers, and said that her
strength hardly permitted her to sneak, having been
seriously unwell, but she would do the best she could
under the circumstances.
Mrs. Yelverton—l can go on, but I cannot com-
plete my case to-day.
The Lord Chancellor—That is hardly keeping
faith with us. You know we have shown you sours
indulgence. It is not fair to the other side that the
proceedings should be unduly extended, and I am
afraid we must ask you to conclude to-day.
Mr. Anderson, Q.C.—We have no objection to
Mr. Campbell Smith being heard in reply on behalf
of the appellant, if your lordships think fit.
After a consultation between their lordships,
The Lord Chancellor said that if the appellant
felt unable to go on, they would allow her counsel
to reply for her, as this was an exceptional case. If,
however, she began her case she must finish it.
They could not allow her to begin her case, and her
counsel to take it up at any particular point. It
must be one thing or the other, and she must take
her choice.
Mrs. Yelverton—l presume my counsel may in-
struct me?
The Lord Chancellor—Oh yes, certainly; to any
extent you like.
Mrs. Yelverton said she would elect, under the
circumstances, to proceed with her own case, and
proceeded to address their lordships. She began
by stating that she had the greatest possible con-
fidence in their lordships, and she felt sure that the
noble lord (Colonsay) would thoroughly interpret
to them the principles of Scottish law. She then
referred to some legal judgments which appeared
to bear on her case ; but between her own
notes and those of her counsel she seemed
to lose her usual self-possession, and to drop
altogether the .thread of her argument. Mr.
Smith, her counsel, occasionally stood up behind
her and directed her attention to the points which
he thought advisable to press, but this course seemed
to confuse her, and she evidently made little way.
Mr. Anderson, Major Yelverton's counsel, kindly
sent for some books and papers to which she made
reference and helped her in finding out her authori-
ties. Selecting some of Mr. Anderson's legal argu-
ments she disputed the accuracy of his conclusions,
and calling his authorities into question (Lord
Colonsay took very careful notes of all these points).
He contended that Mr. Anderson's statements with
regard to the proposed oath of reference were not
borne out by the history of the cases in which it
had been admitted, and that there was no fear in
the present case of the oath of reference leading to
the flood of litigation of which he had ex-.
pressed so much alarm. In the next place
she contended, arguing from parallel cases,
that her minute of reference having been given
before the judgment of the House of Lords was ap-
plied, the objections which Mr. Anderson had urged
that the Court of Session itself do not interfere
were of no avail.
The Lord Chancellor said that was not exactly
so. It appeared from her own case that the judg-
ment was applied on the 10th of that month. It
was received and boxed on that da/.
Mrs. Yelverton—lt was tendered before that
time.
The Lord Chancellor—Yes, but that was not the
minute of reference itself, and it is of that alone that
we can take notice here.
Mrs. Yelverton—lt was declined by the court
when it was tendered.
Lord Colonsay—No doubt the minute was ten-
dered, but all their lordships could notice was the
proceeding of the 14th, which was after the judg-
ment of the _House of Lords was applied.
Mrs. Yelverton put a question to the House
which created some amusement.
The Lord Chancellor—We are here to listen to
you. lam afraid we cannot undertake to answer
any questions of that kind. (Laughter.)
Here again the appellant seemed to lose herself
completely, and to speak of matters which the Lord
Chancellor was obliged to remind her were not in
evidence. She then noticed Mr. Anderson's argu-
ments on what he called her clandestine marriage,
and quoted from a judgment delivered by Sir Wm.
Scott, in which he affirmed the validity of a mar-
riage under circumstances of a similar character.
That learned person had declared that, according
to the Scottish law, au irregular marriage was as
regular as a formal marriage, and that if the law
nude a mistake the law must take the responsi-
bility, and the parties must not suffer. The ap-
pellant's next point was that the proposed oath
of reference would not involve Major Yelverton
in the criminality which bad been alleged. There
would be quite sufficient evidence without going to
that extent, and if the Scotch marriage question
could be settled, that would put an end to the whole
case, and ought to be equally satisfactory to the ap-
pellant and respondent. It had been said that a
pwhom
hisahna
noadtshinofhir.scfpeorceknectestalandd bweaelnk
granted
might
off, refusing to answer, but such a case had never
occurred. It was exactly in such a case that the
Court would be likely to interfere. She next re-
ferred to the case of Lord Huntingtower, where a
Scotch marriage was brought forward to override
an English marriage, and in which the Court exec
cised its discretion.

The Lord Chancellor —lf he remembered rightly,
that was a plea set up to evade a debt. A debt had
been contacted by his wife, and Lord Hunting-
tower set up a previous Scotch marriage in order to
got rid of his liability. He remembered that the
case was heard at nisi prius, but he did not remem-
ber that it ever came before a full court. It could
hardly, therefore, have any bearing on the present
proceeding.

Mr. Anderson said he believed the case fell
through.

Mrs. Yelverton proceeded to say that.some judges
had decided that there had been a marriage between
herself and Major Yelverton, and others that there
had not during the long period of seven years.
When, therefore, only two persons knew the fact
it was only to those two parties that the matter on
oath should be referred. The truth had never been
fixed firmly ; sometimes it had been apparent,
sometimes in the shade ; and the only way to pass
it was to put the matter directly to Major Yelverton,
and that would settle the case one way or the other
for ever.

More documents were handed the appellant, but
she floundered over them, and excited the sympathy
of every one present.
The Lord Chancellor—l am afraid your counsel
writes a very bad hand, which is not very unusual

amongst lawyers. Pray take your time to decipher
it, or perhaps it would be better for Mr. Smith to

read it himself.

Mr. Smith briefly explained the reasons of his
absence on former occasions.

The Lord Chancellor—We were informed, when
the caso commenced, that you were on the way
from Scotland, and we gave the appeallant her

choice, whether she would wait for you, or would

go on herself. It appears that you were not ready
to reply this morning, even if you had been per-
mitted to do so. I think this ought to be known,
in order that it may not be supposed that the House
of Lords was pressing the appellant.
Mr. Smith then read a document which had been
prepared, contending that the refusal of the Judges
in Scotland was based upon false assumptions.
There should be no authority on the part of any
court or of any judge to shut up the avenues of jus-
tice against the appellant. If Major Yelvertou
could swear that he did not marry the appellant,
why should he not have the opportunity of doing
so, and why should the appellant be denied the jus-
tice sho had a right to claim. Many of the best