The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-19 00:00:00

A SLAVEHOLDECR'S LEG:ACV.

A t-or-J-,al redo likl)IC claim for pavoitir.',: 7;'' V
ca,ue before the Scutch law-courts last week. i7hephen
Henderson, a planter in Louisiana, died in 1833, pos-
sessed of property valued at 300,0001. He was born in
the parish of Dunblane, Perthshire, and his fortune
would appear to have been altogether self-acquired. He
left a will, which set out by protesting against any ex-
ception being taken to its form, writing, or spelling. He
p •ovidee fo' the conversion of his Destrehan plantation
i .t) a ci by to be called Dunblane, and gives the following
picture of his family :—" My whole family may be con-
sidered as a family of drunlcarde, and this misfortune
must have come upon the side of my father ; although
that he was au antiquarian, learned and intelligent, yet
to get drunk once a month was to him a jubilee. My
mother was a Drummond, a descendant of the M‘Gregors,
good-natured, but without much capacity. They were
honourable and high-minded as respects their intercourse
with others, but profligate and indolent as respects the
management of their private concerns; being poor they
were always in bankruptcy." He then proceeds to direct
that his slaves shall be treated with humanity, and that
the adults shall receive 31b. of good beef or pork per
week• He says ;—" I have always treated my blacks
with much indulgence, and even personal kindness. I
have always been opposed to slavery, butes it is properly
recognised by the constitution of the United States, to
take that away yon would at once destroy the greatest
and best regulated Government in the Old or New
World. Therefore, all attempts made by the fanatics
or misguided people that is going about and preaching,
like evil spirits, against slavery, turns the heads of the
unfortunate negroes, and prepares them for the com-
mission of every kind of crime, which compels their
masters to limit the very liberty which they formerly,
awarded to them." He gives directions for the eman-
cipation of his slaves by lot at intervals of five years,
and the furnishing of them with a free passage to " our
settlement in Africa ;" but " it must be clearly under-
stood that the benefit now granted to my slaves is not
to extend to a murderer or thief, or a confirmed rune-
away, or for any other high crime that can be legally
proved." Amor g a number of legacies, he Laves the two
which form the subject of the present action in the fol-
lowing terms :—" '2,000 dole. per annum to be paid to
the poor of the town of Dunblane, in Perthshire, North
Britain (this suns to be divided by the resident minister
of the Presbyterian church), and to the two highest civil
officers in the town, to be paid upon due proof of their
acceptance of their trust, say 2,000 dole. ; 2,000 dull.
Lit the erection of aschoolhouse in the town of Dunblane
for 10 years only, and for the purpose of educating of
the poor, this being the place of my birth. I feel no
obligation, however, for these acte of charity ; it is only
' done to help the poor who like myself may be:thrown on
the world without a penny or a friend. My greateat ob-
ject is to do the greatest quantity of good, and to the
greatest number, and to the poorest people. I shall leave
the world without regret, believing that I shall go to
a better and happier one." The pursuers in the nation
are the Rev, James Boe, minister of the parish, and the
Sheriff Substitute and Sheriff Clerk Depute of the
western district of Perthshire, Dunbialie having no
burghal constitution. The defenders are the heirs-at-
law, the broth-rs and sisters of the testator, domiciled,
we believe, in Scotland. Since 1838 proceedings have
been ping on in respect to Henderson's will in the
courts of Louisiana, and in 1850 the legacies were there
declared of none effect, on the grounds that there are
three " Presbyterian " ministers in the town of Dun-
Wane (that is the parish minister and two ministers of
Dissenting Presbyterians) and no "highest civil law
officers "in the town of Dunblane. It had also been re-
presented to the Court that the effect of the legacy, if
paid, would not be to benefit Dunblane, but to relieve
the heritors of the county, seeing that the town was un-
incorporated. The pursuers aver that the invalidity of
the bequest was declared in their absence and oa ex parte
evidence. The defenders meet the claim by three pre-
liminary pleas, first, that the pursuers have no title, that
the question is res jud icata by the American Courts, and
that this is not a competent Court. The Lord Ordinary
(Benholme) repelled these prelimirary pleas, and the
defenders reclaimed to the first division, which has now
found that the case is not res judicata, and that the Court
of Session is forum competcns. The Court, however,
reserves the question of title as entering into the merits.

MARKET NEWZ.—(Thi3 Day.)

CORN EXCHANGE.

GENERAL AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN
For the week ended Nov. 19, 1857, made up from the R 9.
turns of the Inspectors in the different Cities and Towns in
England and Wales, per Imperial Quarter.
WIIEAT I BARLEY OATS I RYE BEANS i PEAS
51s 8d 41s 3d 25s 3d 34s 7d 44s 9d 43s lld
THE SIX WEEKS' AVERAGES.

WHEAT 1 BARLEY I OATS I RYE I BEARS J PEAS
54s 2d 42s 9d 25s 6d 363 Od 45s 5d 44s 4d
ENGLISH GRAIN SOLD LAST WEEK,

Wheat, 91,010; barley, 81,572; oats, 13,455; rye, 134;
beans, 4,911 ; peas, 1,912 quarters.

MEAT MARKETS.

NENVGATE AND LEADENHALL.—The trade was tolerably
active, at full prices :—Beef, from 3s Od to 4s 6d ; Mut.
ton, 3s 2d to 4s 8'1; Veal, 3s 10d. to 4s 8d; Pork, 35 Gd
to 55 2d per Slbs, by the carcase.

EOI3THALL, Nov. 18.—The supply of fat stock in to-
day's market was only moderate, and the trade generally
ruled steady, as follows :—Beef, from 3s Od to 4s 10d ;
Mutton, 3s 6d to 5s 41; Veal, 4s 0(1 to 5s Od ; Pork,
4s Od to 5s Od per Sibs, to sink the offal.

RomFoto, Nov. 18.—Our market was well supplied,
and the trade ruled inactive, at about stationary prices :
Beef, from 3s Od to 4s 8d ; Mutton, 38 6d to 5s 2d ;
Veal, 4s Ud to 4s 10:1; Pcrk, 4s 4d to 5s Od per Blbs ;
Mulch Cows, 15/. to 18/. ; Suckling Calves, 16s to 23s
each.

THE INDIAN MUTINIAS.

NEEMUCH.

The following is from an officer at Neemuch,
Sept. 23 :
" The station from which I write is in the heart
of Rajpootana, a country abounding in and sur-
rounded by native States which compose anything
but one family, and between any two of which it
is very difficult to determine at any given time what
relation exists. There are Holkar's troops and
Scindia's troops and Salomba's troops, and the
mercenary troops of Odeypore, the Kotah Contin-
gent, the Jeypora, Joudpore, Meywar corps, and a
host more, and when any little dispute arises in the
country a sort of jumble takes place between these
bodies, during which two of them at least are pretty
sure to come into collision.
" We are about 24 miles from Mundissore, a
town well known to the readers of British Indian
history. In these times of mutiny and revolt against
the British flag this town has taken upon itself to
ignore Scindia's authority, and to exalt a flag of its
own—the green flag of the Prophet, made use of in
these times by those who wish to show their defiance
of British power. The English mails are stopped at
Mundi.sore and the letters and papers thrown into
the river. Mounted pickets are posted on the high
road on each side of the town.
" The town itself is in course of fortification. All
the ragamuffins of the country are gathered there ;
13 guns are posted on the walls. Recruits have been
made from the mutineers straggling about the coun-
try: Heavy bribes are offered to any of our Sepoys
to join, and, in fact, the town thinks it is going to
have it 'all its own way. It is plain that, if possi-
ble, this state of things must be altered. We
must take Mundissore, and have our post road free.
But the force at Neemuch is small, and Mundissore
being inconveniently on the road between this and
Mhow, all communication with the troops at that
station is stopped, and we cannot at present com-
bine our forces. To leave Neem Lich unprotected
would be to leave it to the mercies of some of our
friends, more to be dreaded, according to the pro-
verb, than our enemies, or, for whist we know, it
might fall into our enemies' hands. Be that as it
may, the Governor-General's agents have a difficult
p.irt to play. Scindia wishes to regain Mundissore ;
Seindia is our ally, but Scindia and Sciudia's troops
are two different parties. A. combination between
thee troops and ourselves, it appears, would not be
politic. We must proceed on our own foundation,
or not at all ; and this we hope to do, by God's
help, with success before long. In the meantime,
tie Governor-General's agent for Meywar stationed
here sees a eturnbliugblock in another direction.
The town of Nimbhaira stands 16 miles distant on
the high road between this and Nusseerabad. It is
walled, and has guns upon its walls. It is garri-
soned by a host of troops paid by the Nawab of
Tonk, a friend that has proved treacherous in time
of need. It is decided that the traps have no
business there. They are inimical to the Bri-
tish Government ; they dream of Delhi : shortly
they will stop the post. Green flags obscure
the vision of the agent to the Governor-General.
TOW, must be turned out and Odeypore in-
stalled. In short, the town must become a
British possession, and the Odeypore troops
must garrison it. The Governor-General's agent
imprerses this point on the Commandant of Nee-
much, and a force is prepared. Her Majesty's
83d detachment afford all they can-70 men ;
the Bombay 12th Native Infantry afford 80, and
the 2d Bombay Cavalry 150 men. Two 9-pounders
and a mortar accompany the force ; 12 Bengal offi-
cers from (late) Bengal Regiments are in atten-
dance : and 20 Christians of the 2d Bombay Cavalry
awl 8 sergeants man the guns, which are horsed
and harnessed by the 2d Cavalry. This party leave
on the evening of the 19th. Colonel Jeckson, 2d
Bombay Light Cavalry commands the force. A
short account of the attack upon and capture of
the town may not be uninteresting to our country-
men at home.