The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-22 00:00:00

WILLS AND BEQUESTS

The will of the Right Hon. Samuel Hood, Baron Brid-
port, of Cricket Lodge, St. Thomas, near Chard, Somer.
setshire, and of Wimpole-street, was proved in her
Majesty's Court of Probate on the 3rd inst„ and the per-
sonalty sworn under £20,000, the executors appointed
being the Right Hon. Charlotte Mary, Baroness Bridport,
his relict, and Major-General the Right Hon. Alexander
Nelson Hood, Baron Bridport, his only surviving son,
who is the acting executor. The will is dated July
15, 1861, and the testator died on January 6 last, aged
79. The deceased was the second son of Henry, second
Viscount Hood, and succeeded his granduncle, the
celebrated Admiral Viscount Bridport, and married
in 1810 Charlotte Mary, only surviving child of Wil-
liam, first Earl Nelson. The testator bequeaths to
his relict, in addition to all other provision, an immediate
legacy of £l,OOO, his leasehold residence in Wimpole-street,
with the fixtures, furniture, and other effects, both in his
town and country residences, with certain portions of the
wine, also his carriage and horses. The rest of his effects
he leaves to his son, the present baron.—The will of Mr.
Joseph Straker, of Benwell, Northumberland, was proved
in the registry at Newcastle-on-Tyne, and the personalty
sworn under £250,000, the executors and trustees being
Mr. John Straker, the testator's son, and Mr. John Coppin.
The will is dated June 30, 1863, and a codicil June 28, 1867 ;
and the testator died on October 13 following. To his
eldest son he leaves a legacy of £lO,OOO ; to his son George
the interest of £25,000 for life, and the principal to his
children. He devises his estate at Lee Riding, Bywell
St. Conde, Northumberland, to his son-in-law, Henry
Straker, for life, and afterwards to the sons of the latter,
Joseph and Henry Straker.—The will of William Barnes,
of Berkhampstead, Herts, was proved on the 2nd ult., in
the London Court, under £3,000 personalty. The will is
dated September 13, 1866, and contains the following
bequest :—" I give and bequeath unto the Chancellor 4:0,
the Exchequer for Great Britain, for the use of they
nation, all my estate and effects whatsoever and where-
soever, both real and personal, after having paid all my
lawful debts ; and three bequests of £lOO, £5O, and £lO
to his servants, all free of duty, the executor to receive full
compensation for his trouble. Should the Chancellor ti
the Exchequer refuse to accept the same, it shall revert to
the executor, the Rev. Thomas Snell, Independent minister,
to be used by him as shall appear to he most in harmony
with the mind of the testator as expressed by him.—The
1,6;1 of John Ransom, stud groom her Majesty, of the
Royal paddock, Hampton Court, was proved under £5,000.
—lllustrated London News.

A picture attributed to Murillo has just been
discovered in the church of Villaharta, in the province of

Cordova.

With regard to the demand for wheat for the
Continent, it appears that within the last fourteen days at
least 50,000 qrs. have been taken from Queenstown and

Falmouth for French and other near foreign ports, and
that about 20,000 or 30,000 qrs. additional, now on their
passage hither from California, have been bought for
similar destinations.

of a letter are in circulation said to
have been addressed by the ex-King Francis IL to his
cousin, the Princess of Parma, on the occasion of her
marriage with the ex-Duke Ferdinand IV. of Tuscany.
In this document Francis expresses his hope that very
soon his cousin and her consort will be reinstalled at
the Pitti Palace at Florence, a dwelling worthy of their
ancestors.

• OVERSTOCKIN:: OF GAME.—A ease has been tried
in the first division of the Jury Court, Edinburgh, before
Lord Barcaple in which Mr. George Sy me, farmer on the
estate of the Earl of Moray, Fifesbire, sought damages to
the extern of £270 from the trustees and executors of the
late earl, with whom he had entered into certain leases.
The issue lai I before the jury was whether, during the year
1565, the late earl had upon the lands leased by the pur-
suer an " unreasonable and extensive stock of game"
beyond what existed thereon at the dates of entering into
the leases, to the loss and injury of the pursuer. In the
course of his evidence the pursuer stated that one evening
in 1865 he counted between seventy and eighty hares
in a field of twenty acres, while the pheasants were " so
numerous that it was impossible to count them." He had
seen on six or eight occasions seventy or eighty pheasants
in a field at a time. It was urged for the defenders that
the farms on which the loss was alleged to have been sus-

tained were near the mansion of Donibristle ; that they
were surrounded ly coverts, and in a situation where game
might be expected to abound. Evidence was given to shew
that the farms had been let at a low rent on account of
their being liable to injury from game ; and that any
tenant taking them must necessarily have that in view.
The jury returned a verdict for the Pursuer, awarding
£197 damages.

SINGULAR STORY.-The following episode in
humble life has just come to light, in connection with
which an inhabitant of Driffield, Mr. William Blakey, is
largely interested. Some forty years ago a man named
Thomas Blakey, of Bishop Wilton, near Pocklington,
" left his country for his country's good," having been con-
victed and sentenced to seven years' penal servitude for
an offence for which he would not now be liable to more
than six months at the treadmill. Blakey left a wife and
six children behind him in Enland to provide for them-
selves. It seems that Blakey, on obtaining his liberty,
made Van Dieman's Land—to which he had been trans-
ported—his adopted country ; and that he entered into
speculations which proved eminently successful. Nothing,
however, Was ever heard of him by his family until very
lately, when information respecting his death and fortu-
nate career was accidentally obtained. His son William,
who has resided in Driffield many years, casually met
with a Bishop Wilton man, who recognised him as a play-
f-.llow, and expressed much surprise at seeing him in
England, as he had been led to exp that all the family
had gone to America. Much to Blakey's surprise, the
Bishop Wilton man informed him that a letter had lately
been received by a gentleman residing in that village_

from Van Diemen's Land, inquiring for particulars of
the family, and re westing certificates of the registers to
be procured and forwarded. In consequence of this uncx-
r:cted information, William Blakey went to Bishop
Wilton to ascertain the truth of what had been told him.
He found that his long-lost father, after regaining his
liberty, had married a woman who went out in the same
ship with him, and that he had two sons and one daughter
by her; that his father accumulated a large fortune, and
when he died had left something like £7,000 behind him,
which, on the death of his wife, who is now 65 years of
age, will be devisable amongst the deceased's nine
child: en, or their representatives. William Blakey imme-
diately took steps to establish his claims to a share of the
property,