The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-08 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

CHANCERY.-(THIS DAY.)

MITFORD V. REYNOLDS—JUDGMENT.
The LORD CHANCELLOR gave judgment this morn-
ing in this important case, the question in which arose
under the will of Mr. Robert Mitford. The testator,
after providing for the payment of his debts and lega-
cies, proceeded thus—" Ninthly, I will, devise, and be-
queath the remainder of my property to the Govern-
ment of Bengal, for the express purpose of that Go-
vernment applying the amount to charitable, benefi-
cial, and public works at and in the city of Dacca,
the intent being that the amount should be applied
exclusively to the benefit of the native inhabitants in
the manner that the Government might consider
most beneficial." The first and main question was
whether this was a valid charitable bequest;
the money was to be applied, to charitable, beneficial,
and public works. Now the question to be consi-
dered was, whether those words were to be taken
distributively or conjunctively. Upon that point
there could be no doubt; it was clear this was not the
whole of the bequest, because the testator went on to
say, that it was his intent that the money should be
applied exclusively for the benefit of the native inha-
bitants of Bengal. Taking, therefore, the Whole to-
gether, the meaning and intent was, that the
money should be employed upon works, by
which his Lordship understood something to
be constructed or established for the benefit of the
native inhabitants of the city of Dacca, not for any
particular class, but for all generally, rich and poor.
His Lordship thought, that considering all the autho-
rities on the subject, this constituted a valid charit-
able bequest. In the case of Jones v. Weller, before
Lord Camden, there was a bequest of 1,0001. for
supplying Chepstow with water; there Lord Camden,
considering the gift to be one for the benefit of the
poor as well as rich, held it to be good, observing that
such a gift had always been considered within the
statute of Elizabeth as a good bequest. In the case of
House v. Chapman, Lord Loughborough held that a
similar gift to the city of Bath was a good bequest.
In another case before Lord Eldon, the Botanical
Gardens at Stockwell, by reason of the statement of
the testator that he considered-it a public good, Lord
Eldon thought it was, a charitable bequest, and void
under the statute of mortmain. His Lordship, after
referring to several other cases, stated his opinion to
be that the bequest was good. It was unnecessary
for his Lordship to advert to the statute of mortmain,
as that had no application in India. Then with re-
spect to the objections that had been urged against
the bequest; first, it was said it was difficult
and uncertain to know what the testator
meant by the native inhabitants of Dacca ;
His Lordship apprehended that no person, having any
knowledge of India, could have any doubt upon the
subject—he clearly meant the native inhabitants, in
contradistinction to the European inhabitants and the'a.
descendants. Then it was said, how could w°"*j.cs be
exclusively for the benefit of the native inh-abitants ?
In his Lordship's opinion, there rate
at be many
instances in which they could be SQ exclusively em-
ployed, such, for instance, as hospitals, baths, and gar-
dens. Another objection was, that it might be em-
ployed for idolatrous purposes—such as building tem-
ples for the worship of idols. Now the answer to '
that was obvious---the gift was for the benefit
of the native inhabitants of Dacca, and this Court
would not consider such an application for their bene-
fit, nor would any other Court. Now, as his Lord-
ship understood the Act of Parliament on which the
Supreme Court in Calcutta was founded, that Court
exercised an equitable jurisdiction, and doing so
it would consider such an application impro-
per, and would control, regulate, and restrain
it. It appeared to his Lordship that the mo-
ney being directed to be given to the Government of
Bengal, it ought to be paid to the Governor, in order
that it might be applied to the purposes contained in
the will. But then it was said that the Court would
not part with the funds, because they might
be abused, as the overnor was subject
to no control. This was a mistake, the Governor
was subject to the control of the Supreme Court, the
same as any other person, except where he was act-
ing as Governor in Council. In the present case he
was acting as a private individual ; he was not re-
ceiving the payment, of this money in his public cha-
racter, and he Was therefore amenable to the tribunals
of the country. Several other objections had been
urged, tone of which, in his Lordship's opinion, had
any weight. On the whole, therefore, his Lordship
Was of opinion that, taking all the matters into consi-
deration, the gift was a good charitable bequest,
free from any valid or legal doubt, and
that the Court, therefore, was bound to
direct the money to be paid over :to the Governor.
The decree, therefore, of the Vice-Chancellor
was a proper one, but as it was considered that the
mausoleum which the testator had directed to be built
for the interment of himself and sister was a charitable
bequest, it being built as an ornament to the town near
which it was placed, it would be necessary to vary
that decree, for the purpose of identifying what the
charitable bequest with respect to the native inhabi-
tants of Dacca was.

The case was then ordered to stand for Monday, to
be spoke to on further directions.

IN RE SUISSE.

On this motion being called on,
Sir C. WETHERELL, on behalf of the executors of
the late Marquis of Hertford, stated that since the
case was last before the Court, affidavits had been filed
on behalf of Mr. Suisse, which it would be necessary
for them to answer unless his Learned Friend, Mr.
Sharpe, on behalf of Mr. Suisse, was willing to agree
to a proposition he would make, which was, that Mr.
Suisse might have the remaining 1,5001. out of Court,
provided he would give good security in England to
restore it, if, upon a reference to the Master (which
was to take place immediately), he should be found
bound to do so.

Mr. S. SHARPE on behalf of Mr. Suisse, could not
consent to the proposal.
After a short discussion, it was arranged that the
motion should come on peremptorily the day after
the next seal.

VICE-CHANCERY--(THIS DAY.)
The Vice-Chancellor of England was occupied the
whole morning with motions of no public interest.

COMMON PLEAS.—WEDNESDAY.
GIBSON V. PHILLIPS.
The following case occupied the Court for three
days :—The nominal plaintiff is the assignee in
the bankruptcy of Mrs. Birch, the widow of the late
eminent coach-maker in Great Queen-street. The
defendant is a lodging-house keeper residing in Mile-
end.road, and claimed to be a judgment creditor
against the estate of the bankrupt to the amount of
5001. in moneys lent. The present action was brought
under a feigned issue, to determine the good faith of
the defendant's claim.
The inquiry occupied the Lord Chief Justice and
a special Jury nearly three days, and was not con-
cluded until a late hour on Wednesday evening. A
great number of witnesses for the plaintiff detailed the
facts which led to the bankruptcy of Mrs. Birch, and
her transaction with the defendant and a solicitor, Mr.
King, who was alleged by the plaintiff to be in con-
spiracy with the bankrupt and and defendant to de-
fraud the creditors. It appeared that the deceased
husband of the bankrupt was a creditor of the late
Duke of Kent, to a large amount, und the debt
(5,0001.) was paid to the widow by her pre-
sent Majesty since her accession to the throne.
Mrs. Birch employed her capital in estab-
lishing a boarding-house of the highest class, in
St. James's-place, and subsequently in Bedford-place,
Russell-square. In what way her embarrassments
arose, did not appear in the evidence upon either side
in this trial ; but the case for the defence was that,
she had been for a long time in great pecuniary diffi-
culties, and was upheld mainly by the attorney, King,
the defendant, and other compassionate friends. In
the beginning of this year, the bankrupt, then residing
in Bedford-place, and having good credit with a
number of respectable tradesmen, furnished her house
in a most expensive style, procuring a costly ser-
vice of plate from one person, and a hundred dozen
of wine from others. In four days after the pur-
chase of the plate, the silversmith—one of the most
extensive at the west-end of the town, was passing
through Bedford-place, and as the locality was to
him nearly as far east as to a late exquisite Secre-
tary to the Admiralty, he was inquisitive about the
curiosities of the district, and seeing, by certain bills
posted upon a wall, that at No. 15 a sale was then ac-
tually going on under an execution, and that plate and
jewels were amongst the goods, he stepped in to
see if
there were anything in his way. The first lot put
up, was a chest of plate, which bore upon the wain-
scot case his own name and mark. At the same time
another person of the. same trade, Mr. Symonds, of
Southampton-place, looked in at the sale, and also
found a quantity of his goods, "going to go." The
creditors, by the activity of the latter gentleman,
were enabled to fasten upon a great portion of the
property, and now a series of actions (of which the
present is one) are of necessity brought, to determine
whether the executions put in by the attorney King
and the defendant Phillips, are not fraudulent, and the
result of collusion with the bankrupt, to cheat the
tradesmen who had so much confidence in her former
respectability. The details of the evidence, although
exceedingly provocative of laughter, whilst some of
the witnesses were bearing testimony to their own
guilt, would occupy more space than it is worth. The
whole effect of it was to show, that at the very time
when King and Phillips alleged they lent the money
to Mrs. Birch, they were themselves in actual poverty.
Tplie Jury interrupted the Judge at the commence-
ment of his summing up, and found a verdict for the

The wife of General Sale is the daughter of the late
vicar of Puddletown, Dorset, the Rev. Mr. Winch.—
Salisbury Journal.