Star.
London, England, 1814-03-10 00:00:00

. LAW imPELLArifyc4.

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COURT OF CHANCERYi` MARCH Le
OREGORY 114 THE MATTER OP ARUNDEL, # LoNaitc.
Sir AnTon PIGOTT mated the Court oil the part
of the two Mr. Gregorys, who are cousins to the lu-
natic Arundel, stating the following facts :—The
father of the lunatic died thirty years ago, leaving a
sum of money that vested in the funds, produced an
interest of .€2BO per annum, which was to be applied
to his support, and the petitioners, the cousins, %vete,
left in remaindership to the lunatic, in respect of the
principal. For the last seventeen years the lunatic
had been in the custody of a Mr. Power, but his sis-
ter, a Mrs. Downes, had lately sued out a Commis-
sion of Lunacy, in order to have him placed with
herself. The petition was for an order to prevent
this, and it was represented by Counsel, that the
nettle had been very comfortably siinated in Eh! care
of Mr. Power, that he was not likely to be so untier
the care of Mrs. Downes, who was married to a matt
of a morose temper, and one who,-on a former oc-
casion, had refused to let the limatiC hive wine or
ale at his meals, though noway conducive to the ex•
asperation of his disease. The lady was herself, to ),
quite inadequate to the charge she socglit, as she la-
boured under the infirmity of body consequent on the
advanced age of six:y, aid had inoucover been her-
self insane.

Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY said, that this was a petition j
of a most improper nature, tending, as it did, to re-'
vive the memory of certain unfortunate circumstances
relating to a respectable family, which had long been
buried in oblivion. Mrs. Downes was a most respec-
table woman, and every way fitted for the charge
she wished to undertake ; she was, though ad-
vanced in life, in the full possession of her facul-
ties, and married to a gentleman who was an officer
in the Gloucester Militia, and to whose character
the most respectable testimony was brought forward.
Mrs. Downes had never beets a lunatic—the follow-
ing were the circumstances which had given ground
for the assertjon of that calumny : —When a young
woman, about forty years since, she was in love w ith
a gentleman, to whom she was to have been married,
but the match having been broken off, it so affected
her mind, that she was placed under the care of a
Mrs. Minchiu, her aunt, who kept an asylum for lu-
natics in Worcestershire. She was with this lady for
six months, but never confined or put under any re-
gimen as an insane person, or ever considered as
such. Under all the circumstances of the case, he
conceived that it was much more_proper that the
lunatic should be placed under the care of his sister
than that of relations so much farther removed.
The LOltD CHANCELLOR said, that if the lunatic
had been well circumstanced under the care of Mr.
Power for so long a period as seventeen years, he
conceived that it was an unnecessary reduCtion of
the funds of the lunatic's estate to sue out a com-
mission. He would direct the Master to inquire
as. to the eligibility of Mr. Power for the trust he
had undertaken—and if he was found a proper
person, the lunatic should remain with him ; the
funds out of which he was provided for, he should
direct to be placed in the hands of the Accountant
General.