Star.
London, England, 1805-12-11 00:00:00

LAW IN7 E LUG ENCE.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, DEC. 9.

EDWARD HALL, EI.Q.:. V. THE REV. ERASMUS WARREN,
VALENTINE WARREN, ESQ.:, THE REV. HENRY WAIL.

REN, AND OTHERS.

This was an iffue direaed by the Mailer of the
Rolls, to be tried for the purpofe of afcertaining—
IR, Whether the Rev. Era!inns Warren, againa
whom a comtniffion of lunacy had fince been taken
out, was a lunatic ?—or, sclly, it; on the 9th of
March. 18os, (tippling him to have been previoufly
in found mind, he had a lucid interval ? The objet
of this iffue was to determine whether a fale by Mr.
Erafmus Warren to Mr. Hanfon, or, as for him, to
the Plaintiff, Mr. Hall, was a valid and binding
tranfailion.

Merl% ERSICINR, GARROW, Bosauctor”, and Sir
Taconite TURTON, were the Counfel for the Plaintiff.
—The former (laced the whole circumilances at-
tending this cafe in a very forcible and impreffive
manner, on behalf wf the Plaintiffs.—As the caufe
occupied the Court from nine o'clock in the morn-
ing till five o'clock in the evening, our limits can
only admit of our giving a liimmary of the whole.
The cireumflances which gave rife to it are shortly
there r—The Reverend Mr. Erarmus Warren was
poffeffed of the Advowf m of Great Bromly, in
Effie, with a confiderable portion of land in that
county. This elate, instead of allowing it to defcend
exclufively to the eldeft fm, this Rev. Gentleman
propofed to divide equally betwixt his two Eons and
four daughters ; for this purpofe he had it valued by a
gentleman of rerpeaaaility, with the intention of fell-
ing it, in the year 1797 ; he did not, however, fuc-
ceed at that period in difpoling of it. but having fill
continued in the fame intention, he at length formed
an agreement with the plaintiffs, which was confirm.
mated on the 19th of Match, 1802. The oftentiblal
perfon in that agreement was Mr. Hall, who, it ap-
peared, had acted as the agent, or Iluftee, of Mr.
Hanfon, a perfon of confiderable trade and property
_in the city, with eight fon: and fix daughters. This.
individual was Lord of the Manor of Great Brom-
ic, and was, therefore, anxious to conitin the
Manor and the Advowfnn of the Church, by con-
trailing with the defendant, Mr. Warren, for the
purchafe of his property. At the time of this Pale,
Valentine Warren, the eldeft fon, was in poffef-
lion of the profits of this cave, and was not the belt
of accountants with his father ; when the tale was
about to be confummated by the execution of the
deed, it was oblerueted by the interference of the fon,
who was in poffeffion of the title deeds. Soon after
Mr. Warren had entered into this agreement with
the Plaintiff, reports were fpread abroad refpetting
the lunacy of the further, although he, at the time
of forming it, appeared to be in the perfdt ufe of
his right reafon, and perfe.lly capable to manage
his own affairs, and had continued fo from his in-
fancy to that periods when he was upwards of fixty
years of age. His children, who mutt have been
well acquainted with his fitttation, never once (hewed
that they thought him incapable of doing fo till after
this tranfaetion had taken place, when the fon, Va-
lentine, joined by the other children, thought proper
to prefent a petition to the Chancellor for a commit-
fion of lunacy, in confequence of which a Jury, a 1
(enabled in Gray's Inn coffee-houfe, found this gen- I
tleman, Erafmnr. Warren, a Fanatic, with lucid ittet
tervals, fo that he had been thought incapable of
managing his own affairs fence the If day of May,
179 z. Had this Rev. Gentleman been vifited at that
particular period with fume fudden and grievous at
fii4lion tending to derange his intelleas, filch a coop
duet on the part of the children might have been ex.l
Curable—nay, it would even have been their duty to
have adopted fuch meartires, however difagreeable
towards their parent. It appeared extraordinary,
however, that the foundation for fuch a ferious and
awful tranfaaion was not built, by thufe who con.
dated it, upon any recent indifpofition, but that
they had reared up a charge of lunacy fo early as i
1792, fo that they had thus fuffered their patent to
continue a lunatic, in the management of his owls,
affairs. for a period of no lets than ten years ; that
they had withheld that proteeion which was due by
children to a parent. After this declaration of lu-
nacy, Mr. Hanfon confulted Counfel, of which he
(Mr. Erficine), happened to be one, with regard
to what ought to be his conduel refpdling the
agreement he had formed. Mr. Haufon himfelf
propofed to prefent a petition to traverfe that in
quifition, but was advifed to purfue a different
courfe, as the children, who had a better opportunity
of knowing more minutely the circumilances attend.
ing their father's fi (nation, and although there were
certain lucid intervals, they might fill have virtuous
views and intentions towards ti.eir father. He was
advifed accordingly to file a bill for the end per-
formance of the agreement. There was nothing in
the purchafe itfelf in the &mile(' degree conneded
with infanity, or any fymptom of fraud having been
praetifed upon a weak perfon, and therefore, altho'
he turned out a lunatic, that did not fop him from
being of fufEcient found and Cane memory for the
pur pore of entering into fuch a contraft. A Mr. Wm.
Morgan, of the Equitable Office, near Blackfriar's
Bridge, was the perfon chofen by Mr. Warren to
make the valuation, and, though Mr. Warren could
not • have (hewn a mark of greater wifdom than
to fix upon fuch a perfon as arbitrary of the
price—his children, however, refilled the pnrchafe,
and prevented Mr. Warren from . completing his
agreement under the fpecious accufation of lunacy.
The Learned Counfel laid, it was alone neceffary for
him to Phew, that at the fame time the deed was ex-
ecuted, the Rev. Gentleman was of fufficiently found
mind for the objea of that particular contract. This
unhappy perfon was now in confinement ; but admit-
ting him to be at this moment infane, would fupply
no proof to Frew that he was in loch a Rate on the
9th of March 18oz. A dog might be diicovered in
the ilreet under the rage of the h}drophobia ; a bull
might appear there, foaming under a violent paro-
eyfm of madnefs—but,this wouldafford no evidence,
that when there furiotts bealts left the kennel and the

hall, they laboured under this morbid pi effure. All
animals beneath the rank of man were guided by in-
ilina ; but the human mind, though pofrelEng much
higher endowments than brutal militia, was made
irregular in its operations. Hence arofe the peculi-
arities and eccentricities of many pet fons,from which
Mr. E Warren was not exempted. A learned wit-
nefs (Dr. Csighton), whole dcpations had been rc-