Star.
London, England, 1801-07-14 00:00:00

lignatoretitha Will. as wcl as the whole Will it.'
Pelf, was l'itiliand.iatiting. He always confidered
Mr. Reynolds as a rmut. of butinefl and of auv.
Mr Sykes. another attorney of character, full*
confirmed the evidence of the witnefs. '‘
Mr. Sudlow, alfo a refpertable attorneys, laid he
knew Mr. Gale very well, and was acquainted with
his hand-writing. He proved his figaature to the
Will, and Paid he was a man of good character.
Hchad been clerk to the. Butchers Company, and
&fit to the Commitfionet s of the Land-tar.
Mr. Deirnford had alfo been acquainted with
bfrGale. and Paid his charade: as far as came to
his knowledge, was unimpeachable.
Mr.Dunaage Aid he had: been very well ac-
(painted with Mr. Gale, sad that he was as ho!
ask a man as any in England.
• Lord Kstirom hfre obferved, that it was doubt-
ed in Joliff's cafe, whether evidence of this fort
„could be produced in favour of the charades of
. pit attorney, Mr. Doby ? It was confidered as a
Work of fupererogation, aievery man was fuppofed
to have a good chateau till it was impeached.
M. Goias obfsrved. that in the.cate of a Mr.
Hicks t upon the Circuitsit was held, that if a man
IWas charged with having committed a particular
fraud, he could not bring evidence in rapport of
his character; but that if an imputation was made
on his character in general, he might produce inch
evidence.
Lord Klarow Paid thefe witneffes had been
tailed, and he thought very properlA'
The Will was here lead.
It was next propofed to call Clerks from the
Bank, who were acquainted with the band-writ-
inrof the Tellatrix, to Phew that her fignature to
• this Will refembled the general charaCter of her
band-writing, Which would bb impoilible if what
Cooperfon (wore was true, that Mr. Gale guided
her hand, and that the was tobeconfidered as heing:
infeafible, and as a mere machine.
Lord KENTON faid that was going from (front
tvidence to evidence of a frail kind.
The next wito.efs was Mr. Straban, who Aid he;
was &DUI-eating Minifter, and had been acquaint.
ed with the Telatrix about fere° year; and a half
before her death.. He faw her two or three. time.
every year. She-fitted to him at one time that her,
relations fhooldOot have her property. The fig.,
nature to tho Will. teemed to refemble her hand•l
writing. He never faw her-intoxicated. She was
Yreq wymancl fanguine ; the was eafily provoked.
and eery difficult to be reconciled. The Plaintif
was very intimate in the houfe, and Mrs. Robin-.
foss fumed to have a very great refped for him.
Two warrants of attorney sebich the Teflatrix
bad executed to the Plaintiff were here read, both
dated in the month of March, 1785, that is the
very next month after the execution of the Will.
The Plaintiff's cafe being finifhed,
Mr. ATTORW IR GENERAL raid he rote tope!
ci
. form a very anxious duty before the Jury, who
alfo ananzioos duty to perform. It was of equal
importance to the public and to private individu-
als, firft of all, that the adual difpofitions• of per.
Cons capable of making thole difpofitions when on
their death-bed, &odd be religioufly and to-
les:tid performed. It was equally important
that the actual difpofitions of property which had
taken place through impofition, infirmity, and
weaknefs, and- in the abfence of that capacity
which was neceffary to give effect to fuch MOIL.
lions of property after death, Mould not be effec-
tual. Whether the prefent cafe belonged to the
one or other of thefe, the Jury would decide, after
they had heard all the evidence. The Attorney
General put his very able defence chiefly upon
three grounds : tit. That this Will was not in fad
executed by the'Tellatrix. aflly. That the lady
was intoxicated at the time. And, idly. That
Elizabeth Bodkin had ufed urghie influence with
her. He trolled the Jury,
important
the verdict they
would give, would read an important Wien to
the world, and thew them that contrivance, ma.
chination. and fraud could not proted, but for 'a
againft the inveftigation of a jury, and that
the truthdt laft would break out, and beans on the
&hied. According to the truth impreffed on the
minds of the Jury, fo would their verdict be.
Mr. Andrews, the fell witnefs for the Defen-
dant. raid he was an apothecary at Rornford,liad
lived there in 1785, and had attended Mrs. Ro.'
binfon in her laft
On cro(sexamination, he Paid, though. he lived
at the next door, he-never faw her drunks but the
-*ad the appearance of a woman who drank.
Mr. Weller, the next witnefs, who was her te.
nant, faw her in May, 1786. He had four con-
Yerfation with her, and (he formed to be paled in
her memory. She was then bedridden.
Mr. Stevenfon, fen. lived at womford and dealt
in wine before he came to London. She dealt
with him, and Paid (he thought• that a fufficient
compeofation for any trouble flie haelpven him.
He was acquainted .with her hand -wriong, and on
toqking at the fignatore oilier will, he find he did.
ant believe it was her hand-writing.; and yet this
*ands confeffed he had no fcruple to take a le-
gacy of *col. under. this will. which he wilhod to
out down by his evidence. .
A Mrs. Clark Aid that Elizabeth Bodkin &ern-
ed to have a very great influence over the mind of
her millrefs, and would not let any body come to
the houfe but thole tit a were agreeable to her.
Mr. Kent (aid he was a Fifhtnonger, and kacw
Cooperfon, who lived with him when he was an
Ocange-merchant, about t s or 14. years ago. He
never knew any thing in his wife but a good char
railer. He never heard (be was a woman of look
chawecr. He bad mentioned tolina the circum,
Rance of this will (sacral times,and anus whets he
wasfpeaking of his old aunt Stevenfon, he raid dm
Was either gone, or Ong, or mull go to— OD
account of that will. He was an ha dl man.
Mr. Hobbs and feteral other Gentlemen with
whom Cooperfon had lived, gave him a very good
..charader...ben he lived with them, and all depof-
pd bad mentioned to them the circa:al-
liance of this will, and Paid that all was sot tight
seipadiog that will.
, lir, Eisuwa made a very eloquent reply on
ilse_part of she Plaintiff. .
Tbe Noble *ad Learned Judge is a fuming

up, to which tie flopeiffible to do jatice, laid hes
fore the Jury all the important circumflances in
this oink- • The . following are the -grkat . out-
lines a—His Lordlip.obferved this was as anxious
a caste as he had bees witnefs t 0... Idanitind were
aeldded and deceived if the Legiflatiare cold them
they might malie.wilisand difpote of their proper-
ty, acid when they had dome to the law was not to
take efted. It was the balm of. the. human mind
to think that after.men had acquired* fortune by.
their lioneli indufiry, they could' leave it to thole
who were moil worthy, or at leak to thole for
whom they had the tenderek affection.. If they
were difappointed in•that, the great and main pus,
tint of man in fociety was ditappointedi But ruch
dilpofitions were to be watched with great anxiety,
to fee that they were net the effect of imbecility iof,
mind and body. Some countries had adopted
laws to prevent the difpofitions of real tastes, and
for a long time that was the law in this country ;
but in the reign of Henry VIII. a man was permit-
ted to difpote of a certain portion of his real pro-
perty. It afterwards went on, and now flood in.
the fituation, in which we felt it; his Lordthip be-
lieved, to our comfort. Wherever there were diffi-
culties they ought to be dircuiled ;hut. if a w.i/l, Was
fairly obtained, and if them was no grointd to paufe,
it was a molt lamentable circurnfiance to think
that there might be a paufe--that there might be
difficulties. and that there might -be. dilpofitions
made contrary to the wirkies of the - party, that,
bad the power of •difpofing. As to the vetdid
given in the other .Court, he was difpoied, as he
was bound in duty to do, to treat it with great
rerped, becaufe it wAs rivetted In his mind, thatl
no man couldbring his caufe before * jury more
fit to decide it, than before the Merchants of,
the City of London. He bad (aid fo often.
he had thought fo always ; and it was his firm
opinion, never to be crated froM his mind, that if
he were to look nouns} among all the Judges who
fat in judgment in-this country, the Noble Lordi
who trio this caufe in the other Court (Lord
Eldon) would certainly, in his opinion, fiend in..
the fiat ranks. Tbattbe conclufion was warnatted,
by the evidence he had no doubt. But dialog
were to decide for thensfelves on the evidence given'
that day, and upon that .evidence.their verdia
would be founded. Having Melted with all the
satiety he could, be confeffed he could not con-
ceivo where there was a poffibility of doubt.. Wills
required a certain. number of witneffes to attek
them by the Statute of Charles the Second. And'
the perfon who drew this Will had done everything
with an anxiety that it might (land the ten, if ever
it fhould afterwards. come to be difeuffed in. a
Court of Ju nice. The great Oracle of the. Laws
of England, who lived -before the pafGag of the
Statute of Charles IL did not think it beneath his
great mind,for the good oflociety„to Lay down rules
'that might dip% pofierity in earesof this nature to
Pike witneffes of chasseter before they made their
Wills, and to proceed to the completion of their Wills,
• the alfiftanceof witneffes of character. Thisper.
had done fo; he took three witneffes akingwith
5i
• , all of them men of charader.; for as to the
Charades of Cooperfon at that time, Mr. Attorney
General muff necettarily admit that he was a man
of charades., and his character Was abundantly
rupported by extraneous evidence at that time.—
Thefe three witneffes went down to Romford, and
attefted this Will. The fubfcribing witnefs who
was now alive, oat an illiterate man, but writing
an extremely good hand, at an early and aftive
part of his life, folemnly filmed his name to that
Will, in the pretence of the other two witneffes.
The other two witneffes figneii it alto. The daj
:of debate, Paid his Lordflop, is deferred till two
of the witneffes are removed by.the band of Goa '
out of this tranfitory life ; and when that is done,
the only fubfcribing witnefs now living, totally
unknown to Mr. Walker, is met by him as he was
going up to Hampilead with a tow-box on his
back, who asked him his name ? and then, having
learned his name by the molt fortunate coincidence
of circumftanoes that ever happened, he takes him
afide with him; and then, whether this was the
orife waif or not I do not know, but there was Come
origin to the gigantic inifehiel and villainy in this
cafe, lam waling to, attest. They go tuft to the
Attorney, Mr. Bromley. What paffed there—
what was hatched there—whether any thing was
hatched—( I will not try by futpicion or eonjedure
to injure any man's charatler) but why the fire
journey was to be. taken .to the Attorney with
this man carrying a fbow.box updri his bask,
r _cannot tell with certainty. When one flue-
Mates between different .opinions, and fluetuates
fo much as not to know which to chute—it is better
to• have one good firing to one's bow than three
bad ones. And it was not The want of abilities,
for they are tranfcendent ; but Mr. Attorney Ge-
neral was put into that fituation from the neeeffity
of the cafe : for which of the three grounds he el
goes upon, I protett I do not know—whether he
out the WiU was not executed—whether he fays
the Lady was intoxicated, or Elizabeth Bodkih
had undue influence over the mind of her mffirefs.
This is a cafe fuited to great abilities. Diked's
egibs forth.great abilities, and gives au opportunity
tlt eremite them 1 and the greater die dikrefs, the
greater the abilities that ore required to party off
du prefore of the arguments on the other Ade, and
fo to mould it-.being all fortnlcfs—eveheet form read
yea WaitheWillexecuted2 Therehadboen judges
who immediately rejected the tattoos,' -of wit.
nelfes who oilfield to invalidate their own ad.... ,
They have laid, we will not hear fuel a withers.
There was a very great Judge, whole name was
litter to be mentioned without honour, and who
died in 1757, Sir Jofeph Jekyl, ieho was potreffed
of vat abilities, and the molt unfhaken integrity—
be tried a cafe of this fort at Chafer, and he thought
oa the whole it was better to -hear them. He it
ceived the witoeffes, as traditiew fitted, at CheU,
Af zes—they fwore againft the Will, and yet the
WUI was fopported. He thought it better to re-
ceive their tellimoay, and to keep frothing back
from the jury and from hiznfelf ; but their evi.'
dence had 'no weight with the Jury, and the
Will was fupported. There was another cafe of
the fame fort tried before soother Judge in rnme
lollesdun times—Mr. jollities cote. The three fob-
*riling Witnetica warn ealled,..andi they all with