Star.
London, England, 1818-07-22 00:00:00

OPZRA HOUSE.

clan,* proceeded upon a contingency, with respect
to time, which could not be decided. The wile of
the testator in the interval would lose the benefit of
the will. She was left only an annuity of £'+oo, the
'whole of which the executors refuse.! to pay, upon
the ground that there was not sufficient to meet the
other objects of their trust. For some time she only
received £lOO a-year, in place of A:200. It was hard
that while men, to indulge their vanity, left vast
sums for the erection of monuments to themselves,
their nearest relations should be deprived even of the
small allowance bequeathed to them. There were
circumstances on the face of the will which rendered
it probable that Mr. Renshaw, at the time of its
being drawn up, was not in a sound state of mind.
By a codicil he withdrew from James Barker the
meadow-land of Frank bill, whereas the person to
whom it had been left was Thomas Barker. This
codicil however was of no importance, because there
were only two witnesses to it. The manner in which
the life of the testator closed, left little doubt as to
the state of his mind at the time. 'The will, there-
fore, he would humbly submit, must be declared
cull and void.
Mr. WARRIIN, on the part of the plaintiffs, con-
tended, that as the will went .upon a contingency
with respect to time, which could not be decided, it
Was necessary that it should fall. Eight years had
now elapsed, and in that time no one seemed willing
to do so, and no such thing was stated in the answer.
lie contended, that even though lands were given
in furtherance of the testitor's views, .they would be
'given in consequence of the desire expressed by him,.
add fall, in conseqaence, under the policy of the
Mortmain Act. The charity would be the direct
awe of the land being so disposed of.
l• Mr. HuaNe contended, that the legacies were good,
unless they were proved to fall under the oth of
laeorge IL It was quite clear that they did not fall
'Coder the letter of that Act, but it was contended,
that they fell under the policy of it, and that no
MOWS .could-be pointed out for carrying the wishes
Of-the testator into effect. Under such circumstan-
ces the practice was to send the case to the Master
for the purpose of making out a scheme. This might
be easily effected without infringing upon the Statute
of Mortmain. The trustees might him a house, and
by that means carry the substance of the charity into
effect,• namely, the avert of the indigent blind.
That the testator had some such intention as this,
appeared pretty plainly from parts of the will in
which he directed the trustees as to the point oflocality.
His Honour the Vrea-ciutnextima put off the
further hearing of this cause.
JULY 21.--stensnxiiv AND ATKINSON,.

Mr. BELL and Mr. HART addressed his Lordship
in the matter of an appeal from the decision of the
Vice-Chancellor, who had ordsredthe sum of £BO,OOO,
the receipts of the Opera House, to be paid into Court.
Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY was heard in reply, and the.
LORD CHANCELLOR eventually confirmed the deci-
sion of the Vice-Chancellor.

%ICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT, JULY 20.
SARAH HENSHAW AND ANNE HATFIELD V. JOHN AND
JOSEPH ATICINSOI,.7, TIIE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, AND
OTHERS.

This was a bill filed by the plaintiff, Sarah Hen-
shaw, the wife of the deceased Thomas Henshaw
and Anne Hatfield, sole next of kin, against his exe-
cutors and trustees, for the purpose of setting aside
a will made by him in 1807, and securing an an-
nuity of 4.:200 left to Sarah Henshaw, by the said
Thomas, her husband.
The circumstances of the case were these :—ln
1807, Mr. T. Henshaw made a will, in which he Be-
queathed to trustees, a sum of 420,000 for the sup-
port of a blue-coat school ; and 1.720,000 more for a
blind asylum. By a codicil he left a further sum of
£20,000 for the purposes of the blue-coat school,
making in all 4.110,000 devised for charitable pur-
poses. With a view of putting this bequest beyond
the operation of the 9th of Geo. 11. commonly called
the Mortmain Act, a clause was introduced into the
will, by which it was directed that no part of the
sum so bequeathed should be laid out in lands, but
deposited in the Bank, in expectation, as the testator
expressed it, that some other person would purchase
lands and buildings for the purpose of carrying into
'effect the charitable objects he had in view. By
another codicil, added to the will in July, 1809, the
testator declared to be null and void a previous
clause, in which he bequeathed to James Barker a
certain meadow laud, stating as his reason for this
codicil, that it was his intention to have the blue-
coat school erected upon the said meadow land. A
further sum of £lB,OOO was bequeathed to his friend
Mr. Atkinson, one of the executors, to purchase an
' estate in Staffordshire.

To this bill the executors put in their inswer. They
did not state that any person had yet given the land
necessary for carrying the objects of the testator into
effect. They admitted the receipt of £52,000 of the
property, and submitted that the legacies were all
valid, expressing their readiness to carry the trust
into execution, under the direction of the Court.

On the part of the plaintiff, Sir ARTHUR Piccorr
contended, that to execute the purposes of the testa-
tor, lands and built:linger were pecessary. The clause
by which it was left w some other person to provide
them, was introduced purposely to avoid tit* opera-
tion of the Moitinain Act. Many years mig,ht.elap_se
Wow any one was found willing to do this. Th •

/ the only question would be, bow his intentions could
;be best executed? but he immediately'added, " it
being my expectation that others will, at their owa
expense, purchase Lands, and erect buildings," they
were to ciillect lion* the whole tenor of the w:11,
whether it was the intention of the testator that the
legacies 4hould be void unless some other person, at
his own expease, purchased lands Qr erected bi...4U,-
flings. If such we-e the tenor of the will? a serails
question would then be left, for it would be ex•
itremely difficult to maintain upon principle that pro-
perty was to remain undisposed of for an ir.detiv.ite
time. This, however, did not appear to him :be true
construction or the will. The fourth codicil, in which
the. testator revoked the grant of Frank-hill for the
purpose of erecting a Blue Coat School there, spew-
ed it was not his intention that the legacies were not
'to take effect until some other person purchased
lands, at his own expense, for the purpom of the
Charity. This appeared further from his directing
that the £60,000 should be left in the firm at Old-
ham,.under certain conditions, and the interest to be
i applied to the Charity. For these reasons his Honour
held the legacies to be good. Their application
would be a subject for future censideration. There
was nothing in the 9th of George If. to prevent the
Trustees from hiring lands or -houses to carry the
charitable views of the testator into effect. This bill
was filed by the plaintiffs, both as pecuniary and re-
siduary legatees. Had it been filed by them as resi-
duary 'legatees only, he should have felt it his duty
to disimss it.

BROW/4 V. HE TATTET 4171 b OTHERS.
This rnornitig die exceptions to the report of Mas-
ter STEEL, in this cause, came to be argued before
his Honour the VICE-CUANCRLLOR, pumtant to the
directions of the LORD CuANOELLOII. They had beefs
argued before his Honour in March last, and it NY.LS
then found impossible to understand them.
The Solicitors on both sides entered into tom; ex-
planations ; but stilt his Honour said, that he did not
see how the account was balanced.

Mr. BELL then endeavoured to explain the opera-
tion, but the Court was not satisfied.
His HONOUR then asked Sir Samuel Hamill, who
was of Counsel for the plaintiff), whether he under-
stood the account ?
Sir SAM WEL Rouitty said, that, as far as iv un-
derstood it, on one side were stated the sums dae to
the house ; on the other, the sums dne Item the house,
and among those were the sums mentioned to be due
to Mr. De Tastet and Mr. be Manght.
Hie HONOUR was yet usable to ascertain the prin-
ciples on which the account was balanced. When
did those debts arise? He wished to know how the
£16,144. I ls. Bd. stated to be due to Mangin was,
produced? Were the account hooks of the partner-
ship in ? If so, let them be handed up to him.
The books were sent for ; and upwards of two
hours was devoted by the Court to the examination
of all the items eh imitio, His Honour then said, that
he thought the decree was not right, but, at the same
time, he could not touch it. The question was, whe-
ther the Master's report was conformable to the de.
tree? If it were, the report must stand. He hoped
that be now understood the account ; but, as the tune
of the Court had been so long occupied in this mat-
ter, it'would be better to deter the argument.

This day his Honour the Vice CHANCRLLOR gave
judgment in the above cause.
Sir SAMUZL ROIIILLY, on the part of the Defen-
dant, said, that as to one class of cases, those in which
money was left by a testator for charitable purpcses,
and to be expended in improvements upon land, al-
ready in mortmain, it was clear that such a legacy
was good. In another class of cases, that for example
cf Fhe Attorney-General and Kendal," it was al-
lowed, that a pats of the personal property so left
might be employed to erect and endow a charitable
• • •lishment, in case the gift of a piece of land
could be obtained for the purpose. None of the de-
cisions relied upon by the Gentlemen on the opposite . .
side were sufficient to bear them out in their canclu- The Address of.a great..number-of the lie:visa:ate
ions In the present irotante, theintention of the Banker., Ship-owners, Traders, and Others, of the
testator was clear. It was evident upon the face of City of London, Which wog voted to• Sir WILLIAM
the will. that it was not his intention to have any Coins on the Ist instant, having- since been sub•
part of the legacies employed, eithet in the purchase scribed by between one and two Thousand signatures,
of lands or the erection of buildings. The case of was yesterday presented to the Ilonourable Baronet.
" The Attorney-General and Davis,' in which a pur- After the ,inclusion of Sir 'WILLIAx's speech of
chase of land actually took place, could not apply thanks:" the company withdrew. into an .adjoining
here. When the-Court gave its decision, then would apartment, where the Honourable. Baronet entertained
be the time to devise means for carrying into effect the Gentlemen of the Deputation, and the Master and
the intentions of the testator. Wardens of the Drapera' Company, with an elegant
Mr. HART spoke on the same side. He quoted the cold collation, including- the choicest fruits cat the
ease of " The Attorney-General and Watson," in season, ices, and other delicacies. .
which Lord Eldon said, that the Court would always CORN EXCHANGE, MARK-LANE, JULY 22.—We
favour the Charity, and endeavour to have the in- continue to receive large supplies from abroad, which,
Options of-the testator carried into effect, land being with a great quantity left over from Monday's mare
either bought or leged for that purpose. He con- ket, has caused very heavy sale this morning in the
tended, that the expectation expressed by Mr. Hen- Wheat Trade, and it was with difficulty that Mon-
'haw, that some other person would, at his own ex- day's prices were supported. Barley is also dull sale,
pence,- purchase lands or buildings, did not amount but seithout any variation in prices. Oats are rather
to a condition precedent, and even though such was brisker sale than an Monday. ,In Peas, Beans, and
the fact, that it would not render the legacies null. other articles, there is no alteration.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL argued from the case of Toe HARVEST.—Peas were harvested last week,
the Attorney-General and Lady Downing, and also in the Isle of Thanet, and yesterday the cutting of
from that of the Bishop of Chester, that for effecting Oats and Barley commenced, and in a few days,
the object of charitable legacies, other means might should the dry weather continue, Wheat will be
be devised besides the purchase of lands, or the erec- begun, the crop of which it is said, was never finer.
tion of buildings. It was clear that the testator in+ At Canterbury the Wheat harvest has commenced
the present case had no intention that such purchase on different lands in that neighbourhood, and we be-
or erection 'should take place unless at the expense lieve, with a prospect never more flattering to U
of some other person, or by a deed, according to the respective growers. The scythe, we understand, has
provisions of the Mortmain Act, which deed he did been partially applied to Oats that were early sown.
not live to execute, though such appeared to be his A sample of new Wheat was produced at East iSilu-
inteption from the codicil, in which he revoked the stead Market on Thursday.
gift of Frank-hill, previously made to James Barker. New barley and rye have already been brought to
-Sir A. Picini., in reply, said, that whatever may the-Dublin Corn-market, and the fields on which the
be the respect entertained for the memory and the former grain was grown, are ploughed and planted
talents of Lord Hardwicke, his decisions in cases of with potatoes.-
' iiitute were not those upon which an equity Exectrrioe.+—At an early hour this morning an
tawyer would most depend for the guidarics: of his immense concourse of persons assembled in front of
indolent. It was said that the lease of a house Newgate, to witness the execution of the following
might be taken, to carry the wishes of the testator persons, convicted at the last Old Bailey Sessioaa
k.y M :
into effect. That, as it appeared to him, could not .Tinsulichamara and Thomas Battery, for forging
rts
be done, consistently with the Statute of Mortmain. a will, and Christopher lermiadi alias Clark, fur
The VICE-CHANCELLOR said, that the case having highway robbery. Macnamara and Buttery were
been so ably argued on both sides, left but little for both middle-aged mete• and of mean appearance t,
him to say upon the subject. It was the principle they met their fate with fortitude, and conducted
of the Court to give a favourable construction to themselves to the last in a manner becoming their,
charitable legacies. The question here arose upon a unhappy situation. The former was attended by a
remedial Statute. The 9th of George 11. was passed Catholic Clergyman, the latter by the Rev. Ordinaly
to prevent an improvident death-bed disposition of of the Prison. Fernandi alias Clark wa, a naive ~,f
land by taking it out of circulation. The doctrine Portugal, and nearly 60 years of age. The highway
of Lord Northington in the case of Kendal, had nu robbery, in which he was concerned, was cane of a
application here, for in that case the question was us very aggravated nature—he seemed dreadfully dit-
to the erection of buildings upon land already in mayed at the awful end to which his Crimes had
mottmain. His Lordship's doctrine was not founded brought him, and had scarcely composure enough
in principle, though it was true, as he stated, that to listen to the pious consolations of the Ordinary,
the erection of buildings would increase the value of 1 who also attended on him as well as Buttery. After
the land. Lord Hardwicke's opinion went to a sin- about ten minutes spent in prayer, the fatal signal
gular length, but did not advance the remedy. The was given, and the wretched culprits wine launched
present case was a singular one. The testator ex- into eternity. William Evison,v‘ ho was to have suf..
pressed a wish to endow' a Blue Coat School at Old. fered the sentence of the law at the sortie time, for
ham or Manchester, and an Asylum for the Blind forging an acceptance to a bill, received last night
also at Manchester. For these purposes he bequeath- a respite from the Secretary of State's Office. .
ed a sum of £60,000, directing that no part of it Monday week, the three unfortunate men, con.
should be applied for the purchase of lands or the victed of the murder of Mr. Mathews, the Hese,-
'erection of buildiugs. Had the testator stopped there :Wise:, were executes! in Cavan, IA Leland.