Star.
London, England, 1821-02-26 00:00:00

LAW EVTELLIGENCE.

_

• COURT OP KING'S BENCH.
THE KING IL THOMAS HIBBERT, ESQ.
This was a traverse to an Inquisition found under
a Commission in the nature of a Writ of Lunacy,
whereby it was declared that Thomas Hibbert, Esq.
was, since the I hh of August, 1811, and, until this
time, a person of an unsound state of mind, and un-
fit to have the government of himself, and the ma-
nagement of his lands, tenements, goods, and chat-
tels. The Crown joined issue on the traverse, and
concluded to the country. •
The trial of this case, which was of great import-
ance to the parties, occupied the whole of Thursday,
from half-past nine in the morning until twelve at'
night; when it was adjourned, and was not con-
cluded until eight o'clock in the evening of Friday.
A great mass of evidence was adduced on both sides.
The substantial question at issue was, not whether
Mr. Hibbert was a lunatic, but whether-he did not
labour under such. a degree of mental imbecility,
arising from some latent organic defect, as to render
it improper for him to have the uncontrouled govern-
merit of himself and the management of his estate.
1-fe was the eldest son of Thomas Hibbert, Esq. who
died in 1806, possessed of large West India estates,
and considerable personal property, leaving issue the
young Gentleman in question, two other sons and a
daughter, by Mrs. Hibbert, now living, formerly a
.?-liss Mansfield. By the will of The testator, in which
ample provision was made for all the children, he
declared that they should not become possessed of
the property bequeathed until they had respectively
attained the age of twenty-five years. When the
eldest son arrived at that age, he would have been
entitled to an estate of upwards of £20,000 per an-
Linn. In his earliest infancy he evinced unusual pro-
ficiency in rudimental knowledge, and gave great
promise of a vigorous and enlarged understanding.
Posse-sing a memory of extraordinary retention, he
made asioeishing progress in the knowledge of clas-
sical literature; but as lie advanced in yetrs, though
lie had acquired the stature of manhood,* he re-
tained the mental imbecility of infantine childish-
ness, and, as was stated by the Gentlemen who had
successively had the cart of his education, he was
totally devoid of the powers of abstraction and ratio-
cination, was utterly incapable of comprehending
the first Problem of Euclid's Elements, anJ was even.
dull of understanding to the common rides of arith-
metic. The great body of evidence was directed to
tile developement of his life from the age of.seventeen
to twenty-five, which last he attained in August last,
and a succession of facts was adduced to support the
allegation of that childish imbecility on which the
Commission was founded. Ignorance of the value of
money, heedless extravagance, and an ungovernably
passionate temper, were, amongst other features of
his conduct, advanced as characteristic of his mental
incapacity; but, on all hands, he was admitted to be
free from the usual vices of youth. Several medical
Gentlemen of the first eminence were examined, the
mult of whose opinion was, that though the experi-
ments they had made to ascertain the sanity: of his
mind would not justify them in signing a certificate
of lunacy, yet that they could net be warranted in.
pronouncing him to be a person of sane intellect, to
whom the management of his affairs might be safely
entrusted. On the other hand, a great number of
witnesses (principally collateral branches of his fa-
ther's family) was adduced, Who, though they ad-
mitted that he was a young man of extremely weak
Mind, arising from an i:ifirmity of. physical constitu-
tion, yet that he was' as capable, in the ordinary
affairs of, life, of managing bit concerns as nine
young men in ten who were brought up under the
eseectation of inheriting large fortunes: The tnedi
cal Gentlemen examined were also cf opinion,- that
though he was a young man of infirm intellect. yet
the infirmity was not such as would justify them in
declaring that he was unfit to be entrusted with the
management of his own affairs.
The CuarJrsriel had in part summed up the
case, when the Jury interposed, and expresied them
'selves satisfied; but his Lordship said, it would per-
haps be more satisfactory if they were to hear the
e4se.through, more particularly as the result of the
inquiry would be certified into Chancery; and, ac-
cnrdingly, his Lordship proceeded to recapitulate
the prominent features of the case, leaving the ques-
tion for their consideration in the terms of the issue
on the'record.
The Jury retired for about a quarter of an hour,
and returned averdict for the Crown, thereby affirm-
lug the Inquisition found'by the Jury below.
. sem v. CORM ALIAS LADY HAIM.
Mr. DENMAN stated, that this was an action for
the recovery of the sum of £l2. 17s. for goods sold
and delivered to Augusta Corti, a Lady who has
passed herself off for a long time as Lady llawke—a
title, however, to which she had no claim, as it sub-
iequently appeared. The Learned Counsel said that
the plaintiffs ere, in 1815, Ladies hat-manufacturers,
in Bond-street, and had supplied articles to the amount
mentioned, to the defendant, who, instead of paying
ao small a bill, prefer red submitting it to the Jury.
• Mary Ann Lloyd proved that she went, in the
. year 1845, to Manchester-square, where Lady
Hawke then lived. The straw bonnets she carried
were not liked by the Lady, but she deseribed one,
and- ordered it to be-trimmed like no other bon-
net that was eve} seen ; indeed, the was so very par-
ticular in the -way she wanted the feathers put, that
witness was obliged to tell her Ladyship, there was
no other way of putting them on, but by sticking the
fi#hers at the tip top of the bonnet—a plait of which
Os Kit hly approved. The bonnet was made accord-
044„,and delivered to the Lady's mind.
':.--troci-enithined.-e—Winsess had never seen her
Ljsdysbip before, though she might have seen Lord
aawterSut of that she had tio recollection. The
•Qeclee, was delivered in May, 1815, and the bill
aceowlittgly sent in to the Lady at No. 12, Matches,-
teleiqtitire. The bonnet had plenty of trimmings,
French flowers, and ne lets than twelve feathers I
Mr. Detneatn—What is your defence.?
Pin. Serineerr.—l say, she is Lady Hawke, and
i has pleaded as Baroness Hawke. •
The CuntiJUlSTlCE.—Witness to whom were rats'
desired to carry the bonnet ?—io Lady Hawke.
Mr. Scamarre said he had but a few words teeny.'
This Lady claimed to be by marriage the wife of
Lord Hawke. It was true that the latter had:fried
wit of jactitation of Marriage in Doctor' Commons,

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