The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-02-16
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.
WASHINGTON, February Ii,

Mr.. Webster's Argument-Last Day.
The Court Room was crowded again this morn
ing, but not to the same extent that it was on tor.
mer days, although there were over one hundred
ladies' present. r4l Afet
The Court was opened precisely at IL o'clock.
Mr.. WEBSTER rose and said-I passed over point or
two yesterday may it please your honors that now
the question Of the authority Of the city o receive this
trust And wish particularly to call the attention OF
Of i7sl generally called the Self Incorporating Act and
the other act supplemental TO Of the 18th Of April
1888, vernon, 1871 of the LIST Law and ia OF tho "a
charitable or religious associations have the rghto take
grant to the limited amount Of $780, The act OF 1883
OF 20 600 Here then il The law Of pennsylvania with
regard the power OF incorporated Societies for receiving
such devses as this now before the Court 1t limits
foreis 1t possblethat an incorporated association
such as this is which is designed for these poor boys
equal to the annual income Of 100000 take il, your
honors that what was meant by that phraseology OF the
law was that all trusts above the of $4,000 should be
compelled to apply to the Legislature for charter to en-
able them to receive and execute And we see in this
procedure of the Corporation Of Philadelphia an entire
within the ether. both, and yet 1t takes an
amount twenty times greater than the law allows an unn
civ IS only the grantee for these boys and this leads
to the evident policy of Pennsylvania was to
prevent persons holding in trust in perPetny without
positive provision Of the Legislature On this head re-
fer to the Constitution Of 1885, McKanes Law, page 49,
section 81, with regard to executory power; and I'd
the Founding Hospital. Nothing Is better established
than that the Courts of Chancery have power over
those charities which stand on achsrtsr Inc On
given by law to regulate the trusts but where visitors
provided then the of visitation is in the Court
OF Chancery (Dr Benders case, ID Browns Chancery
Reports 1867 Where charity exists under charter
which charter appoints trustees visitors and clothes
the Court Of Equity never intereres except
the fund it never intereres to control the power Of the
trustees But where there no charter and no visitors
provided the whole supervision the whole sub
ect belongs to the lawto the Court Of Equity and who
ever ministerial to the charity can be controlled See
Vesey 4s9-the of the Attorney General against
Lord Clarendon Where no visitors appointed by the
charter the application is to be made TO the Lord Chance
or to visitation in his capacity not as Judge In
equity hut by petition him keeper OF the Great Seal
that is representing the King Now say that there
are here no visitors--and charer-and no way to
remedy it but by application to the sovereign power, the
lava court of equity. And there nothing exist
ing in the Laws Of Pennsy lvania at the time Of Mr. Gil
ra death to authorise the corporation to take and exc
cute this devise il is void would refer to the case OF
MscKellar against Galbraith, Sergeant Rawe. 40
This the Of legacy to poor relations And the
Court in this CASE struck out the word poor and gave
the property to the next Of kin. though the word
"poorn had never existed in the will And this was de-
cided in Pennsylvania on the ground that the word
of uncertain meaning that ii could not be defined
Now your honors know well that in the Statutes Of the
Goth and 4sd of Elizabeth the word poor" is not of ar
uncertain but of certain meaning. But there Is, in the
celebrated Maryland case. so often quoted OF Dashie
against the Attorney General In this decision the Court
said that the word pocr" involves SO much
that the will could be administered because the sta
tutes of Elizabeth were not in force in Maryland.
come now to the next point which raised, and 1t is
ths:the power Of the City Government to administer
charity like this contended that Mr. Grar should have
provided for charter and application to the Legisla
ure, they seeing avast amount OF money gong INTO
have taken care Of it. Mr. Grard should have been re-
commended to have made his will executory; and then it
harbor. Why, your Honors what would become OF all
great institutional what would become Of Yalel what
vistatorial power Of the government?
I have thus treated Of those points which omitted
yesterday. andI come to the concluding point Of my
arguments suppose this dcvise cannot stand what be.
of the money? Does it go to the heir at law. or
does it fall into any resduary devse-does 90 to the
city Of p so OF @ sr sG no donS M
rard intended die estae with regard to all his property
real and personal That he lid intend to do so have
SSTs Sa1 rVgos t and %
officially and he disposed each devise and each P ia
ed die estae in consequence of these devises
and requests He looked to general reduary devise
which might not be covered By these dew
gard to this devise that should go to the city OF PhadeI
phia But the heir at law need show that was in
tended he should be the heir because he is selected by
the law the recipient of all the property that unds
posed Of shall not argue that there might be an inen
ton that the resduary devise should take the devise in
case Of lapse because lapse was contemplated But
Il is settled that If there be doubt in the case then
the party whe is selected the heir by the law is to
is to lose by that doubt Fit is doubtful about the
intent of the devise in case Of lapse then the law
makes not doubtful that the heir at law and next Of
kin arc entitled listened with great attention to the
gument of my learned friend this part Of his remarks
as always listen with pleasure to his remarks A,r Bin
new bowe but the error into which my learned friend
fell upon this point in what logicans CALL error
and all his conclusions parook of the character
He argued that the devise Of the residue Of the remainder
as is called in the 2h sectono the WILL and on the
10Th page begins by giving the whole estate not already
read that clause Of the willy My learned friend says that
bv these words the whole residue is given to the city
Philadelphia. That deny. Not cent Of It is given
made the trustee; and in the hands Of that trustee th
property is deposted but not farthing in that devise
is given the city of Philadelphia for her own benefit
Il always known that the trust is the object Of de-
wise and not the trustee And if the will had stepp.t
the foot Of the aoh page every ianns o. % ssss
which makes Philadelphia the trustee and no trust named
then is clear that Is resulting trust to the heir at Law
trusts are not declared and IL ii had stopped there tn
whole must have gone to the next OF kin Having dspos
ed of his personal property-having put IN drawer
remains down to the end of the goth section He make
the trusputs the fund in trust and then goes on and de
clares in what way and the property is to be dis
oosed Of The first trust then which he declares is tn
College to this he devises 00000O and as much NOR
the interests Of the College may require The 2ist sec
ton expresses his further desire that much as
requisite for the wants OF the College, as to u6 hi
original purpose he so appropriated The 9ad clans
mikes SPECIFIC IegacVoi $5NWOOO 20 fniIadeipnia-
This the thing 10 he taken out Of this fund
az specific legacy. in order 10 he used in opening tn
Delaware Avenue &c. The twentythrd clause contain
Tho third specific devise of 5000 900 to the State of Penn
sylvana for purposes Of internal improvement. Now ~
70 this point Of time in the WILL the city Of Philadephi
has obtained personal interest In anv devise. Their
,re The 50 to the college, and the $500 900
in two specific egncies tho same a. he had Dc
vised them to John Doe Richard Roe and sitter thes
have been devised then and does there arts
single word in the Will in which the city Of Philadephi
il all specifically interested. Then the phras
in the WILL And regards the remainder Of the residue
give and beqneaih" and Here he read the %
and oath sections of the Willy And even here the city
Philadelphia is not the first object Of interest. Be
cause, out of this remainder Of the residue as nue.
is be taken the wants of the college requires tina
~ the frs. disposition Of the residue And secondly
this il on the thirteth page fthe billy III
first showing of the interest Of the city Of Philadelphia
in this remainder OF the resduethe first showing In tn
world thath city has interest In the WILL and this
bequest for the Improvement Of the police Of the city
&c. Here the first showing Of the citys interest in tn
resdnary devise but up to this ron she had no seca
interest in the will whatever By the location OF tn