New-York daily tribune., 1858-07-22

child. the utmost period dur,s which man Soaia
tie up his property Wa, a. the lawyers elqrs" !.
durins the continuance Of some hfe IN oeins' aau
for twerty-oLs years and nine months additional.
Mr. Peter Thelusor, having duly consulted tAe
lawyers, sought to press this right of Posthunous
accumulation to tho utmost limit he bequsatAed
,ome trifips legscies to hs three sons, ooserv'
pg that the money thus left them, with their
own success il business, would be quito sum
cient to make them comfortable, while he gave al
the rest of bis immense property, t6oO, wv u
money and stocks, and f4,5oO year in land, 70
trustees, to be held BY them for accumulation aud
iuyes,mep. in real property during the lives OF his
three sons, and during the lives Of their sons hSlns
At the time of his death, or who should De born
within due time sferwsrd-the accumulated iund'
IN the decesse Of tho survivor to be divided INTO
three shares, one to 20 to the eldest male hnea
descepdsnt" then living Of each of the three sons;
upon failure Of such descendant of either son. his
share TO 90 to the descendants Of the other sons;
and if the fTluIe should be complete, then
the accumulated money to be applied to the pay
mept Of the national debt This will was made IN
1876. and within twelve months atterward the tes
tstor died. Beside his three sons, he lett four
ermdsous. Two others were born within less than
nine months afterward, making IN the whole
n;re lives during which the property was to sccu'
mulste.
In spite of the antcipations Of Mr. Peter
Thellusou, bis sops did not feel at all comfortable
under this arrangement and, according to the
usual practice in such cases, they forthwith COM
menced suit in Chancery to set aside the VIII.
There Was good ground for maintaining that the
law of which the testator sought TO avail himself
being intended merely to uphold families and 70
prevent the dissipation of e'ates did not apply 70
case of accuu ulation like this. But Eldon then sat
on the woolsack and under bis guidance the House
of Lords finally held the devise to be valid, ana
upon eross-sut instituted by the trustees, the VIII
was ordered to be carried into effect under drec
ton Of the Court Of Chancery. An act, hswever,
was Immediately introduced into Parliament and
passed. by which, except in cases Of provisions for
the payment of debts, or for raising portions for
children, the power of devisiDg and settling prop
erty for the purpose of accumulation is restrained
to twenty one years.
The last survivor of the nine lives died in 1856;
but the lawyers, 10th to lose the teat from sheir
mouths which in one shape or another, they had
been sucking for sixty years, Immediately started
new question, which is the one now before the
Court. Of one of the soDs there remain no male
lineal defendants 90 that the estate is now to be
divided into two portions to 60 to "the eldest
" male lneal descendsnts" of the other two sons.
For each of these portions there are two claimants
There is in each case inesl male descendant
oldest in years. and another lineal male descendant
Oldest in lineage The Master of the Rolls decided
in favor Of the latter set of claimants and the case
is now before the House of Lords, with little pros
pect however, Of reversing this decision.
Meanwhile, no greater torture can be imagined
for the soul of poor Peter ThellusOn than to sup
pose him cognizant of the goings on with this prop
erty, upon the accumulation of which he had 20 set
bis heart. The estate ought by this time, hsd the
fund grown as Peter Theluson doubtless expected
to have amounted to at least thirty millions Of
pounds sterling, instead of which, under the man.
sgement of the Court of Chancery, and burdened
as it has been by lawsuits, at present it scarcely
equals the original amount left by the teatstOr. As
general rule, indeed, it is much safer for man TO
make his ewn sccumustOns than to pass that busi-
ness ever 10 trustees and Courts Of Chancery.
The Albany atlas has no resource but in mis-
stating us. We have rever held that "all persons