The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-07-29

Police, came in to offer his congratulations, and
spoke of the interpostion of Providence. the EN-
PERoR cried out before everybody: 'Eh, Monsieur!
La Providence que ne rois pas proege, ct rotre
police que js Uois sans cesse ne fat rien. F."
THE GREAT THELLUSSON WILL CASE.
Ye who listen with ere !ulity to the whispers of
vanity, and pursue with eagerness the phantom of
a name, attend to the history of one richer than
Rasseas, even to the history of one Peter Thellus
son, late of the city of London, merchant. 1t is
partly detailed in the columns of our this days law
law report, but scarcely plainly enough to be I'M
derstood without labor by non-legal minds.
1t is now sixty-two years since Peter Theusson
took stock of his worldly possessions and found that
he had 5000, 900 in money, and land of the annual
value of "a, 500 Peter Thellusson had satisfied the
ordinary ambition of an English boWgeoi8-he had
founded family. Peter Isaac the son of his youth
and the prop of his house, heir to 900 year
in money and land, and might claim to be a born
gentleman.
Peers and peeresses might hereafter spring in in
termediate succession from the oins of that denizen
of dingy little back parlor behind the Bank. The
best men upon Change envied the rich and pros
porous Peter ThellussOn, who had no object of am
biton unsatisfed. Peter was of a different mind;
he had not nearly money enough. Let other men
be satisfied to found one family; Peter was lucky
enough to have three sons, and he would found
three families.
1t was not that he loved his sons, or his sons
sons; but it the hope and desire of this magni-
hcently posthumous miser to associate his name i'll
future generations with three colossal fortunes
If he did not love his sons he did not hate them
he was simply Indifferent to everything except to
his own cherished object. Peter TheluSsOn took
the very best legal advice, and made a will. He
left few trif1ing legaces, probably to show that
unnatural antipathv to his children tainted that
will with mania But his great fortune all con-
veyed to trustees. 1t to accumulate until every
man, woman and child of the offspring of Peter and
alive or begotten at the moment of Peters death,
should also be deunct. No one of the children
Or orr n6-children w looked N
the face, or trembled in his presence, or squalled
at the sound of his harsh, hard voice. should
ever be the richer for Peters wealth. "And the
rich man also died." Twelve months after making
this will, and sixty-one years from the present
time, Peter gathered to his unknown fathers.
The will was opened, and created sensations which
vibrated through the land in widening circles Our
law books picture to us the blank disappointment
of the then living relatives the gentle ordinations
of past generation of lawyers and the gaping
wonder of the general public. There were three
sons and six grandsons of this malignant old mer-
chant then alve-all destined to live the life of
Tantalus; to this great pagoda tree growing up
before them, yet never to pluck one unit of its
fruit. The terms of the will enioned, that when
the last survivor of all the nine children and grand
children should yield up his breath, then the
charm was to end the great mountain of accumu-
lated wealth to be divided into three portions,
and onethird was to be given to each of the eldest
male lineal descendants of his three sons. Having
thus done what he liked with his own, and excluded
all his living progeny from all the benefit he ends
with whine to the Legislature worthy of Shylock
appealing against mercy-he had earned his money
with honesty and industry, and he hoped the Legs-
lature would not alter his will Of course, the first
thing that followed was Chancery suit of the
| latest bulk
| The common sense view of the case would have
been to set aside the will, the product of dis
eased mind-a mind rendered morbid to its dis
posing powers by dwelling upon an irrational OBJ
| ject. But Lords Loughborough and Alvanley and
Eldon, and Judges of kindred sympathies, seem to
| haV ed bvt hair If IN obi h
skill with which the technicalities of our blessed
real property law had been adapted to the object
of this old trader. Perhaps also they something
emnently sane and matter offact in this good old
sordld vice of accumulation were excited to ad
mlraton by seeing the meanest vice of man expand
ed into something like sublimity in its ggantesque
proportions The litigation went up to the House
of Lords and the will was confirmed. This affair
| naturally made great noise
The Legislature took it up, and although they
would not set aside the will by post facto law
they branded Peter Thellussons memory with the
imputatiOn of ''vanity iiberality and follv;" and
enacted by statute 39th and 40th George III, cap.
49, that the power of devsing property for the pur
pose OF accumulation shall be restrained in general
to twenyone years after the death OF the testator
Persons of arithmetical and statistical turn of
mind also occupied themselves with the matter, and
with the aid of life insurance tables and Cocker,
they calculated that this fund, accommodating at
compound interest could not amount to less than
nineteen millions at the moment of distribution,
figure of thirty-two millions. But nothing is 90 so
| false as facts, except figures"
The calculators had forgotten to take account of
that unknown quantity which must, in practical
matters be represented not by the letter &c." but
by the word obligation" Contemporaneousy
with the Chancery suit to set aside the will there
was cross-suit to have the trusts of the will per-
formed under the direction OF the Court of Chan
Gerry. That suit is now GO years old, and though
children and grandchildren are dead, the suit is
hale and lively it was in their earliest youth
That suit was the true heir to Peter Thelusson,
and 1t is still spending his money like rolicksome
young cornet. Necessarily, there were other
suits.
There were suits about post-testament acquis-
tons OF real property, there were suits about ad-
vowsOns, there were suits about other matters so
numerous that even equity lawyers, not stingy of
their words are fain to describe them as 'various
The careful and improving management of the
Court OF Chancery has also exercised its influence
upon this estate. The Yorkshire estates have par
ticipated in that excellent system, which has been
uniform in its action, that when we see a house
all wndowess and implanted, tottering and decay
ing, we can predicate with tone of undoubting
conviction, "That property is in Chancery."
The last survivor of the nine lives died in Februa
ry, 1856, and four bills were Immediately fled
The property is now to be divided, not into thirds
but into notifies. There is, however, question
raised as to who is entitled. Who were the eldest
male lineal descendants of old Peter Thelusson in
February, 1856? There two who are eldest in
point of lineage and two who eldest in point of
persOudl age IulS point is SJlll sue luulce. III
would not be very difficult to guess how it will be
decided; but that is matter of ours, would it
have been matter of the least interest old Peter
Thellusson.
His object was to make the heap very large; he
evidently cared not one lock of wool as to which
of his descendants might be the possessor Public
interest in this long line of litigation is confined to
its general aspect. Peter Thellusson's scheme has
turned out a foolish failure No single Thellusson
will stalk over the land, Overshadowing our dukes
and crushing our barons by the magnitude of his
territorial possessions No thrty-two millions of
money expanded into broad acres, where men
may travel and say-"Behold the conauests of the
great Peter Thellusson.'
Whether Lord Rendesham and Charles Sabine
Augustus Thelusson divine the estate as the eldest
in lineage, or whether Thomas and Arthur take as
eldest in years, should equally desire to be able
to call up old Peter Theusson to see the divi-
sion of his anticipated Accommodations The Court
of Chancery has clipped and pollarded his oak
that it is not larger than he left it. 1t would be fit
punishment for that purse-proud, vain, cruel old
man, to that he disnhert his own children only
to fatten generation of lawyers that he was the
dupe of his subtlely, and that his name instead
of being associated with the foundation of house
of fabulous wealth, is only known in connection with
an abortive scheme of vulgar vanity.-London
Times.
The artesian well, at Charleston, s. c., has now
reached the depth of $50 feet The size of the bore
has been recently enlarged from to IL inches for
a depth of about 1915 feet, and on account of the
frequent caving in of the Sides it is proposed
to insert cast iron tubes of about 10 inches outside
diameter and connected at the ends by screws.
I. -,..... rs AT 14lt VI lEf