Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-03-19

lars OF the litigation can trace it through
the different courts as follows: LIST. In the
Prerogative Court of Canterbury. reported
in Curteiss. D. &c., 2. On appeal to the
Privy Council. in Moore's Priyy Council
Gases, at p. 355. And 3. In the House OF
Lords, in the case entitled "The Corpora
ton of Gloucester vs.. Osborne" House
of Lords Cases, page 272. Although his
estate has thus been finally settled
and distributed for more than twenty
years, do not at all exaggerate in stating
that not a month passes without my re-
ceiving one or more letters from persons
who are approached by pretended agents
of some imaginary great firm of Lon
don solicitors, engaged i'll seeking for the
heirs of the great intestate banker, James
Wood, whose fortune, amounting to ten
millions sterling is lying in the Bank of
England awaiting claimant.
The usual mode of proceeding adopted
is to propose to undertake the business free
of expense, the propose to receive only a
share of what may be recovered. This
dupe readily swallows the bait. A short
time afterwards he is informed that all in
quiries and researches have resulted favor
ably, and that nothing is wanted to insure
success, except the cost of a few copies of
records and other papers, and that the pro-
pose having already incurred great expense
in conducting the necessary inquiries and
researches, is left without resources at the
very moment when few pounds would
suffice to secure the fruits of his labor and
expenditure. Many are the victims from
whom sums, varying from twenty to five
hundred pounds, have been thus extracted,
and the number of persons engaged in this
system must be very great, and the sums
received by them very considerable, if at
all in proportion to the number of letters
received here on the subject. Many thou
sands of pounds are known to have been
expended by those who could i'll afford to
bear the loss in the pursuit of the great
Jennings estate l.; and Some of those who
have spent money in this way have actual
ly been deludedi into writing to me their con-
viction that they were entitled to dislodge
the present Duke of Marlborough from
Blenheim Castle, by virtue of their descent
from the famous Duchess Sarah Jennings.
Most of the persons who are duped are
ignorant on two points which, in nearly
every instance, would satisfy them at once
of the utter folly of the hopes they in
dulge. The first is, that an alien cannot
be an heir in England when there is no
will and that he cannot take real estate
even if left to him by will. The second is
that, in England, estates devolve upon the
oldest son alone, and on his eldest son in
ard are not divided into shares
among all the children, as in LOUISIANA and |
and other States. Yet nothing is more
common than for persons to assert hei~ship1
to the supposed shares of younger brothers |
and sisters, or to claim, as natives of the
United States, heirship to Englishmen who
had left no wills.
In the hope that this exposure will be
Of some use to nay fellow citizens, in whose
welfare retain. the deepest interest, and
may protect them to some extent from the
sharpers who are plundering them, I re-
main very respectfully, your obedient SER
want. J. Z. BENJAMIN.