The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1875-08-28
Mrs. King a Widow.

JUDGE AYRICK DECIDES THAT a NAN IN STATE PRISON
IS CIvILLY DEAD-MRs. KING SECURES HER
FATHERS ESTATE.
Judge Myrick has delivered his opinion in the
application Of Mrs. Anna King for the distribu-
ton OF the estate Of her father, VIM. Stott. In
his will Mr.. Stott gave to his daughter $500, and
ordered that in case she became a widow that all
Of his estate should be given to her. Mrs. King
and her husband lived in this city for several
years. King quarreled with his father-in-law,
Mr.. Stott, and shot him. Mr.. Stott lived two
years after the shooting. King and his wife
went to New York and there they disagreed.
She instituted a suit for divorce, and while the
case was being heard before a referee, King shot
and killed one ONeil, who was q witness in the
case, and was tried and convicted and sentenced
to the State Prison at Sing Sing for life. Mrs.
King, through her counsel here, recently made
application for the distribution of her fathers
estate on the ground that she was a widow. The
executors of the estate strenuOusly opposed her
application. Judge Myrick took time to study
the fine points in the case and yesterday gave his
opinion. He referred to the fact that in New
York a person sentenced to imprisonment for life
is ciVilly dead, and said that there were two
points in question
THE POINTS IN QUESTION.
First-What is the present status of Mrs.
King and of King in New York.
Seeond-Do they respectively occupy the same
status elsewhere.
His Honor continued as follows:
Evidently she is not his wife but is she a
widow? Has the contingency arrived which the
testator intended? Nearly all the distinguished
English photographers define a widow to be a
woman whose husband is dead. The words from
which this word is derived are ridu0, bereft,
deprived Of; Uidua, a woman bereft of her nus
band. She certainly is not his wife he is not
her husband she has been bereft, deprived of
her husband he is dead to her-he is dead to
the State he has no civil rights he can make
DO. contract he cannot sue nor be sued he
cannot inherit property if he had estate, it is
subject to administration if he had children,
he has lost their guardianship and the owe no
duty to him. 1t seems to me that under such
circumstances it would be doing no violence to
the t~estator's intention to say that she is in
every sense a widow.
Is SHE a WIDOW HERE?
Second-She being, then, a widow in New
York, the place of domicil, is she TO be regarded
here as q widow?
Story in his work on g The Conflict of Laws
sec. 65, says that the personal capacity or in
capacity attached to q party by the law of the
place of his domicil is deemed to exist in every
other country, even in relation to transactions in
any foreign country. Thus a minor, 4 married
woman, n prodigal, 4 spendthrift, 4 person non
coBlp0s neRfiS, or any other person who is deemed
incapable Of transacting business (sui juTiS) in
the place Of his or her domicil, will be deemed
incapable everywhere, not only as TO transactions
III tAC nav vi LAS "a AOA SAaAl-i LiAL tC ~
tranactions in every other place.
SHE Is A WIDOW HERE.
4 qualification TO the rule is that the incapa-
city should not be inconsistent with the policy
of the country where the rule is invoked. So
far from the principle that King is ciyilly dead
being contrary to the policy of the law of the
State, we have a similar statute applying 10
similar sentences here. In my opinion Mrs.
King is entitled, under the will, TO have distribu-
ton TO her Of the estate. Let n decree be
entered accordingly.
Mrs. King will receive about SO, 900, and it
is thought probable by those who know her that
she will use much Of that amount TO secure, if
a new trial for her husband. King
Ermly believes that if he was granted another
trial he would be liberated
The Viceroy Of Egypt is about TO astonish the
world again. He has resolved to build a railroad
along the valley Of the Nile 10 the interior of
Africa, and as he has plenty of money and thou
sands Of serfs at his command, he will no doubt