The Portland daily press., 1877-03-20
Our New York Letter.
'anderbiIps Wiii--Going 10 Law and
the Conscquences--King the Specs.
lator- r--swteny's Return.
New YORK, Mar. IL, 1877.

/ "po w prevent the admission OF
vanderbilt will to probate was very prudently
| abandoned by the dissatisfied heirs at the first
hearing before the Surrogate. That any sape
person should ever have conceived the idea of
contestiDg it seems unaccountable. If ever a
testament reflected the will of the deyIsor in
every line and sentence this was the one Il
was perfect transcript of his paItialities and
preJudices, and gave evidence of the unabated
mental perspcacity with which he must have
| Deen endowed when he dictated it II apy
proof were wanting of his sanity this docu-
ment fully supplied it. 1t was Vanderbil.Isn
| all over
| Rumor, always busy about such matters, in
timated that the principal heir had compro-
missed with the mslcontents. That statement
| would be utterly incredible, even if it had .ot
been authortatively denied, but since it has
been there is an end of that hypothesis Itis
much more probable that the parties who felt
themselves aggrieved arrived at the sensible
conclusion that it was the height Of follv 10
| throw away the money the Commodore had
bequeathed to them in the never ending ex-
penses of an iLtermnable aud hopeless law
SUIT Ii they accept the situation they are
comfortably provided for The old man un-
doubtedly calculated the chances of having his
Will disputed and guarded against it by max
| iEg adequate provision for every one of his
| children. 1t is generally known that his eldest
sop, Cornelius, was not a favorite of his to
state it mildly, aud didn't receive much pecu-
niary assistance from him while he was living
But be clearly didn't mean to make q martyr
OF him by cuttiog him off With shilling and
so he gave him 100000 which il hs takes caro-
OF it IS enough for all his legitimate needs On
the other hand if he were to fee lawyers with 1t
1t would all be gone years before he could get .
decision in the courts, and after he had spent
his last dollar the litigation would be pretty
sure to collapse for want of funds.
People who have had any experience in law
suits in New York know that as a general rule
only members of the profession profit by them.
The victors and the yanquished are alike de-
spoiled. 1t is the most difficult thing imagin-
able to get case to trial if the counsel on
either side have any motive for delaying II.
There is recognized professional etiquette
which is held to justify every attorney in subor-
dinating the interests of his client to the con-
venience OF his antagonist. The consequence
| is that innumerable claims, against which
there is no defense in equity and scarcely any
in law, are suffered to lie for years upon the
calendars of our courts, disturbed just enough
and only enough to lay the foundation for peri
odical charges for making motions or fling
afidavits about them Our whole system Of
judicature is so fagrantly wrong and abomin-
able that it ought to be revolutionized It would
be infinitely better to abolish all laws for the
collection OF debts than to perpetua.e the
hollow mockery of justice which beguiles
so many deluded people into this vain
resort for the vindcation of their rights
Law as administered by our civil til
bunals virtually means in nine cases out of ten
oppression to the honest creditor and protection
to the knavish debtor. If man has clear
case he can't get it to trial If there are any
legal, technical antiquities about it be gets a.
ter lapse of years judgment in our court,
then after further lapse Of years the Judgment
is affirmed by another court, |. e., the general
term. II he survives these two great cycles Of
time-possibly he may il he were young when
he began and extreme longevity is accorded to
him-the court Of last resort will very likely
reverse the judgments Of the courts below In
| the course Of the next decade, and he or his
heirs and assigns will have to pocket the loss of
| the original debt and as much more in the shape
Of costs. And if he or they scrutinize tie bill,
| it will be found to contain repeated items Of
costs for requesting delays to suit the conven-
fence of his own counsel or for consenting to
them to serve the purposes of the other side
these little courtesies of the profession having
been practiced without his knowledge and sore
ly to his detriment.
Now fancy half dozen of the legatees of
Cornelius Vanderbilt, with some millions to
spend, getting entangled in such web as this.
1t would be the case Of Jarndyce and Jarndycs
IN actual life, lasting as long as the funds held
out, and ending as that did. Perhaps some of
these parties have read the story of Miss Flits
and taken warning by ii. At any rate they
have made lncky escape
1t is to be hoped that the abortive efforts to
upset the wills of Stewart and Vanderbilt will
check the contesting business If it were en-
coursged New York would soon get to be ~
dangerous place for rich man to die In, ss IL
is already to live in. Once let it be understood
that great estates were liable to become the
prey of adventurers and there will be no end Of
litigious proceedings against them. The course
pursued by Judge Hilton in refusing to tress
with any pretended heir of Stewart crushed out
the assault upon that great fortune expeditions
y. The only annoyance to which Mrs Stewart
is subjected now is the receiving Of bushels of
begging letters from silly people of both sexes
ON all quarters of the globe. These continue
TO pour in in such volume that il she wsrs to
undertake to read them she would have moth
ing else to do But she does not waste her
time in that way. These ridiculous missivss
merely serve to kipdle the fires of the Fifth
Avenue Mansion. They are coached In every
form of abject entreaty and establish the fact
that the epistolary beggar is the meanest of all
mendicants. Some of them infuse an enor-
nous amount of cant into their wretched ap-
peals and pretend that they want money, not
for themselves but to win souls to salvation!
Judge Hilton published very interesting vol.
ume under the exceedingly appropriate title OF
'the posthumous relstives of the late Alex T.
Stewart" This contained chiefly the effusions
of persons at home and abroad who claimed
kindred with the deceased Croesus. Thsy were
a curious medley of supplications and menace,
but they all led the reader to the one inevitable
conclusion that they were written by persons of
little self respect and still less title to compas.
sionate treatment. The miscellaneous suppli-
ants for bounty from the same source were 20
much more numerous that their mere names
would fill book of the size Of Webster's una.
bridged. The only wonder is that such inces-
SAINT Importantly does not steel the heart of
Mrs. Stewart to the demands Of charity that
are actually worthy of her consideration.
The tragic fats of James Kingan is another
sad commentary upon the ups and downs of
commercial life. He was bold speeqlator up
on the Produce Exchange. He made and lost
money rapidly. His operations were on scale
altogether incommensurate with his resources.
He had a good reputation, was held in high es-
teem among his acquaintances, his manners
were agreeable his address attractive and his
oral obligations were scrupulously fulfilled up
to the time of his disappearance. Four months
ago he was worth at a moderate calculation,
three hundred Thousand dollars. The tide of
fortune turned against him. He lost sl5O,00o
on q single operation in lard. A series of dis