Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-06-21
A SHARP RETORT,
PLAIN TALK FROM AN aup,yox.

Samuei W. ShadIe, esq, Ca member OF the
Lancaster bar, not now in the city. }
in the estate Of Sarah COyle, decd, Is a
document that has created some interest
on Barbary Coast since it was FLED, and it's
contents made known, although an effort
has been made to prevent portion Of tho
report from being published, even upon the
records Of the court where such documents
are supposed to be permanently engrossed
for reference. The history of this some
what remarkable case is, briefly, As fol-
lows:
The balance of the estate of Sarah
Coyle, something less than 1000, was to
be distributed among tho legatees and
claimants for pay for medical SER
vices, nursing, attendance. &c. There
were five meetings Of the audit
and when the auditor filed his
report he allO~ed the claims of the
doctor and nurse, gave the accountant sa5
for attending the audit, his counsel 50 for
tho same, and himself an auditors fee of
$50, dividing the small balance of the es-
tate among the residuary legatces. To
four items Of this reported distribution
the allowance Tor nursing. accountants
fee, attorneys fee and auditors few.
Nj. Franklin, esq, counsel for one of tho
legatees filed exceptions and in passing
upon these exceptions, Judge Livingston
in an opinion, filed April Is, 1882, said:
Judge LivIngstons Opinion.
Orphans Court.
SARAH coyLE, Decd. EXCEPTIONS to Re
port Of Auditor.
In this case, tho auditor has been eX
cccdingly liberal, and if the moneys dis
tributed had been his own, We should not,
in all probability, have been called upon
by exceptions, to interfere with his dis
tributiOn. This is not the case however,
and exceptions have been very properly
taken to bis report. He has awarded to
Mrs. Myers, for attendance upon Sarah
COylo for II days, 81 per day, s6s, and i,v
making the shrOud and laying out the
body $50, in all 500 this is 4 very liberal
allowance, and is fully rs much, rs under
the law and evidence, she IS entitled 10,
and the exception to this item is orerruled
We cannot say the same as to the other
exceptions, rs they are objections to fees
and allowances which arc regulated i'm q
manner by specified rules, as well as law
The allowance to accountant for attend
ing the audit, $25, is disallowed wholly
The amount allowed by the auditor to
counsel, being three times the amount
charged by counsel for settling the estate,
preparing and passing the account, &c,
which was perhaps allowed rs paving the
way to his own cxorIitant fee. must be
reduced to sum not exceeding his charge
for settling the estate, that is $25 instead
OF S15. The fee of the auditor, VIC think,
is without q parallel, $3.50 for five meet
inss, $50 per day being greatly in cx-
cess of the fees allowed by law let
this INn rnArooh fr SGI xx,hi,l, c1, oI,,Io
writing the report. This will make S16O,
to be added to the sum for distribution
We hereby recOmmit the report to the
learned auditor, to remodel it and make
the distribution in accordance with the
foregoing review and opinion, and report
the same to the court without further or
additional cost or expense to the estate Or
parties interested in the fund, within ten
days from this date.
j. B. LIVINGSTON, P.J.
April. Is, 1882.
The Supplemental Report.
In accordance with this opinion and
within the required time. Mr. ShadIc
to the fund for distribution tho S160 de-
creed by the court and dividing it between
the residuary lcgatees, Mr.. Shadle con-
cluded his report as follows
Your auditor feels that justice to him
self demands that he shall not pass un-
noticed two or three remarks in your
honor's opinion in this case as delivered
April Is, 1882. Your auditor could have
no ground of complaint had hc followed
his own judgment in fixing the fees in
this case, nor could your honor I" in all
probability have been called upon by OK
ceptions to interfere with his distribution,
had not tho ccOnOmy-horderin9 near on
to parsimony--Of counsel for exccptant So
governed them that they seem to have lost
sight Of that honor which usually charac-
terizes gentlemen of the profession in their
dealings with each other. When the fees
in this case wc-c fixed both the attorney
for the estate and for the residuary legatee
they being all the parties in interest
were consulted and they, with your
auditor, agreed upon the amount as
charged in the report as reasonable and
just, and not until after the argument Of
this case did your auditor hear anything
further about it but shortly thereafter
he was informed by one Of counsel that
the report would be upset." and by an
other that " it would not stand,' and
again that it WAS raising trouble in the
Mennonite church," and still again that
" such id charges would drive mans
clients away all this, too, from counsel
who had been consulted and who, if they
did not advise, certainly acquiesccd in the
fec charged. Your auditor was very
lOath to believe any of their statements
until your h0nOr's opinion in this case
convinced your auditor that the case had
in all probability been argued lin
the chambers " after it was argued
I" i'll banc - which conviction was
strengthened by the caustic remark
of your honor that eff the money dist,i-
butcd had been his own We should not in
all probability have been called upon by
exceptions to interfere with his distribu-
tiOn," and by what seems to your auditor
the entirely gratuitous. and t. say the
least Of it, the extra-judicial utterancc that
the allowance to counsel in the case was
only for the purpose Of "paving the way
to his own exOrbitant fee The imputa-
ton of such . base motive your auditor
now repels, and with all respect now sub
mits the report revised in accordance with
yonr honors opinion Of April Is, 1922.
8. w. SHADLE,
Auditor.
An Imperfect Record.
Upon examination Of the record books
III the office Of the clerk Of orphans court
it is to be found that the extracts whic!,
We have printed from Auditor Shades
supplementary report are entirely omitted
from the record. The distribution is given.
but two entire pages Of the report are
omitted, without any explanation or note
Of them On the record. Why or by what