The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-18

| palalytlc VINO, when the train OF thought
was merely mechanical, gave very lucid
! answers, but broke down utterly when any
slightest effort was needed. He had served
under Louis Philippe. Major" they would
! say, you were In the battle of Waterloo, |
! believe" "Oh, yes; l was there" "In
Jerome'S division, in the assault on Hougou-
/ nont| YES, | was with Jerome But
how could that be Major! The battle of
/ W aterloo was fought before you were born.
| You could not have been there. "Oh, no, |
+ was not there The strict rule, often laid
| down, is never to ask testator any ques-
ton which can be answered by yes" or
no; this serves the triple purpose Of avoid
/ Ing mistake, Of stimulating the teStators
| mind and bringing out its defects, if any,
| and OF preventing any suspicion that the
! queStloner is suggesting or debating the
! terms of the will. The last case Involving
a question of sanity which we shall tOucn
| upon, Is an instance of alteration which
| occurred here III Massachusetts, some twenty
| years ago and concerned a well-known and
highly esteemed member of the Suffolk bar,
son OF one of the most distinguished counsel
ors of the past generation. The case is I'M
| reported, but has been preserved by Judge
Redtield. Executing a will on June %
the counsellor on the night of the 18th
destroyed it with many other papers, and,
on being asked the next morning how he
Nuih0 W w IL S'liu ll6 llppOocu UuS uSN4 pun
1t into his head, and expressed a fear that
he could never make another valid will. He
did indeed
BECAME THOROUGHLY INSANE
almost Immediately afterward, and died in
few weeks But drafts of the will had
been preserved, and since it was clear that
his revocation of it was made while insane,
and was therefore Intellectual, the question
arose whether he was sane On the 23t, when
he made the will, The evidence developed
curious case of religious morbidness. For
some weeks before the date of the will, he
had been subject to great depression, which
took the form of self-abasement and self
accusation. He conceived the idea that the
degree of LII. B., conferred on him by Har-
ward University, had not been deserved.
He accordingly visited the law school while
lecture was i'll progress, and
at the end of the lecture made
an address, explaining his reasons for
disavOwing the title, and laid the diploma
on the professors table, and departed. He
was soon after seen lmeehng in the streets,
and praying for forgiveness Of his Maker
and his fellowmortals. From that time on
his breaking-up was rapid, until finally
total insanity supervened. The case Is
very difficult one to decide upon. The will
was admitted to probate; but it is almost i'm
possible to believe that he should have been
mentally unsOund on June, -, and
yet sound and capable on the 23d of the same
month.
Probably few of those now living remem-
Der distinctly the great struggle over the
Girard will in Philadelphia. A property
Of over 5000, 600 was in controversy.
Stephen Girard died in November, 1881, a
widower and childess. He had lived the
life of a solitary, and had devoted himself
to interests purely commercial-navlgatlon,
building and banking. Very few during
his life, knew that feelings of benevolence,
gratitude or public spiritedness had any
Judgement i'll his heart 1t was a stupendOus
surprise, then, when it was found that by
his will after distributing more than $500,
600 among relatives and friends in France
and America, he gave 100000 and more
upon contingency for the founding OF an
orphan college for the maintenance and
education of poor white male orphans. The
institution was to accommodate not less than
800 scholars. Nearly another million was
then gwen in other public requests. But
in the orphan college bequest there occurred
the significant clause, which created the
greatest interest in the contest: 81 enJoln
and require that no ecclesiastic, missionary
or minister of any sect whatever, shall ever
hold or exercise any station or duty what
soever in said college; nor Shall any such
person ever be admitted for any purpose,
or as a visitor, within the premises appro-
priated to the purposes of said college"
This apparently athestical provision
shocked thousands of well meaning people,
and promised to be the vulnerable point
in the will. What helped to signalize
the struggle was that Girard'S grasp
ing relatives, to make the most of
this clause in the attack on the will, EN-
ployed in their behalf the eloquence cf our
Massachusetts giant and Daniel Webster
went to Philadelphia to argue for them
On the other side were ranged John Ser
geant and that eminent Philadelphian
Horace Binney, director of the United
States Bank, and steadfast opponent of
President jackson. The questions We're
argued before the full bench Of the United
States Supreme Court, and the opinion of
the court was delivered by that leader in
American Jurisprudence, Justice Story.
The contest was magnificent, but the will
was sustained. just after Horace Binneys
mastery effort, and before the decision was
announced, a friend ISIS said to have asked him
what chance there was Of success.
Il cannot tell, he replied, 'but / should
entertain no doubt Of the issue if only had
been able to point at the head of the will to
the words, In the name of God, amen.
Those words would have saved it."
UNDUE INFLUENCE
has wrecked many a will, although, per-
haps in no other subject does the verdict so
frequently depend on the prejudices and
tenets of the jury. The most remarkable
case in late years in Massachusetts, was the
Smith will case in 1878.
The suit was begun by the two grandsons
of Smith sons of a deceased daughter Har-
rietO Hazen j. Burton, Jr., and George s.
Burton. 1t created public sensation, and
was in more ways than onea peculiarly in
terssting case. In the Sunday papers of
June 50, the news of the suit was headed
The root of all evil" "$l00,0 900 and some
Boston regulations involved" Signing a
will ON the threshold Of death, " "a harrow
ing story by a departed daughter" Alfred
d. Chandler appeared for the petitioners,
and what gave the case a greater notoriety
was that Gen Butler, who had also been
retained ON that side, after few appear
ances vanished mysteriously from the case,
and was not seen i'll it again. For the
will there appeared John A. Loring, George
p. Smith and William H. Drury. Hon. \.
A. Ranney and Judge Hoar were also more
or less connected with the case. The argu-
ments alone occupied nearly 200 printed
pages. and the trial covered fifteen days.
The story of the case was this; Ebenezer
Smith in the latter part of his life, had not
lived in the happiest Of surroundings. The
evidence as to his relations \Tvlth his wife,
his son Isaac, and his daughter Sarah, all
of whom lived with him, was conflicting,
but it was very clear that all was rot har-
1 4 Al