, 1891-05-19
At. STEWART'SE
Irish Heirs EndeavOr to Upset
the Millionaire's Will.
They Spend Four Years Prepar-
ing Their Case.
And are Defeated in About as
Many Minutes.

NEW YoRR, MAY lS.-lt took A. T.
Stewards Irish heirs between eight aud
nine days to come to this country to upset
his will, but Judge Wallace consumed
only as many minutes in knocking their
plans 10 the head. There has not been in
many a year so we'll developed or i'm
portant a plan of procedure for the
conquest of millions of money as that OF
these heirs. aud in an equal period OF
years there has not been so dramatic and
sudden a destruction of a great case in the
courts.
On Wednesday the Irish, Scotch,
Western aud Yankee heirs congregated
in the circuit court room in the federal
building to begin the trial of a cause that
has been four years in preparation. The
plan was to sue to eject from his dwelling
a man named Smith, who had been A.
T. Stewards butler at $500 a year, and
the doorkeeper of the Stewart mansion at
$1,000 a year, after Mr.. Stewards death.
aud until the house was leased to the
Manhattan club. In salaries and gifts he
got about 100000 from his employers.
His dwelling is one that he received from
Mrs Stewart. who got it under her hGs-
band 5 will. In order to eject Smith, the
Irish heirs meant to try TO prove that the
will OF the lead millionaire was not of his
devisiDg. or was drawn up under i'm
proper influence, If they succeeded, the
present heirs would be unable to rest
under the shadow of the cloud that would
hang over all the estate,
The heirs combined IN the selection of
Sarah BranaRh, the daughter of Mary
Branagh, OF Ireland, an alleged sister of
A. I. Stewart father.
ANovEL POINT RAISED.
But at the very opening of the case in
court Mr.. Joseph Ii. Cheate, representing
some Of the present heirs, brought up the
point that while an alien can inherit from
a citizen, such an alien cannot transmit
powers of an Inheritance to his or her
heirs or issue. To say that the argument
surprised The lawyers on the other side
Is to put it mildly. 1t fell like a thunder
bolt IN the court room.
Mr.. W. II. Secor SAID nothing, and
even Gen. Ben f. Butler admitted that
1t was unexpected. 1T was sprung on
US, - he said, although the case has been
four years in preparation.
The court afforded to the counsel for
the Irish heirs time in which to meet the
sensational law point. and today all the
parties. except Miss Branagh, who has
not come to this country, and Gen. But
Ter, who was suddenly called to Washing
ton, were present. Conspicuous among
the counsel for the defendants was ex-
Judge Horace Russell, whose success at
the bar is only exceeded by the popularity
which his personal qualities have won for
him. Next to himself astute Joseph FL.
ChOate, and next to him Mr.. Ehhu
Loot, whose industry is as striking a
quality as his intelligence. These lawyers
and MIR. Prescott Hall Butler, who stood
looking like a Saracen knight in the nine.
tenth century dress, were more keenly
interested in the issue as the counsel of
the Smiths, Clinches, Buffers and others.
who now hold far the greater part of the
estate, thar were the two Sons of Judge
Hilton, noted among the spectators in the
back part of the room. Mr.. W. II. Sc
cor of counsel tor the Irish heirs-a man
of sOldierlv bearing-sat close to Mr..
Choate, and there were several lawyers
from Ireland and Scotland who sat outside
the bar among the heirs.
BUTLER SMITHS QUEER POSITION.
II was very interesting TO see the heirs.
Although they were fresh from Ireland,
you could not tell them from the New
Workers who sat around them. Any one
who did not know their flces might rave
presumed that most of the persons on the
spectators benches were Irish heirs. But
the strangest thing about the spectacle
was the fact hat Smith, the ex-butler,
sat among tie men who were e~ndeavoring
to eject him from his house and home,
and seemed to be on the most friendly
terms with them. just as he had been on
the first day. Next to the fact that they
sued him, instead OF suing Mrs. Stewards
sisters or Judge Hilton, his friendliness to
the plaintiffs was as queer a turn of affairs
as any court case in town has produced in
a long while.
The room filled rapidly before tie Judge
came IN, and the reporters were Obliged to
stand up beside the lawyers and others
who came there late. Very soon after IL
O'Clock Judge Wallace took his seat. clean
shaver aud rosy, beneath the carved wal
nut symbol OF a rising sun of intelligence
! on the bench. The names of the jurors
were called and responded to, and the
judge at Once began the reading OF his de-
cisiou upon the point raised by the de-
PENDANTS. He said he had dictated it
hastily to his stenographer, and he added
that the plaintiffs had not submitted ref
erences to any statutes that offset the
point raised by Mr.. Choate.
HI IRISH HEIRS KNOCKED OUT.
81 have concluded, therefore, " said he,
that the statutory law of this state gives
the right OF Transmission by descent only
from resident aliens and naturalized or ma
tive citizens. Mary Braaagh, the mother
of the plaintiff was not one OF those.
50. 1t gives the right only to land ac-