The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-26
LOVE or LITIGATION.
Ii Is the Craze OF some BenIghted
Beings.
From the Hartford Times.


From the Hartford Times.
After having read and studied Warren's
famous novel Ten Thousand Year." it
! is hard to understand how anybody would
go to law" as the saying goes. if they
could help it; yet some people never seem
happier than when figuring as plaintiffs
in a court Of Justice The smallest griev-
ance, real or fancied. is seized upon as
pretext for setting the costly machinery
Of the law in motion, and bringing into
play the forensic forces of advocate, jury
and Judge.
The late deceased Mrs. Paran Stevens
was memorable example in this respect.
! There was never time that she was not
actively engaged in one or more suits at
/ law. Ihat she was not always successful
is but natural yet it should be remem.
| bered that the lady was as often defend
ant as plaintiff. Mrs. Hetty Green is an
| other lady who is never free from an en-
! gagement at court, and 1t is a memOra bic
fact that she has won many legal engage
ments. 1t is thus that lawyers thrive and
grow fat
Students of the daily papers viii not
need to be reminded Of names which. by
their constant appearance in the law re-
/ ports, have been almost as familiar az
!
| cious htigant is not, for various reasons.
honored by public advertisement in this
| way, and there consequently remain a
| vast number of lovers of litigation of
whom the general public hear nothing.
There Is man well known to every
reader Of the daily press who has figured
/ as plaintiff in a court of law something
like 80 times during the last three or four
| years and, as may be imagined. some Of
/ the actions which he has brought have
been of the most trivial nature As an in
stance may be mentioned one which was
] simply dispute about the possession of an
| old wooden post, to which he, In common
with a neighbor, laid claim, and which
marked the division Of property belonging
to each. The thing itself wasn't worth a
shilling, and not ghost of a principle was
involved in the action, but it was carried
! through three courts at q probable ex-
pense to@eaeh ntgant OF something like
81 600 Fa.-.o RI
The most ridiculous things are in this
way frequently fought about Not long
since an old lady brought an action against
| a coal merchant In a western city, whose
carter unwittingly shot a sack of Goals
| on to the back of a favorite cat sleeping
at the time in the coal cellar INJECTING
injuries thereby that necessitated its de-
| struction. In another case an irascible old
gentleman sued a man for throwing a
! lighted fusee among some flowers in his
/ front garden anu burning a mole IN a ChOiCe
| bud on which he set especial store.
No less frivolous was the suit of a
country clergyman who instituted an ac-
ton for slahder against member OF his
congregation who, on a particular oc-
casion, in the hearing of several other par
ishioners. stigmatized the reverend gentle
| mans discourses from the pulpit as mot
! worth listening to-" This is partly set
off by the case of a worshiDper who
| claimed damages in the county court for
| being deprived of his customary seat in
church on the occasion of a well attended
special service. In the same way suits
for restitution of congregational rights Of
ten figure in the cause lists of our courts.
One of the most curious causes of liti-
cation is to be found in case mentioned
| in the old law reports, relating to the pos
session of a common horn snuff box, of
| the value of 81, presented to a certain So
ciety by one of it's members and claimed
by some one else. The costs incurred in
the case amounted to 81 500, and extra ex-
! penses were tackled on to the tune of 1870,
| all of which the unsuccessful claimant
| had to pay.
! Probably the smallest suit on record was
one recently tried in Scotland, for the sum
of a half penny, and brought against
| tramway company. The plaintiff was car
| ried in one of the defendants cars be-
yond his destination, and compelled to
pay the half penny as extra fare. He
| sued the company in the county court,
and, recovering the judgment compelled
them to refund the coin with costs.
The spirit Of litigation was perhaps
never carried to a greater extent than in
| the cause between two potters, at the end
of the last century, for a sum of $40. AZ
ter being in court for eleven years, it was
put an end to by being referred TO arbi-
| traitors, who decided in favor of the de-
| PENDANT in the case, and ordered the plain
| tiff to pay all the costs incurred in the
| proceedings. which were assessed at
5000.
As an instance of the unwisdom of
rushing to law to settle every little dis
/ pute may be mentioned the following
| case, which occurred only couple of
| years ago: Two cottages were left by a
| deceased relative to twin brothers. The
| terms of the legacy were little ambigu-
Gus, although the spirit of the bequest
| was plain. The brothers sought the aid
of the law to settle point that arose be-
tween them, namely, which was in reality
the elder of the two. This proved a nice
little nut to crack, the mother being
dead, and the nurse who assisted at the
birth, and whose memory was naturally
not very fresh after two-and-twenty
years, first asserting that one and then
the other was born an hour before his
brother. and finally admitting that she
| couldn't recollect."
After being deliberately argued and spun
| out to great length, the judge came to
the conclusion that the best way to set
tie the case would be to sell the cottages
and deducting legal expenses, of course.
divide the proceeds equally between the
| litigants This was done. The cottages
realized $1,000, the lawyers fees ran up to
| 81. 500, the solicitors engaged claimed 1900
in addition, the auctioneer's commission
and extras. came to $3.50 more. and there
was thus left SlO0 for division amongst
| the disappointed diSputants.
| -Father-FNritz, ] saw you last evening
helping home an intoxicated student Don't
] do 1t again; il makes a bad impression
! Fritz-Oh. that's all right. I only did
| it to get even with him.-Fliegende Blat-
! ter.
| -Pike-I wonder if the English people
will ever abolish the House OF Lords?