The Republican journal., 1896-12-17
An Important Case Decided.
1t Involved the Validity Of About 2,OOO, 900 acres
In Maine Alone.


Gen. Charles Hamlin, reporter of de-
cisions for the Supreme Court of Maine,
has received an opinion in the case of
Pulitzer VS.. Livingston, an action of great
proportions IN the am cunt of property in
volved. In the latter part of the last CEN
fury William Bingham, wealthy resident
of Philadelphia, bought immense tracts of
cheap land i'll Maine, Pennsylvania, the
District OF Columbia and in other parts of
the country, He became the owner of
:, OOo,OO acres in Maine, among which
Mt. Desert island figured He died in
1904, leaving two daughters and son.
The Will provided that in the event of the
death of the daughters and the survival of
the son till his 21st year the property
should be divided among the heirs then
living. One of the daughters married
Alexander Barring, atterward Lord Ash
burton, and a member of the great bank
ing firm of Barring Bros, the other be-
came the wife of Henry Barring. A
daughter OF the son married Count de
NoalileS, and in time the heirs became
scattered over both continents. Desiring
to dispose Of these lands from time to
time the heirs found it necessary on ac-
count of their residence abroad, England
and France, to appoint agents in this
country. Ii was not found practicable to
authorize agents to make sales and give
deeds by power of attorney because the
death of any of the principals would be
revocation of the letters of attorney.
Hence counsel was called in and the
owners, heirs of Bingham, all Joined in
making deed of trust to certain trustees
with power of appointment of new
trustees in case of death.
Under this trust deed large sales have
been made including valuable lots at Bar
Harbor. Within few years the queS-
ton became mooted whether this trust
deed was not void because it appeared to
be perpetual deed. Now no man can
tie up his property in this country for a
longer time than for life or lives in be-
ing, y years and months.
The titles to nearly all of the Bar Har-
Dor property depend upon the Bingham
trustee deed, and it became important to
determine it's validity A suit was &C
cordingly brought by Pulitzer against
Mrs. Livingston of New York of whom
he purchased "Chatwold," his summer
home, property costing 800, 200, which,
with the extensive Improvements made
and to be made will aggregate $500, 900.
The case was argued at great length be-
fore the full bench last July. Richard F.
Dale, the noted Philadelphia lawyer, was
enc of the attorneys of the Bingham
estate, as was Hannibal Z. Hamlin of
Ellsworth and L. b. Deasy Of Bar Harbor.
Beside prominent New York lawyers,
Atty King of Ellsworth represented Mr..
Pulitzer,
Last week an opinion was handed down
from the Supreme Court of Maine, writ
ten by Justice Foster and concurred in by
all the justices, in which the court de
cides that the trust deed is valid and does
not offend the rule against perpetuities.
The court finds that the powers contained
IN the uust deeds provide for complete
revocation of the trusts at any time and
thereby remove the case from the rule
against perpetuities.
The Bingham purchase covered part
OF kennebec county, all of Hancock,
part of Washington and nearly all of Mt.
Desert island, where every land title is
thus affected by the decision. The case
Is very important in that it involves the
validity Of about 1000, 600 acres of land
II the State OF Maine alone