The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-08-20
ARGUMENT OF LOVE TRUST
CASE.
Attorney j. A. Magoon Most Severely
Dealt With-The Accounts of the
Love Estate.


spendthrift trust of James Love, and to
a most severe roast of guardian J. A.
Magoon. The well known orator sus-
tained his reputation for eloquence, but
his severity of comment upon the do
ings of the guardian and those who had
surprise even to those who expected
heavy criticisms. The colonel had an
interested audience, though Mr.. and
Mrs. e. II. Hart and Magoon did not
stay to hear the speech. Fitch was sar-
castle, humorous and critical by turns,
and at time no bailiff could have sup
pressed the laughter his pictures called
up. The witnesses De Cew and Chester
Doyle were heavily scored as we'll as
Magoon and the testimony of the High
Sheriff that Love had been drunk was
rediculed till bailiff had to rap very
hard for order.
1t was charged that Love had been
deceived into consenting to the spend
thrift trust in the first instance. Fitch
reviewed Loves 40 yeaN in Hawaii de-
claring that he had accumulated small
fortune by hard work and thrift had
retired from his bakery business in
1888, selling out, and until 1895 had en-
joyed the estate he had earned without
squandering it.
THE proceedings by which the trust
was established do not reflect credit on
those who had to do with the affair."
said Fitch. Loves answer TO the ORR
ginal petition denied the charges of
drunkenness and Loce testihes now that
he consented to the trust later on be-
ing informed by Magoon that all the
charges of this nature had been left
out of the petition. Magoon testifies
that he thinks this is not so. Magoon
may not have intended to deceive Love,
but there is no doubt that Love was de-
ceived. He failed to appreciate the
legal force of the words used. He was
no lawyer. Ignorance of the law is no
excuse, but the man twwho is lawyer
and takes advantage of his knowledge
to beguile a man like Love into
spendthrift trust does not come into
court with clean hands. The trust
could not have been created at all, if
the consent of Love had not been OBJ
tained for there never was a showing
that his spendings would reduce him
self or family tow ant"
Colonel Fitch reviewed at length the
annual accounts, finding many items to
criticize, most of them being allowances
to the Harts, fees and interest for Ma
goon. He declared that property that
ought top roduce about $4,000 per annum
was bringing in nothing, partly be-
cause a large part of it was in the
hands of Magoon's client, Mrs. Hart,
and that the old man was being nib
bled into bankruptcy" by Magoon. 1t
appeared from the colonePs figures that
Love was getting further into debt to
Magoon. "He is helpless to 40 anything
but sit and see the indebtedness grow"
said Fitch. "If he had been drunk all
the lime during the six years of the
trust he could not have done worse for
himself than Magoon has done. The
estate has been administered first in the
interest of Magoon, second in the in
terest of Mrs. Hart and third in the in
terest of posterity.
"r4 is conceded that previous to 1895
the old man was at times under the
influence of liquor but he was not so
bad but that after having retired from
business IL years he still had an es-
tate of $25000. His Scotch frugality
manifested itself even when he was
drunk for he took his liquor home in a
bottle and conducted his indulgences on
strict business principles. The danger
of reducing himself or family to want,
which the statute requires shall exist
as a reason for establishing a spend
thrift trust, never did exist"
Fitch said that Magoon ought never
to have been guardian, as he was attor-
ney for Mrs. Hart, who was Loves op-
ponent in the litigation. The colonel re-
ferred to the attorneys mixed rela-
tionships with the various parties in
very sarcastic terms and spoke of Ma
goon's opposition to the order OF court
issued by Jerry, turning the Love house
over to Mrs. Hart, as argument of
Magoon, by Magoon, against MagOon."
AS to the spendthrift law, Fitch
thought it was a product of excessive
missionary zeal against intoXicants. He
said it must have come from New Eng
land round the Horn, for it would have
died from want of support if it had
I tried to come via San Francisco. 1T
was fostered by PurHanical zeal to earn
fees by interfering with other people S
business, and today large part of the
week of our courts deals with such
trusts. They even ascended to the
throne, and King Lunalilo, while per-
mitted to exercise the functions of a
monarch, was denied the right to spend
the royal salary.
"Magoon's idea seems to have been
that while on earth this ill-used old
| man should get along on less and less
| income, in order that someone else
| might have big estate. 1t was always
the interests of the estate and never the
| interests OF Love. MdBOOn was lIuS-
tee for unknown posterity rather than
! for this old man who needed more COM
forts"
Interest at 9 per cent comUounded
monthly, on debts owed by Love to Ma
! goon, and attorney for Magoon, appear
| ing the accounts. were attacked, as wei
as the payments of money to the Harts
The borrowing of 5000 by Magoon as
trustee from himself to improve Loves
| property in which Love had only life
interest that had been taken away, wa;
criticized and ridiculed. Fitch compared
| the opposing counsel to Stevenson
Jekyll and Hyde, and spoke of the bot
tie the lawyer Jekyll must drink from
| before he took u the business of thu
guardian Hyde.
1T is an old rule that no man car
serve two masters" said the orator, re
ferring to Magoon's double capacity a
guardian of Love and counsel for tn
/ ICnntInrnd 70 nnno auo