Vice-Chancellor's Court, ...
The Times, 1824-01-21T00:00:00

fir. REPS'S appeared in support of a petition in 'this ca-se, pre. sented by certain creditors ofSaniuel (twynnett deceased,brayingthat the conduct ofthecause might be taken out of'the hands'of'th'epre- sent plaintiff, on thegreoud of culpable delay. It qp'pCefted 'that Samiuel (lwvnnett, by his will, left certain estates to his sister Ame. li: Oavynnett, subject to tie Pavihient of his debts. She also made a will, having previously inenunbered the estates beqaeathed to, her, and left those estates, as well as cer3ain othersof which shewas seis- ed, to various devisees, one of whomn was Lord C3larendon, thie pre- sent defendant. Upon application being made to his Lordship in 18&2, by the credinurs now petitioning the Court, it had. been 'stated that a suit in Chancery was necessary tbr the purpose ofextricatiug the estates from their embarrassments, and for ascertainint -the:in- terests of the difterent parties claining to be entitled'. A bill was soon afterwarc. filed, and . the suit proceedied until 1811;, when another bill was filed, and the termination of' the lirst appeared as far distant as ever. Tihe creditor being desirous, for himself and for the ot-her creditors of both the testator and testatrix, that the property shouid be'sold for li. quidation of their se%eral claims, now petitioned the Cour, that thc lurther management of the suit might be taken out of the bands of parties who had caused so much and such an expensive delay, anti whose interests, although apparentlv the samne with those of the petitioners, were; in point 6f fact, modst injurions to the fiatlae. The wvhole course of this suit furn slhed an instance, ainonig marfy others, of litigation, protracted unnecessarily and beyond all rcason byv the management of parties theilselves, wilile the otourt and the genieril administration of justice was wrongfully blamed for a delay, nf tie existence of. whichi they knew nothing, and to wh}Iich they couhl prc- scribe no remedy until now. Mlr. HART, in opposing the petition, referred the delay, which lie could not *deny had taken place, to the intricate' natire of the suit, and the various nicumbrances Aviti whicb 'the estates xyhich were the susbje*t of it had been loaded. Not only were -there mortgages made by the' original testator,Sambel Gtvynnett, but the testatrix, his sister, had also incumbered in a si- milar manimer as Niell the property devised.by her brother's v;ill, as that of which she had been possessed before his death ini her own right. The mortgages last executed, were at this moment riding over the whole of both estates, whicil could not therefore be sepa. ratet, as, for the satisfaction of thecreditors claiming, they ought to be, excepting by tihe means which had been adopted. Thie VmcItCm5Astce!.m.o1 .l- am not called upon to sa whiat delay had taken place previous to 1816, because the l,ord lfihancele lor's ordet, which was made in that year. imputes no such dlelay to any of the parties. Blut in 1817 the ilWster made his report, and a sele of the estates was then directedr I want to know why that report wVas not aeted upoi.. i n1tr. HART said he wias unable to give, at this moment,a more detai'ed explanation than he had already offered,-namely, th'at the coinnexion of the two estates by a mortgage had rendered another suit necessary. He requested that his Honour would allow the case to stand over for a short time, that he (i'Mr. Hart) might have an op. portunity for making inquiries which would enable him to furnish the inforpaation his Honoutr reOttirids 'The VICE:CdAXCEtLOt assented, but said that lie should re. Xquire, wvhen the cause was mentioned again, a remonatle'explana. tiou of the delay which had occurred since 1817. It e6uld not be en- dured that a snit,commencedl ostensibly forithe advantage of eceditors, should, by arrangement between one crediior and the partie.s entiiled to the residue of the estate, be allowed to continue jUst so long as might be convenient to the interest of the latter, withot'f any regard to the creditoir .. IM RE FROSTS. Mr. AC.AR was prepatetl to open this petition to the Court, which he said originated in an'attempt to defeat a collusive comimission of baiskrupt, issued several years s;nce, against tshe firm bf Lei and C6nsett. Various proceedings hid bein taken in it; whiich thb c6an. sel was about to detail, whehlihe VvAsio' 'ped by The VICE CiAANCELLoRt who sai, he observed the 'petition prayed, a mongst other things, that he (tbe Vice-Cliancelldr) wottld Ofder the attornies (OfMc;,,. isiro,s) against whom thc pettiton was presented lo be stcuck off the rolls.of the Court. Ile thought tiat ,c had no power of doing this unaer the act of Parliament b w)vjsich the duties of his-office were reguLated, and upon a fornier occasion, in a case ofcollusion, where he liad alltliqinclination inthe world to have exercised 'such a power;,he refrained from'doing so, because he thought he did notpossessit. If thel.ord Chaicellor thought fit to di- recthlim to hear this case,he was ready to proceed with it; and as his Lordship v}as sitting,liewvouldtrouble-Atr.Agar togoto his Lordship and state the doubt which had arisen in his (tee Vice.Chancellor's) mind, and ask his lIordship whethier lie wished him to hear the petition. Mr. HrALID said, that bis clients (lestrs. Frosts) were most anxious that the petition should be heard with as little delav as pous sible. They were men of the first respectability, and high in:their profession in the county of York; and the sooner tihev were enabled, as by the hearing of this Detition they woul(I be, to' xvipe av.-ay the ienputations which had been so unjustly cast upon them, the bettcr they woul. be satisfied. Mr. AeGAt withdrew, and in the course of the morning retuirned4 vwien he told his Honour that plion nientioning the case to the L,ord Chancellor, his La,rdship had said lie v:ould choose to hear thiepeti. tion lilussehf. GARnIC1 V. LORD CAWDOR. MIr. Tor.LnE appeared in support of a petition in!this cause, which bad been filed by Lord Caivdor, praying tho .Court to aplioin-AlrM iLambtnn the guarilian of his lordship's infant sun, John Frelterich Ioward, for the purpose of completing his contingent title to certair e'tates. The late Alajor Howard:by. his will- devised land's anc o ther hereditaments 'in Scotland to Lord Cawdor's infant son, befotx inaem, upon his attaining his majority. B.y ite law of Scptlandi es necessary, in order to accomplish Lrd Cawdor's present objec (vhicl was to goin what in Scotch Irlw is called tbe dom!idtm Pui!jt oftheseestite fduring thieinfancy ohis on), thata g_uardian otFle ibfalPt shduld'Ij . poidte.I XlIt.- iJfartwCr4domPPIlited land, the, Courts thmere Wuld 6 P, 'pPt ednsoirda propen r foE. in- &WPt"-,vbon ~ight be infthffd of the6etates:IntrqtfitoKtbe Im' rant, and thuis,thei jfant's title being cornpleted, LordOedrC ol halve cOinleted his awr. The child was.-however, resieiti-n lanid, and.a&this process cdnld not theebatk lht bt od ship now. valiedto to 4he Court to havelr,Lamon-atmdinted guardian oi bis son for this purpose, in which chWrdbterhewouAdat-. teriwaridiberecognized by. the Scotch C6tiitg aidhisLo,rdsehp't ti0e completed. Mr. -BA7tint appearedl to consetnt on theprtoMrLmo. The VICE- CH Et tLOU said he could nOt gntapetition, the objectof which was obtiously. i'ot for the beneft of the infant. It as' quite deartthat-Lo-rd Cawdorwould`be enabled-tncoiplete his title t tbeiiot a p'ear, as fr as his Honour understood the petition, that the infanea intercst would beaflbected by this, but'ta ol not bea -'ufficient reason, for the Court granting-the rayer, it must be made .to'.appear that.to do so iould he ab-ollitey, to the adran. r. TO>LT.EU attet vatda proposed to alter .thie -petition, ,by ral- ring it-tle pIo' of the irifant, and tfius to obviate-the objection. --The Vtie CTAZrCEL. COUI couldotV,permitthi. .A neiepetstion min,;ht b~eseneed~ anordi sedhe topic. which' s'vemodan im*portprnt |: VICE-CHEANCEL-LOR'S COUR' . TA. 2-. I _- . I MORGA\ V. LOIlD CLAREXDON.