The Sun. — 1845-07-28 (London, England)

EXTRAORDINARY WILL CASE. One of the most prolonged arguments with respect to ;he will of a deceased wealthy baronet, has been in progress the greater part of the past week. Sir 11. Jenner Fust has already heard three civilians out of six engaged in the suit. The deceased was Sir G. B. De Apreece, Bart., and though most wealthy, it appears that he lived in a style infinitely inferior to the position in which such wealth placed him. He had large landed property in Essex, in Hampshire, and other counties. His freehold property is worth from 180,0001. to 190,009/., and he left a personal estate of something short of 25,0001. From the pleas it appears that the baronet from his youth up was exceedingly eccentric. The will in dispute, and which is opposed by a sister (Mrs. Peacock) was executed at a fishmonger's shop in the neighbourhood of Fleet-street, the parties who were witnesses to it being entire strangers. The document, it is true, was duly attested, but it gave the property, real and personal, to St. George's Hospital, excepting two legacies to the executors. The rental of the estates amounted to 7,800/. In bar of the validity of the will insanity is alleged. 'The number of witnesses examined, and documentary evidence brought forward, is unparalleled, not less than seventy-four witnesses having been produced and examined upon one plea. Dr. Phillimore took two days in reading and commenting upon the exhibits.--Dr. Jenner, who followed, also occupied two days with his argument in support of the paper.—Her Majesty's Advocate (Sir John Dodson) took a day and three quarters in opposition to the paper, and as Dr, Addams, who follows on the same side, desired not to have his speech split in half, the Learned Judge having intimated his intention not to sit again until the caveat day, the arguments have necessarily been postponed. If reliance is to be placed upon the immense mass of letters which have been brought forward in support of the will, unquestionably St. George's Hospital will reap a rich harvest by the distribution. But the deceased baronet, it appears, for,years, contemplated self-destruction, and ultimately died by his own hand. He had carefully collated for years what he called a " Fact Book," in which were pasted all the accounts of murders, suicides, and dreadeul accidents. From the proof that monomania upon such subjects existed in the testator's mind, the sister of the deceased has proceeded to oppose the will. At the time of his death, Sir G. IL De Apreece was fifty-one years of age, the will being executed some years before. Among the arguments brought forward to prove insanity were, a constant fluctuation of intention, a degree of wilfulness in character and irritable temperament, wholly incoesistent with what may be considered a sound state of mind, eccentricities the most remarkable, and incoherency of conduct. Take, for instance, his fury at meals, sweareng at the cook and die servants for viands },repered for Mai and subsequently eating them. On one occasion he threw a hare on the fire, took it off again, fmrcel the leg il.,wn the servant's la.ck, saying it was a mouse. A vast variety of similar eccentricities were brought forward. But on the other side, the documentary oviCnce is produced to show capacity. The brother of the deceased married to the widow of Sir Humphrey Davy, and froili various communications produced sanity is sought to be proved. It will be perceived by this brief outline of the ease that the family of the testator is entirely deprived of ail interest in this immense property, and which is left, with the exceptions named, to a hospital with which he was very little acquainted. Dr. Addams, it is expected, will occupy three or four days as counsel for the next of kin, and then Dr. Harding will follow on the same side. This will be one of the most strongly contested will causesr ever brought forward in the Prerogative Court. That it will be appealed against, which ever way the Learned Judge decides, is pretty certain. It will affird nearly as rich a harvest for the legal profession as that gleaned out of the estate of Mr. J. Wood, the banker of Gloucester.  Sir George Murray, Master. General of the Ordnance, has, we understand, appointed Mr. Thomas Clarke, of the firm of Clarke, Fynmore, and Fladgate, to the office of solicitor to that department, in the room of Mr. Hignett, whose name the recent ,disclosures respecting the South-Eastern Railway must have made very familiar to our readers.— Observer.