Year: 1877

Security fe-ViOIatien of Fidusiary


Trusts.


New YORK, Nov 19, 1877.


Ihe grave is no longer sacred from
violation when its invasion is tempted by
cupidIty. We are having painful illustration
OF this fact in the effort that is being made to
break the will Of the late Cornelius Wander
bilt. II ever there was a man capable of exsr.
cising his will and of making q will, all through
his long life from the day of his majority to the
hour of his death, he was the one. His last
illness continued for many months after il was
known TO be mortal, and during the whole o
that period the vigor Of his mental faculties
was SO great as to excite surprise among those
who were witnesses of his gradual physical de-
cay. When the end came and his testament
tary purposes were proclaimed, they accorded
so perfectly with the character os the tsstatOr,
that it was generally believed he had fixed the
disposition of his vast property so securely that
1t would be absolutely impossible for legal To-
genuity or subtlety to thwsrt bis intentions.


1t had for great while bsen matter of
universal notorety that Mr.. Vanderbilt dis
liked his son Cornelius exceedingly. He was
banished from the pateInal presence and re-
duced to such pscuniary straits that he was
driven to borrow money of numerous people, In
small sums and large. And when his creditors
appealed to the father to repay these loans, the
stern old gentleman not only refused, but
abused the lenders in round terms for their
credulity and folly in parting with their money.
When it was ascertsined that be had be-
queathtd $4,000 to the object of his chronic
aversion, it was felt that under the circum-
stances the sum was Unexpectedly la &c in
stead of 1nreasonably small His &C nfdential
relations with his son Willisn justified the
presumption that the bulk of the estate would
be left to him. All the heirs uers provided for
libersllS enough to leave no ground for q con.
test, except by setting aside entirely the theory
that man has a right to do what he pleassa
with bis OVID. The instrument was drawn M
with such evident care and premeditation, and
guarded so effectuslly against flaws or omis
sions that it looked as if any undertaking to dis
pute its validity would be too hopeless to be
ventuTed upon from any quarter.


But great will case' is so alluring to
members of the legal profession that whenever
anybody can be found to accept the squiyocsl





difficulty in obtaining multitude of counsel
ors Even the Quixotic project Of setting aside
the will of Alexander T. Stewart was abetted
by persons Of some standing at the bar But
when the parties discovered that there was not
the slightest chance Of getting out OF the estate
dollar to pay expenses with and that there
was no source whence fees could be derived the
desperate scheme was prudently aban ioned.
The Vanderbilt case for the present assumes
more formidable aspect. The contestants are
legatees, and may be able to furnish funds to
carry on the campaign with. AS long as they
do and will The fight will continue. The SuIro-
gate will undoubtedly admit the will to pto-
bate. After that, if the defeated parties have
the courage to appeal, the case will take its
place on the calendar Of the courts, and await
for years the tardy progress OF what is face
tously called justice. A great many years
must elapse before it has passed along from
court to court until 1t reaches the last stage Of
the wearisome journey. Meantime the bsfled
pursuers will get tired of the game and still
more SO of the perpetual demand for payments
of bills Of costs, and the litigation will collapse
without having benefited any individual ex-
cept the lawyers.


It's, however,la most.unseemly and offensive
spectacle to see sons and daughters parading
the weaknesses and infirmities of father in
the courts and the newspapers, under an incent-
i've so ignoble as the desire to participate more
largely in the wealth which he saw fit to be-
stow otherwise. 1t is not as if he had left
them nothing or q mere pittaDce. He gave
them enough to supply all their reasonable
ond; ba "a
to found house, with view to perpetuating
his name and memory, he has done what he
had perfect right to do aud what the law will
and public sentiment ought to sustain him in
doing.


The saddest of all the instances of grief and
shame, Wrought through official dereliction that
has ever come under my observation is that of
Il. L Case, late President Of the Security Life
Insurance Company, who now lies ip the City
Prison awaiting sentence for perjury in hav-
ing sworn to a false statement Of the financial
condition of the Company shortly before its
failure which occurred a year ago. The con-
viction may be just; the example certainly
will be salutsry, but it is difficult to believe
that a man who has lived life Of apparen
probity and has reached the age of sixty-eieh
|
wilfully committed a crime which brands him
as felon, and must consisn him to cell in
the State Prison. 1 am rather inclined to the
charitable belief that he executed the fata
oath, without reflection as to its purport and in
ignorance of the facts. There has been alto
gether too much of this looss swearing, and it
has gore unpublished. too long. Aud yet one
cannot help feeling sympathy for the first vic
tim among so many offenders. The retribu-
tive spirit of justice sometimes seizss upon
the community with such force that it demands
a sacrifice. In such instances it is not so much
hardship that punishment should fall on any
ons person, as that he should bo the only one
to undergo it. This poor old man. q year ago.
was known and respected as . worthy and
reputable citizen. To-day he is ruined in for
tune, broken down in health, and doomed to
servitude of such responsiveness and iguominy
that death could hardly be so terrible. If this
gloomy incident in metropolitan life shall serve
TO teach its obvious moral, that the violation
of iducary trusts, whether committed gnor
antly or wilfully, shall subject the cuptit to
swift and exemplary penalties, it may serve
purpose useful enough to reconcile the most
mercifuly inclined to its relentless rigor.