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STATEMENT OF THE PETITIONER WITH EXTRACT FROM WILL, OPINIONS OF COUNSEL, AND SUMMARY OF OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE PASSING OF THE BILL, HUMBLY SUBMITTED FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF HONOR- ABLE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE. •••i : • • ' • • • • • • ' 1 » , . * • • • 1. • • 1 1 1 f 1 • •. • • • f II •• •!•..• •• • • • « I , • • • • • * P3 4t,.3/ REFERENCES. PAGE. Letters — j\Ir. Beclicr to Mr. Goodhue, 2 •' " with his incidental opinion on the Will.. 4 " " to Mr. Thomas, 8 ' ' Becher , Barker and Street to Mr. Thomas, 11 " Mr. Cronyn to Mr. Becher, 7 " Mr. Thomas to Messrs. Becher and Cronyn 11 " Messrs. Becher and Cronyn to Mr. Crooks, 12 Opinions — Hon. J. H. Cameron 10 " Mr. Becher's incidentally to Testator 4 ** Messrs. Eobinson, Anderson and Leith, App'x B. 10 Objections to Bill, Summary of, Appendix C 17 Telegrams, Mr. Cronyn to Mr. Becher 13 Will — Extract from Appendix A 15 • • • .' • • • r •• • • • • > • • • • • • Toronto, 20th January, 1871. 2 4 8 11 7 11 12 10 4 16 17 13 15 1^ GOODHUE ESTATE BILL. Sir,— By this Bill, now before the House, a construction is to be placed upon the Will of the late Hon. George Iervis Goodhue, plainly at variance with the Will, and his intentions and wishes ; and by it the rights of several infants, for whom, under the Will, I am a Trustee, are to be taken away. I find a printed document, purporting to be a report of what took place in relation to this Will before the Private Bill Commit- tee, has been sent to every member of the House. That document is so partial and one-sided, and in many respects so incorrect, that it cannot but lead to misunderstanding and misapprehension. I appeared before the Committee, and my Counsel were heard in opposition to the. Bill ; but the Committee refused to hear evidence against it, on the ground, as I understood, that such evidence would be contradicted. I could not see that the evidence to be offered against the Bill tould be contradicted, and the decision was to me entirely novel; for I never before knew of evidence being excluded on the ground that it might be contradicted. Kumours had been circulated about the doors and lobbies of Parliament, which, c )nung to my ears, I knew to be imtrue. It seemed to me that the Committee, though actuated, by the strongest integrity of purpose, and the single desire to do justice, had acted under a misapprehension, and that the only course open to me was respectfully to approach each Member of the House, stating to him all the facts bearing upon this Bill, pledging myself to their truth as I do, and offering to substantiate them in evidence if I am per- mitted. I write to serve no pei-sonal object or interest whatever. I beg to address you simply as a Trustee, in protection of the rights en* trusted to my care, and to crave your considaration of what I have to say in that character, and in that character only. , "A 57618 2 In November, 1869, Mr. Goodhue, through his son-in-law, Mr. Thomas, requested me to act as his executor. I was by no means willing to act, but pressed by Mr. Thomas, I consented, and with his approval, and with the certainty that Mr. Goodhue would ap- prove the selection, I wrote to a well-known gentleman in Toronto, to act with me. That application failing, I wrote Mr. Goodhue a letter, of which the following is a copy : ^ My dear Mr. Goodhue : I owe it alike to you, one of my earliest friends in Canada, and to your family, to act as one of the trustees and executors of your will if you are anxious I should do so ; but, as the position will be one of very grave responsibility and some considerable risk, you will not, I hope, think me unkind if I name to you those with whom I could cordially act for the benefit of your estate. They are, Mr. Thomas, first ; then Mr. Street, eitlier alone or with Harry added to him — the two I think making a very good con- bination; then, if none of these are to be taken, Mr. Yerschoyle Cronyn. I do not say these are the only names that can be thought of, but they are only those which occur to me now, and it seems to me all are good for your purpose as men well could be. I should have gone down to see you this morning, but Mr* Thomas tells me you would prefer to-morrow; in any event do not let the subject press or worry you, as that will retard the great good I trust Dr. Hodder's services will do you. Believe me, most truly yours, Thb Hon. Geo. J. Goodhue. Henry C. £. Bboher. Saturday morning, 27th Nov., 1869. Mr. Goodhue having, without my seeing him, selected Mr. Cronyn, that gentleman accepted the position. At Mr. Goodhue's request, I then attended him, and received from him, and him alone, full instructions as to the settleme^nts and the Will he subsequently executed. I needed not to be told the wishes of his family were for the imjaediate division of his property; those wishes were but natural, and I shared them, and endeavored, without success, to have them carried out* Having got his instructions, I told him I should get Mr. Leith to draft the settlements and Will; he desired me to "take time and dratir them carefully — there was no hurry j" and so alive was h^ as to what he was doing, that one of his proposed executors, owing him a debt secured by mortgage, he wished corroboration from ' Mr. Leith of my assurance, that the making the mortgagor his executor would not bar the debt. Mr. Leith wrote him that it would not. Mr. Leith having prepared the drafts of settlements and Will, I took them to Mr. Goodhue, read them over to him, and settled them with him. There was a clause for advancement of grandchildren in the draft settlement, which he struck out, though I urged good reasons, as I thought, for its remaining; there was a power of advance- ment in the draft Will, by which I and Mr. Crony n could at any time during Mrs. Goodhue's life, with her consent, have advanced to any of his children any part not exceeding half of his or het expected share. This he struck out, though I urged him strongly not to do so ; he said, however, he would think of it, and if he approved of it, would by and by make a codicil to his Will. With some few trifling alterations, beyond this the drafts were approved, and I sent them to Mr. Cronyn, that he might see the trusts we were to carry out. The drafts, which I have yet in my possession, were then engrossed ; and on the 8th of December, I, Mr. Cronyn, my co-trustee, and my partners, Mr. Henry Becher and Mr. Street, attended their execution. The two latter witnessed both settle'^^nts and Will; they were executed by Mr. Goodhue, in presence kji' \\\ four of us, and read over slowly to him before execution, in ju'esence of three of us — Mr. Street not being present, I think, till towards the last. That these papers contained his wishes and will, and that he perfectly and thoroughly understood them in all their bearings, no one of us present could doubt, or ever has doubted. Before this I had, at the instance of Mr. Thomas, intimated to Mr. Goodhue that a present advance of $10,000 to his son would be of great benefit to him ; after the execution of his will, he re- quested me to draw and send him a proper document for his son to sign as to this money. I promised to do so, said it would more pro- perly be governed by a codicil to his will, and reminded him to consider the question of advances to his children which I have before referred to in connection with this codiciL On the occasion I now refer to, Mr. Goodhue executed six settle* ments, one in favor of each of his five daughters for the sum of $0^,000 ; the remaining one for the sum of $22,000 in favor of his son, ($8,000 having been previously advanced him.) Mr. Cronyn and I are trustees of these settlements. Our duty is to invest the moneys and pay the proceeds to each of !Mr. Goodhue's daughters and son as received, and at their death to their children, &c. Before leaving the room Mr. Goodhue gave us a cheque for $172,000 for these settlements, and I may add that tlie whole sum has been long sjnce invested at rates of interest from seven to nine per cent. And thus having provided, as he considered, for the present wants of his children, he, by his will, in language that cannot be mis- taken, directed that the property he left untouched by other be> quests, should accumulate until the death of his wife, and then, with this accumulation, be divided among his children tJien living^ and the issue of such as should be dead. As to this, I beg to refer you to the full copy of the will annexed to my petition before the House, and to the extract from it appended to this letter. I pi-epared a covenant for Mr. Charles Goodhue's execution as to the $10,000, and sent it to his father on the following day, in a letter, of which the following is a copy, and which incidentally gave him a legal opinion upon the effect of his own will. (I should add, that he had made the cheque payable to bearer, and had been uneasy, as I heard, lest we might lose it, not knowing the fact that I had altered it to order, before leaving him : — ) London, 9th Dec, 1869. My Dear Mil. GotDuuE, I send you the covenant for Charles to sign as to the $10,000. If he survives Mrs. Goodhue, it will effect your object, that this sum will be deducted from what he would be then entitled to under your >Yill ; but if he does not survive her, I am inclined to think with your will as it /«, your Executors M'ould have to look to his estate for it, for his share would then have vested in his children. But when we come to draw the codicil you speak of, we can make that all right. , . $ I hear you were uneasy about that small cheque la^t night. Know that it was j>ayable to order, and was indorsed yesterday with a direction to transfer the amount, $30,000, to each of five aoeounts, and $22,000 to a sixth, opened hy us with the Bank of Montreal. If anybody find stolen it, it would have done them no good. Pray don't make yourself uneasy as to any improbable negligence on the part of your Trustees. Yours very truly, Henry C. R. Becher. The Hon. Geo. J. Goodhue. The covenant inclosed in it is in the following words, and the date is filled in and executed as on the day I sent it : Whereas I, Charles Frederick Goodhue, have this day re- ceived from' my father, the Hon. George Jervis Goodhue, the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars, as a loan, payable to him, his executors or administrators, without interest, upon the death of my mother, Louisa Goodhue. Now I, the said Charles Frederick Goodhue, for myself, my heirs, executors and administrators, do covenant and promise to and with the said George Jervis Goodhue, his executors, admin- istrators and assigns, that I, my heirs, executors or administrators, shall and will, upon or immediately after the death of my said mother, pay to him, the said George Jervis Goodhue, his execu- tors or administrators, the said sum of Ten Thousand Dollars; and I declare and agree with him, his executors and administrators, that in the event of the said sum not becoming payable under these presents until after my said father's death, that his executors oradmin- istrators may, in case of my default, retain and keep back out of any moneys, legacies, shares or interests to which I may be entitled, or which may be devised or bequeathed to me under any the last Will and Testament, or any Codicil or Codicils thereto of my said father, the whole of the said sum of Ten Thousand Dollars, or such portion and portions thereof as I may have then loft unpaid out of the said legacies, shares or interests, if all or any of them shall amount to Hu much, and if not, then that the Avhole of the said legacies, shares; and interests may be kept back and retained on account of my said indebtedness. • •- i' ■ \ in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this ninth day of December, 1869. Signed, sealed and delivered ) .— ^'w- -, in presence of (S'd) >• (S'd), Chas. F. Goodhue, | L. S. | Frances C. Hammond. ) ^— -v^^ After this my co-trustee, Mr. Cronyn, and I visited him, with the object of inducing him to make a codicil giving the power of advancement he struck out of the draft Will, or more immediate benefit to his children; we used many good arguments, as we thought, but they were of no avail. Attentive and listening to what we said, the only encouragement we got was, "He would think of it;" "he would see." I visited him, I think, three times after this alone, and brought the subject to his attention, the last time advising him at all events to let us pay the surplus yearly income to his children, with like result; the last time I saw him was on !N^ew Year's day, 1870. He died on the 11th January, without intimating any desire, that I ever heard of, to make any change in his Will. Mr. Cronyn, my co-trustee, does not join me in petitioning against this Bill, for the reason, as I understand him, that he still takes the view he and I alike took, but I now think erroneously, when I wrote Mr. Thomas the letter of the 10th February, which appears in the Promoters' report of the proceedings before the Committee : and that view was, that we should simply take no part in aiding the Bill. He has added, however, with me, his dissent, and very strongly, as will hereafter appear in our letter of the 24th October, to Mr. Crooks. Within the lafet few days I requested Mr. Cronyn, witli a vieAV to my using his letter here, in such manner as I thought proper, to write me his recollection of what occurred in relation to tlie preparation and execution of Mr. Goodhue's Will. I told him Mr. Crooks had refused to admit what his telegram stated in refutation of the rumours I have spoken of; that I had been informed on the best authority that a canvasser for the promoters had asked for support to the Bill, on the ground that I had drawn the Will against the understood wishes of Mr. Goodhue and his family for my own purposes, and that he did not understand it. That I desired to remove this imputation because it untruthfully and unjustly attacked the Will. this with rer of ediate flight, e said, " "he rought events th like 0. desire, ^tioning 11 takes when appears miittee : aiding id very 3ctober, I a view proper, to the telegram lad been ronioters ,d drawn and his rstand it. ruthfully Mr. Cronyn thereupon wrote me the following letter: London, 18 January, 1871. H. C. R. Becher, Esq., Q.C, London, O. My Dear Becher, You ask me for a statement of what, to my knowledge, trans- pired respecting the preparation and execution of Mr. Goodhue's will, that you might use the statement to rebut imputations made as to the part you took in the matter. On Monay, 6th Deer., 1869, you called at my office and handed me draft of will and of deed of settlement, saying that you had just returned from reading them over and settling them with Mr. Goodhue. I read the drafts over that day, and returned them to you, and on the Wednesday following I accompanied you to Mr. Goodhue's, when several copies, picked at random, out of the six deeds of settlement, were read over to Mr. Goodhue, they being all alike, and afterwards you read the will over to him, slowly and distinctly. He appeared perfectly to understand it, and he then executed it. He then spoke to you about an ad- vance of $10,000 he proposed to make to his son Charles, to be charged against his share imder the will, and asked you to draw up a form of I'eceipt for Charles to sign. You suggested that a codicil had better be added to the will, explaining the advance referred to ; and you asked Mr. Goodhue whether he had thought over some- thing you had previously suggested to him, and which I understood to be that he should give his trustees power, in their discretion, to make advances of a portion of the surplus estate to the children during Mrs. Goodhue's lifetime, and you went on to say that it might be done in the codicil you proposed to add to the will. I do not recollect what reply, if any, ^Mr. Goodhue then made to your suggestion. Mr. Goodhue then signed a cheque for $172,000, the total amount of the trusts, and I took it to the Bank of Mon- treal and got it marked. About the 11th December, I called on Mr. Goodhue alone, and suggested to him his altering the will so as to allow distribution at his death among the children, of at least a portion of the surplus estate, pointing out to him the painful positieju the will placed Mrs. Goodhue in, in making the accession to the property depend on her death, and yet giving her no power to free herself from it. Mr. Goodlvae thanked me for calling ; said he did not think that Mrs. Goodhue would find her position under the will embarassing; but added that he would think the matter over, and let us (the execu- tors) know if he desired any change. On the 17th December I accompanied you to Mr. Goodhue, when we reported to him what we had been doing, up to that time, in relation to the settlement, and you again reminded him of the codicil you had previously proposed to add to the Will, urging the matter on his attention, pointing out that his sons-in-law, with- out an exception, were men to be entrusted with property. He appeared at first to assent to your proposition ; but went on to speak of adding $10,000 to each of the six settlements, making the calculation aloud, that that would make $60,000, and ended by saying, to let it remain as it was for a few days, and he would con- sider the matter. I never saw Mr. Goodhue again alive. I remain, sincerely yours, (Signed,) V. Cronyn. In justice to Mr. Cronyn, I must state that since this letter was in typo, I have to-day (21st Jan.) received a telegram from him, stating that he '* does not oppose the Bill, and does not wish his letter used for that purpose." I use it here, I think, rightly for the purpose for which it was given. Mr. Thomas having applied to me by letter on the 8th Feb. to assist him and Mr. Watson to induce the Legislature to pass a Bill, I wrote him the following letter, which the promoters have already given publication to, without the two that followed in relation to the same subject, although they both went before the Committee. li London, 10th Feb., 1870. Mt Dear Sir, I only returned from Toronto last night, or your letter of the 8th Inst would have been more promptly answered. Ai regards the question you put to me, whether I will assist you and Mr. Watson in endeavoring to induce the Legislature to pass the Act you mention in relation to Mr. Goodhue's will, I can only say, not comprehending the provisions you detail, that I shall Mr. t Mrs. g; ^^^ execu- )odliue, to that him of , urging V, with- y. He it on to king the nded by uld con- ilONYN. iter was com him, wish his y for the h Feb. to ass a Bill, re already •elation to nmittee. 1870. ter of the will assist jislature to will, I can hat I shall be very glad if you can obtain an Act which shall, with due regard to Mrs. Goodhue and the other annuitants' interests, hasten the division of the bulk of Mr. Goodhue's property among those who, at present, would be his residuary legatees — I mean his six children. I do not feel it would be proper for me to take any part in the endeavouring to obtain such an Act. I can only say that iii provi- sions would afford me very great satisfaction. I am at length enabled to send you a lithographed copy of Mr. Goodhue's Will. Yours, very sincerely, (Signed) Henry C. R. Becher. F. "W. Thomas, Esq., &c., &c. Will you be good enough to send me Mr. Watson's address 1 As regards this letter, I produce it as part of the truth ; it was a letter I subsequently was convinced I sliould not have written ; and being so convinced, I apprised Mr. Thomas of the fact in the letter of my Firm to him of the 7th June, produced and read before the Committee. And I submit that that letter should in no way weaken my present opposition, revoked as it was so far back; indeed I go further, and say tiiat no conduct of any Trustee, whether from mis- apprehension or otherwise, can or sliould lessen or take away the rights of those for whom he acts. On the 28th May, Mr. Cronyn and I received a letter from Mr. Thomas, demanaing, on the part of his wife, "the increase over and above what was requisite foi- life interest, to be paid to her to the extent of her share in the residuary estate of her father"; and we were told that this was a preliminary proceeding to an applica- tion for the present Bill, and that it was desired we should apply to a Judge for directions. For myself, I could see no ground for Mr. Thomas's application; nothing to doubt, to go to a Judge about under the AYill ; but to be quite safe, Mr. Cronyn and I submitted the matter to the Hon. J. Hillyard Cameron. About the 4th June we received his opinion, which is as follows: 10 TonoNTo, 2nd June, 1870. Mt Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of 30th May, with copy of Will of the late Mr. Goodhue, and letter of Mr. Thomas, referred to in your letter. I have carefully examined the Will, and am of opinion that the interests of Mr. Goodhue's children under the Will are vested, although they cannot come into possession until after Mrs. Good- hue's death, and that if any of the children die before Mrs. Goodhue, and leave no issue living at her death, that the interest of such child will become divested, and be divisible among the other chil- dren and grand-children living at her death, in the proportions men- tioned in the Will. In my opinion, neither Mrs. Thomas, nor any of the children, is entitled to receive any income irom the share so devised until after Mr9. Goodhue's deatli. I •consider that there is no case arising under the Will which requires the Executors to go to the Court for the construction of the Will. If Mrs. Thomas desires to have the Will construed, or her Counsel consider that she has a present right to receive ao income from her future share, let her file a bill so to declare it; but I think that the Executors should not do so, and I also think that it is their duty, under the Will, to resist any attempt to alter its provisions by Legislative enactment, as they have to provide, under the will, not merely for the protection of in- fant grand-children, but also to make good from the accumulated inQQme, any loss that may arise in the investments, under the deeds nwde by Mr. Goodhue before his death, which they evidently might be disabled from doing if they had proceeded to a division and pay- ment of the surplus income while Mrs. Goodhue lives, while they might become responsible for the payment to any one of the children who might die leaving no issue in Mr. Goodhue's lifetime, for any pQr.tion of the income which ought to have accumulated, and be distributed only after Mr. Goodhue's death. Yours very truly, [Signed] J. Hillyard Camsbom H. C. R. ££CHER, Esq., London. 11 0. 'Will to in a tliat irested, Good- lodhue, )f such er chil- is men- Ldren, is til after L which ution of ued, or » receive declare and I gsist any , as they ion of in- umulated the deeds tly might 1 and pay- rhile they ,e children ,e, for any jd, and be CameboN Tliis letter received — Mr. Thomas's demand was refused, and he was apprised of it by the following letter : — London, June. 7, 1870. Dear Sir, — We are requested by Messrs. Uecher & Cronyn to inform you that they duly received your letter of the 28th May, and that hav- ing taken advice of Counsel, they decline to accede to the request you make in that letter. Mr. Becher desires us to add, with reference to his letter to you of the 10th February last, that he and Mr. Cronyn have been ad- vised by Counsel, to whom your letter of 28th May, with other questions, was submitted, that, " it is their duty under the Will, to •* rei^ist any attempt to alter its provisions by Legislative enactment.^* We are, dear Sir, Your obedient servants, (Signed) Becher, Barker & Street. F. W. Thomas, Esq. To this letter Mr. Thomas replied tlie next day as follows : — Messrs. Becher APPENDIX B. We have perused a copy of the will of the late Hon. Georsje Jervis Goodhue, dated 8th December, 1869, and are clearly of opi- nion that under the trusts and bequests therein of the proceeds of his residuary estate, his children, in the lifetime of his widow, take no vested interests, but interests contingent on surviving the widow, and which would only vest in a child under the will, on the death of the widow before the child. No conveyance or other dis- position, by any child in the lifetime of the widow, though she should assent to or join in it, could defeat the rights of grand- children referred to in the will ; who, on the death of the parent, (child of the testator) in the lifetime of the testator's widow, would on her death, notwithstanding any such conveyance or disposition, according to the very words of the will, " be entitled to the share his, her, or their father or mother would have been entitled to if living." There is in fact under this will no gift to any children till death of the widow, and then only, as expi-essed in the will, to " all children who shall be living on the death, antl the oliild or children of such of them as shall then be dead." Language such as used in this will has been held to indicate so conclusively an intention that the interests should not be deemed vested, that it has not been allowed to be controlled by other lan- guage (wanting in this will,) from which a contrary intention miglit bejnferred. See in re Payne, 25 lieavan 550. Mr. Preston, (Estates, p. 76,) says that " possibilities to persons not ascertauied, as to the survivor of several, to children who shall be living at the death of their surviving parent, or at the death of one of the pa- rents, or the like contingency, are not coupled with an interest." John T. Axdersox. * And. Leith. . ;•■. C lioBINSON. Toronto, 20th January, 1871. 17 APPENDIX C. Summary of Objections to the Bill. The Ad attJi-ed/or i« without precedent, unnei'em'ii'tj, and a vlolatlou of the rUjhts of i>rope)iy. 1. It is it'Uhout precedent: — No construction lias been i^uggestcd which cannot be readily carried out as regards the whole tcill, with- out the aid of a statute, and without prejudice either to public or private interests. Tlie delay required in order to settle tlie con- struction in the ordinary way, cannot injure the property or individuals, more than in the case of every other will. Under such circumstances, there is no instance of Legislative interference, and each of the cases referred to will be found clearly distinguish- able on one or other of the grounds above mentioned. 2. It is vnnecessary: — (1) As regards the Liav, assuming tlie legal construction of the will to be as the promoters suggest, the interference of the Legislature is not called for, for our Courts will place that construction upon it, and the Trustees will carry it out. Assuming it to be otherwise, as the Trustees are advised, it is im- proper, for there is no reason why the law should not be followed. The argument that because opinions differ on the will long litigation will be required to settle its meaning, would apply equally to every other case of a doubtful devise, and would substitute the Legisla- ture for the Courts. This argument, moreover, is founded on the assumption, that in the event of our Courts deciding the fund to be distributable at once, the Trustees would have to go to the Privy Council before acting on such decision. From this view of their duty they (or Mr. Becher at all events) entirely dissent. They will act without hesitation under any decision of our Courts, as all other Trustees in Canada do, and as they are advised they may do with perfect safety. Tliey believe, however, that no decision such as the promoters of the Bill desire will be given, because it would be contrary to law, and it seems plain that no confidence can be 3 r 18 m nil felt in the pos-sibility of ohtaiiiing it, or it would have boon aakcd for before coming to the Legislature. The suggestion that the Trustees would necessarily carry the case to the Privy Council is in fact a mere imaginary difficulty, and if it be not felt to be such by those who make it, why do they not put it to the tost by first get- ting an order from the Court of Chancery for distribution, and deferring this application until the Truseecs show a disposition to decline acting under it. Any decision in any other case, where the matter in controversy exceeds $4,000, woidd be subject to the same difficulty suggested here; it might be appealed to the Privy Council and reversed; and the argument therefore in effect is, that where the interest involved is of that value no Trustee should act, and no title can be considered safu under the judgment of any Canadian Court. Is our Legislature prepared to affirm this 1 (2) As regards the facts — there is no suggestion of necessity; there are no debts due by the estate; no annual outlay not provided for; no land tied up, for the Trustees are directed to sell and invest the proceeds. The sole question is, whether the promoters shall have these proceeds immediately, without regard to the will, or when they become entitled under the will, (ichich some of them may never he;) and they assert no reason whatever why the Legis- lature should give them this money at once, whether tlie Testator so willed it or not, except their own desire to possess it. 3. It is a clear violation of the rights of property. There arc live daughters and a son of the testator now living, all of whom, except one, have infant children. By the loill, should a son or daughter die during the widow's lifetime, leaving children, such children, on the decease of the widow, could take their parents* share — (in this llix. Cameron agrees with the counsel for the Trustees). By the Act it is proposed now to distribute the fund among the testator's children absolutely. One or more may dispose of or spend their share while the widow lives, and then die leaving children, in which event such children will bo deprived of the pro- perty which, but for the Act, would have been theirs under the will. In other words, the children of each parent have now a right to their parents' share, should such parent die before the widow, and tins right the Act takes from them. 10 boon asked ,n tlvat the ^oviiicU is in ) be sucli by by first gct- Libvition, and disposition to r case, wl^ere subject to tlie \ to the Privy V etfcct i3, that ,tee should act, Icruicnt of any xiu this 1 )U of necessity, [ay not provided sell and invest 1 pvomotci-s sbaU to tlie will, or ch some of them ,, ^vl^y the Legvs- ,ther the Testator sess it. perty. There are ng, all of whom, should a son or ,,g children, such ako their parents e counsel for the istrihute the fund 3r more may dispose nd then die leaving deprived of the pro- ,, theirs under the eat have now a right before the widow, Moreover, it is conceded, by Mr. ('aiucron at least, that should any child die without issue during the widow's life, such child would never become entitled to anything, while it is now proposed by this statute to give him his share absolutely. It may be added that the fact of five of the testator's children being daughters, and the possibility of a second marriage of a son-in-law during the life- time of the widow, makes it the more prudent to protect the rights of the grand-children, and may have influenced the testator in making the provision found in his will for that purpose. Suppose the testator, instead of making this will, had, while living, settled the money in the same terms, would any one then have ventured to assert the justice of interfering with it, either during or after his lifetime ? and why are not his wishes, as px- pressed in his last will, to be at least ccjually binding ? • • • . • • • • • ' • • • • • I • • • • • t • • • • • • ; ; • • • I • • . * . • • • • • > • I " . • ■ • • • • • , . •