is conveyed to a Court of Justice, without that Court having the opportunity of knowing any particulars upon which it can act. If it was felt by any one that it was his or her duty to make the representation, with a view to protect this young lady from one of the greatest calamities that could befall her, it is for them now to determine whether they will effectually protect her. The objection is, that hereditary diseases exist in many parts of the family, and particularly of the mind. Those who know any thing of the family, know that it is a very numerous family, and also a highly respectable family. Whether individuals are or are not justified in making these representations, the effect of which, for any thing I know to the contrary, may spread far and wide, I do not know; but this I know, that it would have deeply affected my mind, and I should have considered a long time before I should have ventured to have made such a representation under such circumstances. The only instances of the nature alluded to are two; one of these cases has been brought forward, in a manner which does great credit to Colonel Wood, and does also Lord Stewart great credit. Lady Caroline Wood, by extremely bad management in child-birth, (I believe by bathing in the sea,) had her mind affected by a temporary derangement. If that was only a temporary derangement, God forbid that I should take it as evidence of an hereditary disease. That it was a temporary derangement only, I understand, from the evidence given before the Master; and I concluded in my own mind, that the medical men understood the subject upon which they have spoken; which they had mentioned in a way in which it is impossible to doubt what the fact really was; and Colonel Wood himself has given the description of the affair before it took place, during the con tinuance of the malady, and subse quently. This account has been fully confirmed by the medical persons who attended her, who describe the nature of her disease, and who have inquired into the diseases of the family, and of many of the collateral relations. The only other instance, and upon which evidence has been given before the Master, is that Lady Londonderry in 1782, now nearly forty years ago, was afflicted by a derangement; whether temporary or hereditary was a question in dispute. Certain it is, she was deranged; but that is also accounted for precisely in the same manner as the last case. Respecting that letter which has been characterised as virulent, I will go this length in declaring that it does infinite discredit to the person who communicated it, dictated in such terms. Lord Stewart had made affidavits upon this part of the case also, and had mentioned in the affidavit the noble lord who had been alluded to by Mrs Taylor in her state of facts. He was confident no man of honour would have made that affidavit, if he had any doubt as to what the opinion of that noble lord was. There was, in addition, this very strong fact, that this intercourse had ended in the union of the son of the noble lord with a lady of the family of Lord Stewart, (we understood this to allude to a marriage which had lately taken place between Mr Law, son of Lord Ellenborough, and a sister of Lord Castlereagh.) When he considered that a mother had given her consent, who was also one of the guardians, he could not forget the transaction of the spring of 1816; and he must weigh the value of that consent, regard being had to that circumstance, and to the other circumstances connected with the case. Mrs Taylor had repeated that it was a plan and concert between Lady Antrim and Lord Stewart, and other persons, to get possession of the fortune of Lady Frances Vane Tem. pest, and circumstances did certainly appear in this business which it is incumbent on Lady Antrim to account for. He had read over the papers on this subject over and over again until he had almost got every word by heart, and he certainly was of opinion, that although Lady Antrim did intend to make, by all the means in her power, a union between her daughter and Lord Stewart, yet the latter was not implicated in the transaction, excepting in so far that he should have thought it would have been better if the proposal had not been quite so hastily made, and if Mrs Taylor's opinion had been asked before the offer had been given. This was the general view he had taken of this subject, but, as he stated at the outset, since he had heard the Counsel on Saturday, there were still some points, with reference to which he wished to avail himself of a few hours' consideration. Whether he should or should not direct further inquiries to be made, he had not yet determined. He also stated at the outset, that whether he did or did not adopt that course, he felt it to be his duty on a former occasion, and he should now again think it incumbent, to have another private interview with Lady Frances Vane Tempest, to state all the objections that had been made with all the force with which they had been stated to him; and he should call upon her to consider these objections, with such assistance as he could give the young lady by the reflections he might make upon them, in order to ascertain her final inclinations. All he could say in conclusion was this, that he had been influenced neither by favour or affection, excepting that which belonged to an honest man, and an honest judge; and any man who recollected he had at his disposal the happiness of this individual, and not a more deserving individual scarcely ever existed, would believe he had a difficult duty to discharge. If he had erred, he had the satisfaction of knowing that there was an opportunity of having that error set right in another tribunal; at least he hoped he should not be accused of wilful error. To-morrow or Wednesday, therefore, he would let the parties know what he should further order upon the subject. JULY 13. The Lord Chancellor entered his private room a few minutes before ten o'clock, and, for a short time, spoke with the counsel in the case. At a quarter past ten his lordship took his seat, and began by observing, that he had taken this case of Tempest v. Ord into his most serious, and, he must own, painful consideration, from an ardent anxiety to do what was best for all parties. With respect to the bias of the young lady's inclinations, he was formerly of opinion that sufficient evidence of that had been laid before him. When he had stated his opinion before on the case, he had seen her, and after hearing what was stated by counsel, he felt himself bound in justice to see her again, and state to her, in the strongest manner he could, every objection which had been urged against the marriage, and in doing so he could declare he had acted with the most painful solicitude for her interest, and that of all concerned. But he found her determination was wholly unalterable, and seeing such to be the case, he felt it was proper to make some inquiries respecting the points which had been laid before him, and which to repeat now was totally unnecessary. In the course of investigating these points, he had a motion submitted to him for appointing a com mission to examine witnesses on the case, but he was not able to find one instance where a commission had been so issued. He had, therefore, been compelled to have recourse to affidavits. Here he would say that it was difficult and painful for him to state in Court what was stated in these affidavits, but he would do so in such a manner as would be intelligible to counsel on both sides. For a very long period no imputation whatever of that kind had been thrown on the numerous family of Lord Stewart's ancestors, and in two instances that malady had been satisfactorily accounted for. It was too much to expect him to visit on the present generation what had perhaps existed in the form. er generations, though not for a very long period; for were he or any Judge to act so, there was no possibility of knowing to what extent the principle might be carried, and no family could be safe. There certainly was a vast difference between what was now the case, and what might have happened some centuries ago. Under all the circumstances of the case, looking as he did to all the facts laid before him, and taking the objections in whole, and also separately, he did not, and could not think the Master had come to a wrong conclusion. These he had stated to the young lady with all the pathos he possibly could, as he thought that proper. He had heard an appeal would be taken to the House of Lords, and he would say he had no objection to such appeal, for to the decision of that House he was at all times ready to bow with satisfaction. He would thereby have the satisfaction of knowing, that if he was wrong their Lordships would have it in their power to set him right. Till he knew whether such an appeal was to be made, he would, of course, issue his order to restrain the marriage, and as to the other restraints, relative to the intercourse of Lady Antrim, &c. it might be as well to do them away. Never in the course of his life had he been employed in a more painful, and to him a more distressing duty, than the consideration of this case, but he trusted it would be believed he had acted with an honest intention and a good conscience. He had considered all the objections of the case, he had weighed the circumstances of the disparity of age, the son of Lord Stewart, &c. but while he was not prepared to say this was an eligible marriage, he could not, laying his hand on his heart, say, as an honest man, that it was an improper one. If Sir S. Romilly intended to appeal to the House of Lords, he hoped Sir S. would let him know in a reasonable time, and then he would make the order he had mentioned. JULY 15. The Lord Chancellor came to Lincoln's Inn Hall at ten o'clock, and was for some time occupied in his private room. He took his seat at half-past ten. Sir Arthur Piggott then said, "That he had consulted with the counsel on the other side, and understood from them, that it was the fixed determination of Mrs Taylor, the aunt of the young lady, and one of her guardians, to appeal from his lordship's decision to the House of Lords." Sir Samuel Romilly at this moment came into Court, and addressing his lordship, said, "I am, my lord, desired by Mrs Taylor, to inform your lordship most respectfully, that it is her intention forthwith to appeal to the House of Lords, from the decision now given by your lordship." The Lord Chancellor." I was just informed of this, Sir Samuel, before you came into Court, by Sir A. Piggott. I am particularly glad that you have adopted this course, because, in a case so painful to me in every point of view as this has been, I shall have the heartfelt satisfaction of being set right by the House of Lords if I am wrong. Painful as the consideration of this case has been to my own mind, I am happy to think that a superior tribunal will have it in their power to review my judgment, and that any error or inadvertency I have been guilty of will be there redressed. I have just stated to Sir Arthur Piggott what should be done, and I do really think I am in justice bound to restrain the marriage in the mean time. This is the best thing I can possibly do for the parties. Take the order as I have mentioned it, and let it be drawn forthwith." THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH FOR Vice-Chancellor's Court, December 18. This case came on for argument before his honour the Vice-Chancellor, upon demurrer to an information filed by the King's Attorney-General, at the relation of the Marquis of Blandford and others; and to a bill filed by the Marquis and Ellis Agar, Esq. The information and bill complained, that the present Duke of Marlborough had cut down a great number of trees serving for the shelter and ornament of Blenheim-house, situate on the manor of Woodstock, in the county of Oxford. This house, manor, together with the hundred of Wootten, had been settled on John the first Duke of Marlborough and his successors by Act of Parliament, as a testimonial of public gratitude for his eminent services, and for the splendid victories which he had achieved. By that Act of Parliament, the descent of these estates had been limited to various branches of the family in succession, for the declared purpose of leaving to posterity a memorial of those great events. The present duke was engaged in cutting down timber, which is alleged to be material to the value of the estates; and to be making alterations in the mansion-house, tending to the great waste and impoverishment of the property so descendible according to the provisions of the act of settlement. An injunction had been granted on an ex-parte application, during the last term, by the Lord Chancellor, to restrain his grace from further proceedings, in order that the question might be fully considered, and without delivering any opinion upon the merits. In consequence, however, of his lordship's continued indisposition, and the urgent nature of the case, the cause itself had been transferred to his honour's paper. Mr Bell, and the counsel on his side, in support of the demurrer, on opening the pleadings, recited the prin cipal provisions of the act of the 4th of Queen Anne, which respected the original grant by letters patent, and the subsequent act of the 5th of the same reign, by which its conditions and limitations were prescribed. It was apprehended on their part that this was a question which must be ul timately determined, not so much by general principles, as by the authority of cases similar in their circumstances to the present. The first point that must arise would be upon the construction of the Act of Parliament; and the other side would be driven to con tend, either that this was not an es tate-tail, or that the rights of a tenant in tail were taken away in a great measure by special provisions of the act. Now it appeared that a fee was vested in the first duke by the Queen's letters patent, which the Act of Parliament of the 4th of the Queen was merely intended to render valid; because a statute had been passed in the first year of that reign to prevent the alienation of crown lands. The second act, in the following year, proposed certain limitations, to which the duke assented; but it could not be construed to have divested the fee which he had already acquired. If this view of the case were correct, the crown had no reversion, that reversion being in the heirs at law of the first duke as the donor; and, therefore, it was not easy to perceive what authority the crown here had to interpose, or why its law officers should appear as if any encroachment was supposed to have been made upon its rights. The Vice-Chancellor intimated it as his clear opinion, that in the present case there was no reversion in the crown. Mr Bell, on resuming, observed, that he should consider that the demurrer was therefore allowed as respected the information, and confine his other objections to the allegations contained in the bill. After quoting various statutes and decisions to prove that there could be no ground of law for this action, he observed, if the plaintiff's bill were supported, the present mansion must stand for ever with out any alteration, however essential to the comfort of the owner, or the habits of modern life. The Vice-Chancellor said, that was certainly the extent of the prayer of this bill, that Blenheim-house should remain to all eternity as a monument of the taste of the age in which it was built. The counsel for the defendant went on to contend that this would apply to any the smallest alteration even of the coach-house, in adapting it to carriages of more recent construction, or to the cutting down of trees planted by particular tenants. Not a stick must be cut, and the timber must be allowed to rot, till a plough might be driven over the land. How was it that such a rule had never before been applied to the numerous and extensive alterations made on the face of the estate? Under such a rule, the gardens must have remained in what was called the Dutch taste, and the trees in the grotesque shapes originally given to them. But the grounds had been laid out upon an entirely new plan, under the direction of the celebrated Mr Brown, and several acres of the finest meadows in Oxfordshire, inundated for the purpose of beautifying them. After several other remarks of the same import, the argument in support of the demurrer was concluded by ob. jecting to Mr Ellis Agar's right to be made a party to this suit, he having only a remote possibility of succession to the estates in question. The Solicitor-General, on the other side, began by stating that this was a question not only important as it af fected the rights and estates of the house of Marlborough, but as it would affect the interests of many other noble families. The argument contended for by his learned friends was no less than this-that the present, or any future Duke of Marlborough, had such an interest vested in him, as amounted to an absolute and uncontrolled authority to destroy a monument, raised by public gratitude to commemorate the unparalleled exploits and services of their ancestor. was sorry that this question had been raised, and should be more sorry for the consequences to which it might lead if a decision should be pronounced unfavourable to the present complaint. He knew that in coming to that decision the Court could not look to consequences, but must be governed, as in other cases, by principles and authorities only. The importance of the decision, however, was sufficient to induce it to pause, and to deliberate most cautiously, in ascertaining the precise weight of all the authorities which He |