r4w Orirans sn.
FFCIAt JOURNAL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS.
s, e. aIsOl. Mlse*r sad PMrersoe,
orfleC. No. ga 0AM Wras,.
TH9I DAILY CRESCENT
L publinl.ed EVERY MORNING-Mondays sexepted.
Yearly Sbripto. In advance, $16; Half yearly, 8
Quaterl,, $ SBlgle cop-ea, 10 eesma
Estee of Adverteisnng
qualre I month 2 month 3 mouth. 6 months 1 months
(e .....$ Si net $ set. 30 net. Sanet. 7 net.
Two ..... 72, 3R .. 61 .. 1U t2
Three.... 3 .. 7 .. 10 .. 17
.our.... 67.. 90 10.. . 2 .,
lve..... .. .. 170.. 275
ell....... 51 . 3 . . 111 A, ..
I rnen. . vr m .. 1 t( .. r3 .. 2 of) . h
Eight... I .. 115 .. 160 .. 280c rt1
N6ine..... 12 . 6 ..416
Tiuee. . I ^S 148 37 I ..
3N) . VII
hMdthry oa.etlenmertea Inerted every Other hay, to b
Telmrged wor thir s lhb above rati e.
Mrst noh Fourth panemn Intlrud ether eame to b
darted two; pird d the abov rat.ae
squere, 2 ) er month.
Tranlient . dvertismeots, bhaving the run of the parer.
m teusrtln,. $l 0 per qusnaro; each subseoqunt inserton,
76 ceets tlrr rnare.
FPit and Fourth pae transient advrwtsnents each
Inseeniorlt I s 6 per oqdare
Adverlisnr.ent~ inserted at intervals, to be charged as new
eah Inserlo.n.
Regullar I,.v rtisers wh adrertle largely, shall he ·lmowed
each aie nlut from above named transient rati o us may be
agreed U.0or; ).r., i7-l,I that in no cuase shall so:h deiscount
exred 29 per cent.
All btYci nootles of advertisementa to be charge. 20
aetes net p d, line, earh atnsetlon.
All traeint advertsmanti must be paid for In advnMe.
All dvertsemas net marked for any bpsolted number of
lmertlr will be published eix tme end charged acoord
ALl bsil . ,t: regslar aureerte,' shrll be rendered mr.nthly.
A elOr IsI thle spate ocupied by ten It . sold gote.
TUFI'IAY MORNINO. JANUAItY 12. l°I.',.
CITY TOPIC&
After r.~oeral tedious, almost interminable days
of rain ald mist, gloom and mud, the sun rose
Monday rorinrg,
S i el rld'ees, c!ear and purely beautiful,
That iod alone wae to be seen in Heaven !
A stiff th vIbwester careered through the streets,
drawing cpious teamn from the eyes of those who
faced i., romping wIth ladies' skirts, affording
hadosey glimpses of snowy stockings and nim
ble ankles, ard at times with a playful gust des
covering' the fashion of a garter. Everybody
seemed to walk with more elastio steps under the
influence of the bracing atmosphere.
The readers of the CaResCgNr will be delighted
to learn that the martial Colonel Ebmonaton, ex
commoader.ln-chlef of Govesnor Wells's militia,
has succeeded in obtaining a federal office In Mo
bile. *o military chieftain living deserves more
from a grateful country. Long may it ba before
the gallant colonel ehall be called upon to draw
his trehihant and unsullied blade !
'he wordy war between the school board s,l
Warm, h1 has resuted in enlisting the scalawdg
Legislature on the side of the carpetbag gov
ernor. Yesterday two bills were introduced into
the lower house, both providing for the mmredi
ate abolishment of the present school beard, and
the appointment of another by Warmoth. One
was introduced bya man named Carr. It makes
the board to be composed of seventeen members,
th be sppointed by Warmoth, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate. The other
was offered by ey, a colored man, who was elect
ed to his seat by the Hose itself and not by the
people. It gives only five members to the board,
and provides for their absolute appointment by
Warmlth. Both bills were referred to the edo
cation committee. It Is Dot to be doubted that
one or the other of these bills will become a law.
One similar to them was introduced last session,
but dropped simply because the members thought
they had then gone to the very furthest verge of
outrage that they would be allowed to go. When
the bill does pass. Warmoth will undoubtedly ap.
point nhgroes on the board, when the question of
mixed ,chools will be brought very plainly before
the peotle. Time alone will show how they will
receive it.
The business of coroner is neither easy nor
profitalle now-a-days. Sunday was a very rainy,
bleak and uncomfortable season. ult, notwith
standil the inclemency of the weather, Dr. Ed
pinole. '~e tever, amiable and efficient deputy of
l)r. Airtn, betook himself to the Pontchartrain
lake to iold am inquest over the body of "a man
found drowned" somewhere between the pier
bead sn Lord knows where. Getting ouat of the
canrs, hodied him to the spot described. There
wua nohody to assist him, and the fishermen
along the shore were toe ignorant or too aurly to
answer hi questions. lie investigated on hirs
own hok. Be finally espied the body of the
man, hadlf floating, half rbmerged--hts head
rocked with the rocking billow--thirty yards
from th- shore, where hi heavy boots had and
choreS him. Dr. Esplnola rolled up his pants to
mid ieg, and waded into the cold water.
To rc sch the corpse, be hal to enter
deeper 'han the height of his thigh, and even there
he hbo2 ',, push away drift-logs and weeds before
be cou,' disengage what he ws after and bring it
to terrh firma. Then he had to smmoan a coro
ner's ilry, hunt for the mnember of it along
thror,o every by-way, in his wet clodres, the cold
wind l'orwng pitilersly. When he had got them
togetletr, all speaking different lingoe, and none
undoroanding his own Intelligbly--when Espinola
bad dr, all these thinge, and eplahined their dpu
ties tc men from the troubled shores of the Bay of
Biay, from the Moediterrnean, from aulmid Ire
land, France, Africa and Lake Pontchartralu
iteln s hen he .had done al the things, wre say,
he had done a good day'es work. Bupot just when
he had reached home, changed hi clothes, and
meated limsel at his warm and cheerful table,
in came another summons to officiate upon
the tody of a corpse at ('haomette,
(bratt'e grooned) of a man that had died
throng maltreatment at the hands of a nigger
doctr, rhosee nFics Is on o(;odobfldrso street,
in the ~third District, between St. Ferdinamd and
l'oet treetr. The dinner wat left untested and
the watm. cheerful fire unenjoyed wrhilstt or poor
friecid tad to obey the summons. The cue is not
endede yet, for Doctor rAvla is determined to
bring to justice all these Voodoo doctors and
midwites who practice their rlidiculous charmo
upon f he ill in fsesh and the poor in spirit.
Wurnlnrtht the Legislature, the governor and hia
liertpetie, a well I t he Continental Congress
had :o be itnvestigated and purged by sa efficient
a bn. a of officers as the coroner anil the deputy
coroner of the lower part of the pariah of Orlean&
A Sew evenings since, three festive youths,
while emerging frtom a theater, were pounced
pou Oy a metropolitan, who decltued that he
sized them •uplscious chracters. They were,
of course, aghast at thi asnouncemeut, and be
oeas more to when he meoropol commenced to
escort them towards St. Charles street corner of
Laayette. Viasiom of free lodigs, visit to the
recorder, and possible parish prima in the dim
pswechdve, began to foem themselve in their
5o)'O, withfrightfnl rapidity and dieInctnes. But,
f. 'r' ratelyaoe friends werue latheneihbrhood.
and t.oey aesod the umnblinag io from the In
pat,'. clutclhes o the liverstd maIba of the hlw,
by . ,iring him that the yong men were '"Ill
'i.:f' OOce relased, they tnmed t toh
- U --- rWUU5 --lma '
son he had Ber placing three tameest, goe64ook
ing yonag mo is durance vile. Imagims their
surprise when they were informed that the Alpine
hate which all three of them woe were the earse
of their misfortune, the policemn asserting that
as every thief in town wore an Alpine, he had
deemed that, in connection with other items-bat
that cbledy-damning evideoe of their guilt. Is
it necesery to state that the Alpline were dis
carded at the first bat store ? or that, with nanum.
erable treats, the victimised three tried to stop
the months of their rescuers, but failed, as this
narrative showeth! The moral of this " o'er true
tale," is, don't wear an Alpine unless you have
your character In your pocket, for you will need
to exhibit it to some of the blue coated gentry be
fore you have worn your mountainous head cov
ering a week.
Irishmen will be interested in the fact that one
of their own race, Mr. James Brennan, an sacred
Ited representative of the Fenian Brotherhood, is
now here in the interests of the order. He is to
speak on Monday evening next at the National
Hall, on Poydras street, near Liberty. We can
imagine the enthusiastic audience that will gather
around him to hear him tell how speeds the cause
of Irish liberty, and what her sons in strange
lands are doing for old Erin, their home. His ad
dress will be an minteresting one to everybody.
A gentleman, on Saturday last, while mingling
In the immense crowd which g.ered to witness
General Roussean' funeral, thinking that there
might, be pickpockets in the throng, took his
watch from its usual place and put it in his pants
loons pocket. He arrived home with it safe there,
and was congratulating himself upon his prudence,
when, on glancing down, he discovered that a
valuable diamond cross which he had worn as a
breast-pin, was gone. The rogues had taken it out
of his shirt bosom.
A committee was appointed at the last session
of the House to revise the statutes of the State of
a general character. They reported yesterday
that they had intrusted the work to John Roy.
He promises to complete it by January 1, 1;70.
Until then the statutes will remain, we suppose,
unrevised.
Paniers were not few on the Boulevard yester
day. By paniers we do not mean the absurd Ore
cta's bend, but simply that peculiar manner of
arranging the dress behind, which is one of the
most graceful and prettiest of modern styles,
Some of the costumes were extremely handsome
and tasteful.
Mr. Wiltz, of Orleans, yesterday in the House
gave notice of a bill removing the slaughterhouses
below the city. It has not yet been introduced
and read, so it is not yet opeano comment.
Somebndy said last night in the CSaE~Scr sano
tum that the Alpine hat was a Swiss tile. A
jury one that was not only lt Jnre but de ftl-
promptly eat on him. Verdict: Temporary elon
gation of the caudal appendage, producing pro
temasininity.
" Tchune," cried a juvenile news merchant on
Canal street as he hawked his last Picayune last
evening.
Oscar Dunn and his associates of the police
board have been and done it. They have pro
ceeded to velocipedal extremities, and whilst they
cause quiet young men to be arrested by their
myrmidone on tamp street for proceeding quietly
and skillfully along on their two-wheel horses, the
circus people are whirling around Lafayette
Square, right under their squashy and boneless
noses, and crowds of spectators impede the pass.
ere by. Oh, Oscar, Oscar ! Bophonesba, oh !
Cried the young velocipedestrian, Saturday, when
the metropolitan stopped him on Camp street,
near Palmer's, "ah, woe is me ! "
Was there ever anything that venomous human
ity could do to encourage negro outrages so much
as the prospect of damages in a court of justice
against the corporation ? Here are negroes who
violate every principle of law and order-and if an
indignant populace rise up in their might and
wreak vengeance upon them and their chattels
as soon as the effervescence settles, up comes a
suit for damages against the city. Come all ye
niggers from the country-leave the plantations
here are your. harvest fields-right here in the
heart of New Orleans; commit your depredations,
outrage public decency, drive honest people to
frenzy, and then sue the city ! You can get plenty
of ex-Confederate oflicers to plead your claim,
and bleed their fellow countrymen to the last
drop. Come, niggers. For further particulars
see local column, item, Fifth District Court.
Hon. Gifford, the Demosthenes of the lower
courts, sues Baker, the celebrated English
scholar, or, rather, the Admirable Crichton of
this degenerate age, for the paltry amount of one
hundred and seventy dollars, doe for salary as
registrar from some date in Octobe- to some
other date in November. When Gifford rises,
with spectacles on nose. nefore a justice of the
peace, climbs up to the forensic trapeze, and
swings himself to and fro on the wings of bathos
and hyperbohcal nonsense, the laws of reason and
good taste are suspended, and the mighty Field
draws in his Atlantean shoulders and hides his
diminished head.
W. W. Handlin, who was a judge inm 1;4, and
was then removed by the then Gov. Hahn, wants
to recover $20,000 from the State for his salary as
judge from the time of his removal until the Con
stitution of 1l8l went into force, four years, at
$ 0' per year. He has petitioned the Legislature
for it. He may get it :and he may not.
The death of that staunch and energetic ciiizen,
John Holmes, has created a void in many family
and bnsiness circles in New Orleans. Mr. llolmes,
or Governor Holmes, as be was usually addressed
and spoken of, was one of the Brothers Cheery
ble; jovial, generous and warm-hearted, ever
ready to sacrifice his own comforts for the com
forts and bhappiness of his friends. Looisiana
never had a truer or more devoted Democrat or a
better citisen.
There is an institution in this cIty of New Or
leans which is essentially worthy of a paragraph
or a city topic. It is the Hancock Club, whose
domicil is in the Imperial Building, corner of
Gravier oandl Carondelet streets. The club already
numbers over six hundred members, and every
week from fifty to one hundred of the best citi
zenus of New Orleans are applying for the privi
lege of membership.
Yesterday, in company witha friend, the writer
visited the Hancock Club, and wandered through
all its rsmil'cations in the second, third and fourth
stories. On the second floor he partook twice
of the excellent liquors at the bar, and once of the
equally excellent lunch. He also met a good
many friends gathered in knots and around tables,
talking politics or partaking of the good things.
The parlor is admirably well furnishehd, and a
cosier or more comfortable one could hardly be
imagined. The Bfloor above is devoted to bllliards
and other games, whilst the fourth story is not
yet prepared for the members, but soon will be.
The writer had heard so much of the billiard
tables of the Hancock Club that, though but a dull
player himself, he examined them very curiously
and minutely. He found them the most beautiful
and perfect tables he has ever seen. A ball re
bounds every time it touches the cushions, as if,
like Anteus, the contact renewed its impetus.
The uone rack, the tables, the cues and all the ad
junet are absolutely perfct. They are the handi.
work of J. M. Brunswick & Brothers, of SBt. Louis
sreet, in this city, oppotte the St. Louis Hotel.
MAeousr Wavzs.-8perioer to the beet im.
ported Be n cologe, nd msold at half the
price.
I.WsROIA L WAUAAWAR. sMr.
A foot of snow fell at Vicksburg on SendayI
The debt of Massachusetts is $27,735,870.
Dexter is mid to like the gingle of eleigh-bells.
Senator Chandler was re-elected on the 6th.
One of our camel visitors is dead.
Toronto, Canada, claims 65,000 inhabitants.
Florence, Massachusetts, has a female cobbler.
St. Joe, Missour, is to have a bridge.
Bostonians have a hot sods-water furore.
Maggie Mitchell is in Louiesvlle.
Garibaldi is ill.
Striped flannel for morning dresses is consid
ered very disinq,,e in Paris.
The two vacant brigadier generalships will pro
bably go over to the next administration.
There is a project to have an inauguration ball
in the capitol rotunda.
Banks wants Unole Sam to exercise a protecto.
rate over the turbulent West Indians.
The debt of Maine, not the main debt, is over
$5,000,000.
The A. B. C. F. M. appropriated $547,000 for
the coming year.
Some gentlemen of Buffalo presented Bishop
Coxe with a check for $1500 Christmas morning.
The late James Arnold, of New Bedford, be
queathed $10,000 to six clergymen.
There is a revival in the New Hampshire' State
prison.
Fourteen millions' worth of ecclesiastical plop.
crty has been sold in Italy within a year.
There were nearly o00 applications for divorce
in Chicago last year.
Stewart has been renominated for senator from
Nevada.
A Republican senatorial caucus in the Maine
Legislature gave Hamlin 75 votes and Morrill 7i.
Thb New Hampshire Republicans have nomina
ted one Stearns for governor.
Byster Clymer declines mounting to the gov
ernorship of Pennsylvania.
A Chicagoan has invented a one wheeled velo
cipede.
Generals Babcock and Porter departed north
ward on Saturday.
The Denver board of trade indorses Sheridan's
"Indian policy."
Keilogg is not coming immediately, but Lam
bele has arrived.
Adjourned meeting to-night of the friends of
the late Gen. Roubseau.
\\ hen does a man's case lie in a nutshell ? When
he's a colonel.-[l'unch.
The "bump of destructiveness"-a railway col
lision.- [Judy.
A church at Louisville has put up a sign com
manding "no smoking."
A $5V0l0 veil figured at a New York wedding the
other day.
Goldeborough, Maine, containing eighteen hun
dred inhabitants, tas no house of public worship.
If men will but amuse the world, it will freely
forgive them for cheating it.-[Ex.
When men are long indifferent toward us, we
grow ilditferent to their indrfference.--[Ex.
Prince Napoleon made a visit to the chateau of
George Sand, to stand godfather for her grandson.
Black cherry blossons were seen in St. Louis on
the 7th.
Some fellows never pay a debt except when
they owe a grudge.-[Ex.
Dulce calls the late Bourbon dynasty "a plant
so poisonous that it putrified the air we breathed."
A war is to be muade on fi,. iinte stamps used
in the franking busicess.
The commissioners of Shelby county, Tenn.,
have voted $300,000 to the Mississsippi River
Railroad.
On a recent stormy day, in New York, Mr.
Bergh was seen in various places stopping care
and omnibuses which had but single teams.
A codicil has turned up to Rossini's will, which
gives all his property, after his wife's death, to
his native town.
Wales has had several ,interviews with Napoleon,
and rumors of Victoria's intended abdication are
revived.
The Desert News-the organ of Brigham
Young-encourages the "Sorosis" with its best
wishes.
Seward was elected governor at the age of
thirty-.seven, and Hutlman at the age of thirty.
nine.
A moderately fashionable funeral in Chicago
(not by any means a slap up one, however) costs
$317.
Geo. Ellis has the Artisan, Chimney Cirner, Lit.
erary Album. New World, (Leslie's new paper,)
and Leslie's Illustrated.
Pad for the local paragraphers-workmen were
yesterday supplying the gap in the Lafayette
Square fence.
Rochefort estimates the income of the emperor,
empress and prince imperial at 50,0o00000 francs
a year.
A New York paper says of a famous singer,
that " she sings a few airs and puts on a great
many.'
" Not guilty," said an Omaha jury, " but if the
prisoner is smart he will leave the territory before
night." He left.
A Phila8delphia critic, speaking of Mrs. Scott
Siddons' beauty, says that "in personal pulchri
tude she knocks Beau Ideal himself."
The Louisiana election, says the Washington
correspondent of the Cincinnati Enquirer. is to be
set aside, the congressmen sent back and the
electoral vote, like G(eorgia's, not counted.
The Fecond Baptist Church, of Newport or
ganized in 16&;, is the third oldest Baptist church
mn America. Six of its minlster' have died in
office aged 80 years and over.
A Nashville mechanic is said to have invented
a shooting machine, which he calls the "l'olyfer,"
which will destroy a regiment of soldiers, distant
a mile and a half, in four minutes.
If we take a cold-blooded creature to our bosom,
better that it should sting us at once and we
sbould die, rather than its ciall should slowly stesl
into cur hearts.-[Ex.
C. ('. HBsley, from his new and commodious
quarters in Commercial Piace, sends us the Liter
ary Album, New World, <Leelie's new paper,l
Emerald, Irish People, Police News, Pilot, Arti
san, Saturday flight and New York Ledger.
In a cave under the island at Rock Island, the
statue of an Indian maiden. a copper pedestal, a
seven foot high obelisk ot solid brass and other
Indian curiosities, were found on the Ith, says a
dispatch from veracious Chicago.
There was a "'scene" at the Houston Theater,
a few nights ago, not down on the bill. Belie
Boyd, who had taken the part of Miss Maud St.
Leon in a quarrel with the manager, rushed before
the curtain, declared she had been insulted, and
refused to continue her enrgement.
The gentle Brownlow hldiaid aside the editorial
harness. "In reviewing my long and eventful
career as an editor," says Brownlow, "Il have this
to say. that had I my life to live over, I would
pursue the same course I have pursued, only more
0so."'
C. A. T. says Butler visited the president, on
New Year's day, to demonstrate a dutifulness that
Grant had refused. The more be thought of this,
the more ''gallus'" it seemed-a sensation, a piece
of giraffe effrontery, perhaps an example of hoes
tile generosity.
The elements of a vigilance committee, says
G. A. T., are combining in New York as truly as
the elements over slavery combined to make war.
Nothing in the near future is so apparent as a
great gallows before the City Hall, and the yeo
meary of New England and New York guarding
the ceremony.
The California papers are congratulating their
readers that next season will bring fresh Chess
peake Bay oysters to the Pacific coast, via the
great railroad. One lot has already reached San
Flrancisco, being carried acrosse the "break" in
stages at a heavy expe . It is thought that
Eastern oysters will cempete successfully with
the " big fat fellows ", cf the Gulf of Calfornia,
even at a higher price.
.11. V
8prem Cmirt Dedfsles.
This court met. yesterday, present the Hoe.
Chief Justice Ludeliag sad Amolat Tallaferro,
Howell and Howe. Absent, Associate Justice
Wyley.
After reading the minutes the clerk, Colonel
Deane, announced as the deebsion of the court
that no new cases would be celled or fixed nil
the country cases would be disposed of, which
would be called on the fourth Monday of this
month, and ixed for trial, the cases already
called and fixed being suficient to occupy the
time of the court up to that date. The following
are the decialons delivered yesterday :
By ASSOCIATZ JUSTICB HOWL.
No. 139--Erastns F. Chandler et al., appellees,
vs. Anthony Barrett, executor, appellant. For
defendant and appellant, Alex. T. Steele and M.
A. Dooley, and for the plaintiffs and appellees,
Belden. Fusilier, A. P. Boyd and M. C. Dunean.
Appeal from the Second District Court of Neow
Orleans.
The plaintiffs in this case allege that they o-.
gether with a minor brother and minor sister, are
the sole heirs of Mrs. Christina Chandler, their
father's sister, who died in New Orleans on the
2d of August, 1866; that on the 24th day of July
1866. the deceased executed an Instrument called
and known as her last will and testament, before
A. Hero, Jr., notary, by which she bequeathed all
her property to the defendant, Barrett, constitut
ing him universal legatee and sole executor; that
the will has been admitted to probate upon appli
cation of the defendant, but that it is null and
void for the reasons that at the time of making the
will, and for many years prior thereto, the testa
trix was totally disqualified and incapable of mak
tug s will, and . 'otur other reasons which, having
been abandont by plaintiffs, it is unnecessary to
discuss. They pray that the will may be annulled
and avoided, and that the plaintiff with their minor
brother and sister, may be adjudged to be entitled
to inherit and possess the estate, and for general
relief.
The defendant pleads the general denial, spe
cially denies the relationship of plaintiffs' father,
avers that the testatrix, " Christina Chandler, at
the age of seventy years, lived alone, uncared for
and neglected by the plaintiffs, who lived very
near her," and asserts that the deceased " when
she made her will, and until her death, exhibited
more than ordinary proof of sanity and capacity
to do business."
There was judgment for plaintiffs, and the de
fendant has appealed.
The only question in the case, in the view we
have taken of it, is whether Christina Chandler,
cn the 2tth day of July, 1(;6, had testamentary
capacity, or whether, on the contrary, she was
intestable by reason of unsound mind. The
question, we must say, is not very clearly pre
sented by the pleadings, but it seems from
the whole record to have been the main
point at issue. And here we may re
miark that while it Is .true, as stated
by this court in Aubert vs. Aubert, 6 An., 106, and
urged by plaintiffs at bar, that testaments are
more easily avoided than contracts on the ground
of unsoundness of mind, yet this distinction ap
plies to such matters as those of notoriety and in.
terdiction, and not to the amount of intellect re
quired in a testator. So far as the latter is con
cerned, a will may well be made by any mind which
has the soundness and strength necessary to en
dure the conflict involved in the making of a bar
gain. It would be unreasonable to require that a
testator should have more mental vigor and a more
lucid memory than a person who makes a con
tract. See Merlin Repertoire, vol. 13, p. 350.
Stevens vs. Van Cleve, 4 Wash., C. C. I., p. 267.
Converse vs. Converse, 24 Vermont, 169.
It appears from the evidence that Christina
Chandler resided in Missouri In 1825; that her
husband died in that year; that soon after his
death she became the mother of a son, Thomas
W. Chandler; that in 1H35 she removed to Vicks.
burg, where she remained till about 1850- that
she then cabte to New Orleans, and lived here
with her son up to the time of his death in April,
l'65, and that she survived him about sixteen
months, mansagng his succession, of which she
was sole heir, and living alone In the same house
on Canal street, where she had lived for sometime
before. In considering the question of her al
leged unsoundness of mind at the time her will
was made, there are some elementary principles
which may guide us to a just conclusion: " That
Romace law " says Coin Delisle (Donations et
Testamens, p. 92,) " furnish rules on this point
which still deserve to be followed. If the testa
ment present but a series of wise and judicious
dispositions, it is for the heirs who attack it to
prove unsoundness of mind at the date of the tests
Inent. If it contain dispositions such as would
cause insanity to be presumed, although suscep
tible of being justified by peculiar circumstances,
it is for the legatee to prove by witnesses the
sanity of the testament. But if by facts occurring
near the time of the date of the testament and
preceding and following it, the heirs have proved
an hahlaual slate, f e.sa lily, we are constrained
to think that then and notwithtanding the wisdom
of the act, the legatee should be held to prove
the existence of soundness of mind during the in
termediate time. If [however] the acts of insanity
were rare and occurred at periods distant from
each other and from the date of the testament,
the testament would sustain itself, and would be
presumed to have been made in a lucid interval,
at least if ,lh, act 'ras n,,t destitute of g,bod sense
"The presumption," says Fouller, "is always in
favor of the act. Insanity is never presumed.
The advanced age of the donor. the forgetfulness
of his family, the largeness of the legacy, the low
rank of the legatee, will not of themselves suffice
to decide that the testator is not of sound mind."
Droit, Civll. vol. 3, p. 44. See also Marcade, vol.
3, p. 403; Ituranton, vol. 8, p. 167.
" The presumption of sanity does not cease,"
says Troplong, " because the testator has expe
rienced some transitory intellectual derangement
at a time anterior to the testament. Donations
et Testamens, vol. 2. p. 56. And the same writer
animadverts with characteristic energy upon the
tendency he has observed to transform a "morbid
susceptibiity. an ephemeral excessive excitement,
a superficial trouble, into one of those profound
alterations which destroy the reason."
The EnglihLh law seems to be the same upon
these points. In the case of Chambers vs. the
Queen's P'roctor 2 ('urtiss, 415, cited by Ray. p.
272, and Jarman on Wills, Vol. 1, p. 72.) The de
ceased was an attorney, who made his will on the
15th Novetmber, 1::', :tand committed suicide the
next day. He labored under singulal delusions,
having no foundation in truth, on the three days
next preceding the day on which the will was
executed; among others, that the benches of the
Temple were about to disbar him on ac
count of an imaginary trivial fault he had practiced
on them, and that in consequence thereof he was
a lost man, and must be got out of the country.
It appeared i; rt delusions equally gross pos
ceased his mind in lt3. But the court (see Her
bert Jencer; )aid that the Eirst point to be con
sildored was whetber habitual insanity had been
proved. " becau-e it is edmitted that where habi
tual ineanity does not exist, the proof of actual in
sanIty at the time [the will was made] must come
from those who impeach the act. The court,
therefore, moat look for proof of habitual insanity
or insane delosion from those who oppose this
will," there being no evidence of actual insanity
at the moment the will was made. The court was
of cItinion that no habitual insanity had been
Sproved, and the will was thenrr-, to sanrqlntea.
See. also, 1.ullock vs. Allison, 3 IHazzard, 527.
In the common law States of our own country
the same general roles have been laid down.
C auke vs. Fisher, 1 Paige, 171i; Jackson vs. Van
Deunsen. 5 Joinoon. 144; Halley vs. Webster, 21
Maire, 4, 1. Turning to the evidence in the record,
we fi:d the principal acts of folly relied upon by
plaintiffs to be that about the year 150 or ls:,i
the testatrix, Christina Chandler, ran up on the
roof of a house, as if trying to escape from an
imaginary robber; that about 1N5, she had a delu.
sion that her brother had killed seven men, and
cut them up and thrown them in a well; that
" some time before the war'" she took all her
bed clothirg and her clothes and burned themt;
that at.out 1,-3 she informed one of the witaeases
that her son and a young lady had bought a large
kettle and she believed it was their purpose
to boil her up in it: that during
the last illness of her son, about
sixteen months before her own death, sbe was very
miserly in her housekeeping, to his discomfort;
that about two months before her death she offer
ed to will her property to a neighbor, Mr. Han
nlgan, if the latter would attend to her wante in
the way of nursing, and afterwards offered to will
it to Mr. Befferan, another neighbor, if he would
go in and take care of her during her last illness;
that on another occasion, the date of which is not
fixred, she had a fear of being poisoned by her son,
and refused for a time to drink water from his cis
tern.
That her habits were those of a miser, and she
was afraid of being cheated and robbed. That
some time prior to September, 1861, calling at the
house of the plaintiffs father, Maryland K. Chee
dler, she would say when she came to the gate:
"MarylanCd. w!! you kill me " and he would
joktre'y re:py. " Yes." and she would thee call
the witness, her sister-in-law.
The plaintiffs also rely on the opiniom of ex
perts. but the experte do not seem to agree as to
what was the character of Mrs. Chsadler's mental
aberration. They do not appearjo have ec*
sidered her imbecile nor aodlieted with densenth.
In their opinion the unseundaes took the form of
mania of some kund. The judge of the court, who
Ieened nl sf! '"as eolled as a
hougle ber of smou miad; that she
is disttmt e'eiybdd etawnt the judge o thei
e. econd District Cot4; to have a morbid fear of
being robbed and ted, b t to have "a ml
' for pernarious C'cduct." He thought, however,
e that she knew :sow to keep her money, that she
was not viole.a and he did not deem it his duty to
el interdicther. Be did not see bhe after the sam
t saes. 18o4. The ret medlal Wtns thought
her Isase and seemed to lay muckstrees upon the
Sdemieon In 1863 In regard to her sea, and bher ma.
sh ner at that time and her conduct when her son
Swas ill in April 1865. He did not se her for
about six montih prior to her death, except as
he saw her passing In the street. The second
he medical witness declared that she "was afflicted
ag with what is called moral insanuty, which is
characterized by cruelty to ones kindred." He
did not see her after April, 1863."
We may here observe that while is true that
a, experts may give opinions, and that the opinion
or of medical men are freely received upon question
a of professional skill, it is equally true that they
, ought als to state the facts upon which those
n. opinons are basued, and that the opinions them.
,, selves are not conclusive, but must be weighed as
other evidence.-5 La., 276; 4 Ann., 377; 1 Jar
-. man on Wills, 78.
re Judge Howe concludes that no habitual state of
ir nsanity bha been established ; that penuriousness
e or miserly conduct is hardly evidence of such a
ly condition; that the desire of deceased to leave
ed her property to her neighbors, provided they
re nursed her in her last hours, was to attract their
ill kind attentions; that neglect being incident to
it Infirmities and extreme old age, the law gave
at her such means of controlling such attentions as
li. were due to her age and Infrmties (Vide laa
id guage of Chancellor Kent in case of Van Alit vs.
u BHnter, 5 Johnson, Ch., p. 148) that Mrs. Chand
ler's fear of being robbed and cheated was not
k. unnatural in an aged woman, living alone, and un
iR visited by a single relative over a year before she
to died, though they (plaintiffs and their mother)
ud lived in three miles of her house from 1l61 to
or 168 ; that judging from the squalid style in which
-d she lived; the burning of her clothes and bed
, clothing "some time before the war," at least
six years before her will, wases likely to have beso
a saunitary precaution as an act of lunacy, and that
even if it was an set of pyromania it was never
at repeated in any form; that the delusions which
or peopled her mind at various times during sixteen
y years were few, not permanent, and long separat
e ed in time from the date of the testament, andthat
,d however morbid, they indicated merely cerebral
y irritation at the time, and that the evidence ffords
no trace of them after the year 1863, though the
. will was made in 1"66.
We are of opinion, therefore, that the plaintiffs
, have not overcome the presumption of sanity,
r, which must exist in favor of a will so rational as
y that of the testatrix in this case. And we are
i confirmed in this opinion by the testimony for the
e defense. We there find Mrs. Chandler, four weeks
before her death, consulting a lawyer in regard to
a suit which had been brought against her, and
sn tating the facts to him with clearness and ac
s. curacy. Two days after she calls again upon her
d counsel, informs him correctly of her familyrels.
cd ions, of the fact that she has no descendants, and
states her desire to make a will, so as to dispose
dof her property as she pleased. bhe mentions the
. fact that she knows Mr. Hero, and is advised to
*. employ him as notary. On the day the will was
made, Mr. Hero, with three witnesses, went to her
house. ,he told him she desired him to
h make her last will and testament. She dic
tated to him the Ideas as written down in the will.
She told him that no one had taken care of her,
(meaning, doubtless, no one whees natural duty
it was to care for her) that Mr. Barrett had and
would continue to do so. She then informed the
notary that she had some money in the house,
gold coin, which she did not wish to keep there, as
she had some time before been robbed of her paper
money. She then went with assistance into the
r next room and brought a basket containing six or
seven rolls of paper, in each of whioh she said
there were $100, except one which contained $60. 1
The money was counted by the notary, and as he a
says, proved to be in amount what she had stated.
The money was then handed to Mr. Barrett, for
safe keeping apparently, as she did not wish to
keep it "there."
e 8he then told the notary that Mr. Barrett had
constructed a tomb for her in one of the cemete
ries. (a fact elsewhere appearing intheevldence.)
and that as part of the consideration of his ser
n vices, she desired to transfer to him certain
vaults she owned, and the written transfer was
t therefore made. The plaintiffs urge that this was
t an act of insane folly inasmuch as she had given
t him already over 8t;00 in gold, and had bequeathed
him all her property, but we cannot so regard it.
She had given him the gold for safe keeping, and
as for the rest of her property it was uncertain
when she would die, then defendent might not have
come into possession for years. She might have
used it up as well as the gold before her death. or C
she might have revoked her will. We think the
not quite businesslike. The notary and the wit.
nesses were in her presence about two hours. She
seemed a very avaricious woman, who deprived
herself of all the necessaries and many of what
are generally considered the necessities of life, I
but to all of these four witnesses she seemed to
be perfectly rational and to have an excellent
memory. Her capacity for business, her deter- t
mined frugality, her knowledge of her property c
and of her legal rights, her prudent adminlstrs
tion of her son's estate, for fifteen months prior t
to the date of the testament, appear elsewhere in e
the evidence both for plaintifs and defendant. a
That she was very penurious and very ecoentrio n
is plain enough, but that she was habitually
insane is something we cannot affirm. She had in
former years, without doubt, on occasions saps.
rated by long intervals of time, suffered from
irritation of the brain' but, from the evidence,
we must deem It to have been of the transitory
kind, which occurring long anterior to the tinme
of the testament, does not anuse the pre
sumption of sanity as to that act to cease.
If the plaintiffs had shown that before these t
isolated acts of folly occurred,her habits of mind
were different and that these acts Indicated a per.
manent and morbid change; if they had shown
that the delnsions which visited her at various
times continued to manifest themselves in some
form down to the time she made her will, as if the
result of a chronic state; in short If they had
brought themselves within the rule that where in
sarnity is proved to have been habitual the burden
o0 proof is shitted on the legatee, the result might
have been d;fierent. Itut, as the case comes to us
it seems to fall under the role we have cited, that
If the acts of insacity are rare and occur at periods J
distant from cech other and from the date of the
testament, the testament if not destitute of good d
sa nse, ansod betraying no folly on its face. will sue
tain itself and be presumed to have been the off
spring of a healthy volition and a lucid memory. c
For the reasons given It is ordered and ad- o
judged that the judgment appealed from be re- d
versed and avoided; and that there be judgment
in favor of defendant with costs in both courts.
tY ASSOCIATr JT'BYCIs HOWELL.
N'o. I l, James A. l.uok vs. Graham & Cole.
Appeal from the lourth District Court of New Or
leans. C. Roslelian and It. H. Marr for appellant,
and Clarke & Bayne end P. Bould for appellees.
This is a case Involving questions of partnership
and sale of an interesting but not particolarly
novel or important character to the public. Judg- t
ment of lower court reversed.
BY A.POCT!Av JtSTICI HOWELL. E
No. 1451-- ollins & Leake vs. John O. Friend,
Robinson Yeatman, garnishee. Appeal from the
Fourth District Court of New Orleans. Cooley &
Phtllir for tIlintiff, * -onuelleas. and M. C. *
Dunn for garnishee and appellant.
This is a suit of some lnterest, involving ques
tions of garnishments, etc. Judgment of the
lower c urt reversed.
BY ARSOCIATE I.It TICE .. (i. TALIAFIRB O.
No. 1P12- iledella (. Kellar vs. Mrs. M. L. H.
,lanchard. Appeal from the Third Duitrict Court
of New Urlean-J. P. Homner for plaintiff and t
appellee; E. Rawle and A. & . Voorhies for de
fendant and appellant.
The plaintiff, averring herself to be the assignee
Sof certain claims from Theresa 8melser against h
Sthe defendant, brings this suit to recover them.
8be claims t$014 73, with interest arising from the
contract of lease originally entered into between b
Sthe defendant and Levi 8melter, the husband of 8
I the plaintiff's assignor. She also claims $136 Gs, n
with interests on portions of the amount from dif.
f rent periods, the estimated value of cer an
buildings erected by Levi Smelser for the defend
ant on three several lots of ground owned oy her
and situate on Tchoopltoola street, in the city of
New Orleas. The answer of defendant is A geo n.
eral denial. Tbe plaintiff had judgment in the
court below and the defendant presents this ap
Speal.
The farcts, more briefly than stated by Judge T.,
s-em to be these: In January, 163, Bmeleer leased
I he lots for a period to expire November 1, 1860,
at Se00 per annuom, payable monthly; Smeler to
build on them one or more houses at his expense,
according to such plans and speoicatilnsuas
might be agreed upon; defendant, at the end of
the tease, to pay the builder the value of the
buildings to be erected, part cash, balance in in
stallments; the buildings to be appraised by e- B
perts, or, as the parties termed them, arbitrators,
one to be selqcted by ech party asd thes two to
coose an umpire. In May, 1855, 8eker died, i
but previously had completed his egagement to h
bould--dild without deceadnts, wig part of
his estate to his mother sand another to his wife, e
whom he appolated as hise e-eceutriz-w qual- a
ed sad had mortuary p edeg itteteod. The rc
estate seems to have been rdem b berdened T
with debts, to have been badly admdistered, a
to have occasioned much litigation. P
of c t think prope totice particularly th
bSoIoind with wo event growing out of
dadmbS U , the inoe of the 1ei«e sd the
sele of the ntearet i the buildige erete, b
ium er. The aei of th rty dduseea
not oeliiug Iomeot to sr debt n threk
ion, exeonutrix, o 1t01 pttmsm .... li
for usle of lears and obtained 'order ferefo
next dAy. T l Decemaber. ae pe4
Todd ~Co., credltors the estae,so a ie
against executrix, oeb i enders, December 14.
for male of property of the mucceslon to pay their
debt. Beard, auctonoer, ua dlrecIOed In the order
and, after mual advertisement, sold the lease on
the 29th December, 1855 ; defendant purchased it
at the price of one dollar. Executrix, November
1857, brought soit to annu this sale; jndgment of
nullity was rendered December 20th, 188, and
thi, with alight mediestloe, was co~lrmed on
appeal to this (Supreme) Court in April, 186
(BSe 15th Annual, pege 54).
Defendant went into possession of leased pre
mises under sale of December 29th, 1855. and re
mained is till lease expired November 19e0. As
the bldg had Inoreased value of lease, court
awarded plintiff 6804 73, beiag excess in value in
favor of the estate over the amount it was bound
tor to defendant under original contract. On ap
plication of Dunham, a creditor of the smooession,
an order of male was rendered 27th January, 1857,
and under it the only remaining asset, as it seems,
the interest in the buildings on defendant's loti
was sold September 11th folowtog, and Mre. Smel
ser, the executrix, In her Individual capaclty be
came the purchaser. It was adjudicated to her
at $1600, and retainfog in her hands $967 30 she
executed a twelve months bond for the balance,
Mr. Keller, plaintiff, being the anrety on her bond.
This bond was assigned by the aheritfto Mrs. Kel
lar, Sept. 26th, 1857, she, as averred in argument.
having paid it. To all her rights acInlired by the
sale, beptember 11th, 1857, Mrs. Bmiser substitut
ed Mrs. Kellar by written act, November 22d,
1858, transferring to her all the rtereet of the
succession in the buildings on defendant's lots and
subrogating her "to a certain suit pending against
Mrs. Blanchard and husband, No. 13,391 of the
tecond District Court, and to all the advantages.
money, etc., that may be had or be obtained by
judmeaot or proceegin thereupon."
Thi laPein the act of trrnfer refer to the
molt then pending to annul the sale, by virtue of
which defendant had acquired title to the unex
pired portion of time the lease had to run. The
ground taken by the defense is. that by none of
these proceedings did the executrir. in her indi
vidual capacity, acquire any title to the rights
she pretends to have transferred, and conse.
quently that the plaintiff as her transferee, stands
in the ume attitude. It in argued that the pro.
ceedings were illegal and null ; that the sales
under which plaintff holds were made under writ
of fier facias, a proceeding unknown to the law
in the sale of succession property ; that admit
ting the estate had rights against the defendant,
these rights have not been divested, and therefore,
that the estate not being a party to this moit, would
not be included by a judgment rendered in favor
of the plamtiffagainat the deffendant, and that the
transaction between the executrix and the plain.
tiff was the transfer of a litigloqg right, entitling
the latter to recover only the amount she paid, if
entitled to recover at all.
Upon this statement of the Important facts of
the case, on both sides, Judge Taliaferro, after an
examination of the record, and an elaborate con
sideratilon of the questions involved in the inter.
eating controversy, concludes his opinion with the
folowing decree of the court:
"' We conclude that with some modification the
judgment of the lower court should be maintained.
It is theretore ordered, adjudged and decreed,
that the judgment of the district court, so far as
it decrees the defendant to pay the plaintiff the
sum of $804 73, with interest specified, be annull
ed, avoided and reversed, and that' in all other
respects it be confrmed, reserving to the estate
in question any rights it may have against the
defendant growing out of the contract of lease.
It is further ordered that defendant and appellant
pay the costs in the lower court; the plaintiff and
appellee to pay oseta of the appeal."
U5L)DAT' DIWATCUEs.
PFNIMAL OF Ma. Bufs.
RIozwowo, Jan. 10.-Hon. John M. Botts was
buried this afternoon from St. James Church. All
the State officials and the Grant and Colfax Asso
ciation were in the procession. A very large
crowd of freedmen followed the remains to the
cemetery.
IARTHQrAKU IN MYIICO.
SAN Fauxctaco. Jan. 10.-A letter from Colima,
Mexico, dated December 21st, reports a severe
earthquake. The cathedral and brick buildings
were cracked from top to bottom. Iteveral per
sons were killed by the falling of the National Ho
tel. The volcano of Collma was active. The
cathedral hnildinae at Mancello, a century old.
are destroyed. Twenty persons aOl.t F. . rafll.
Lng walls of the American Hotel.
THE ItUROPEAN CONFIKENCE-THE CRITANS.
PARIS, Jan. 10.-The conference met yesterday
and held its first session, which lasted seven
hours.
The Greek and Turkish representatives manifest
ed a conciliatory disposition, and a peaceful olu.
tion is confidently looted for next seseion, which
occure Tuesday.
Nzw Yoau, Jan. 10.-The Post publishes a let
ter from Dr. asamuel C. Howe, stating that the in
surrection in the interior of Crete is in full blast,
and urges the Cretan relief committeus not to be
misled by lying Turkish reports.
BCUTRED'S CARn-WITNtIBClS BEFORe TIlE ELEC
TION FLLCD COMxITTRI.
WAstsn ooon. Jan. 10.-The statement that
Judge Busteed, of Alabama, had half a million
dollars to his credit in the Mobile Bank, is denied.
In explanation it i stated that three hundred thou
sand dollars-proceeds of shipwrecked propert~y
are deposited in the Bank ofobile to the Bankit of
the district court, which can only be drawn after
proper adjudication by the court on the ce:tilcate
of the clerk, counteresigned by the judge.
Judge Buateed is confident that the committee
will dismiss charges against hmun as nnfounded
and frivoloue.
A telegram asuerts that the witnemes before
the Congremlonal election fraud committee are
notorious Enghliabsh thieves, counterfeiters and bur
glare. It is rumored that they received ifty dol
lars each for information.
-nFIGNATION OF LllUT. GOV. GLEASONOP PLORIDA.
TALLAIHAEsE, Jan. 10.-The Legislature ad
oerned Saturday morning until Mlonday. In the
enate, Lieut. toy. Gleason, ~osacating the presl
dential chair, called Mechau, colored member, to
f11 it. Gleason then retired, and sent In his resig
nation as president of the Rentte, which was ac
cepted. The lieutenant goveruor being a 8tate
ofIcer, and by provilion of the ronstitu'ion presil
dent of the Benate, the proceedlig is deemed Ir
regular and of no value, uas his resignation should
have gone through the executive department to
the Senate, smd the question armee Mas to whether
he can reagn the functions of that office alone.
The BHouse transaoted no buainem.
FROM IIAYTI.
N:w Youe, Jan. 10.-A Port au-Prince letter
reports Sainuave in pomession of seven town5
slung the coast, the inhabitants h~lrvng driven ,ut
the rebels. It in thougrht those successes will
hasten the surrender of the whole peninsula to
SaInave. The rebels still hold Sr. Mards, and it in
stated, have receive, arms and ammunition from
Boetoo.
The government monopoly on coffee was re
npsa Dec :u.h
I C.031 IIAVANA.
'-w YoR, Jan. 0lo.-The lerald's Hlavana
-pecia says (General Ceepedes the provislonal
p esident of the republlcan government, arid -enor
hurilera have proclaimed e~iao ipation. They
conplain that the people of the Western depart
ment have tot heeded calls of the levolution and
that the Junta at Havana furnisheu no money.
It is reported that (o!. Beneg,,e had faued to
-ecupy Hoigni,, and wasucompelhi. to return with
bis wounded to (;hiburs. (;en. 'eseda is said to
have landed from Nasmau with -0 mien and 30(J
rifles.
Puerto Principe i still surrounded hy small
bands of insrgents. In the -.ty prostration aol
gloom prevail, all the shops being closed and
many arrests made.
On the Ilth ult. a fight occurred at ('asmalidaj
Tegnay between seveun hund:e, insurgents and
fve hundred Spanish troop. Tue Hpanuards were
defeated with considerable I us.
HAVNAN, Jan. ,.--A pocilamstion aholishlng
the trial of cirdlians by court martial has been
isened.
The abolition of slavery by the rebels is con
trmed.
It is expected that Dulce's proclamation will end
the revolution.
Jan. 1O.-The revolutionary bymon of Spain wait
ung last night at the Tacon Theatre in the pres
I wo battalions have left for Noerrites.
News from San Domingo states that llees failel
to mecure a loan from Europe. This failure to get
money ill probably reslt in the downfall of
- -
A Washingtoo dimpatch of the nth msys informns.
Mo hu been received that the Texuas convention
h pased an ordinase giving the right of way
o the lanteratlonal Pac:fii Railroad, from the
Sntern to h Western border of that State, and
a reervaton of twenty miles o. sch aids of the
rod-the red to be completed wihtlan ix yo .
Thin reed iL one of the connecting lIeak of the
nternational line from Cairo to Se B . ey the
Panlle Ocean.