Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 09.pdf/574

 Chapters in the English Laiu of Lunacy.

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Church of England, but had been deprived standing his confident prophetical utterances of his license by his bishop. He made the to the contrary, the union was in several cases acquaintance of four young ladies, the followed by discreditable and compromising Misses Nottidge, with whose sympathy — results, and, if we recollect aright, the bigam and money — he proceeded to found a re ist ultimately suffered imprisonment for his ligious establishment in which he was the misconduct. Enough has now been said of central — if not the sole — object of devotion. this class of cases. Indeed, he pretended that his own spirit was 2. We pass now to the second group. It dead and that his body was the tabernacle of consists of cases where the relations between God, inhabited by the the donor and the Holy Ghost. Three donee have at, or of his female wor shortly before, the shipers he gave in execution of the gift marriage to three been such as to raise male followers of his a presumption that own. The fourth, the donee had influ Miss Louisa Not ence over the donor. tidge, was put in an Here the court throws asylum by her rela upon the donee the tives to keep her out burden of proving of his clutches, but that he has not abused Prince, moved of his position and that course by the Holy the gift made to him Spirit, applied to the has not been brought commissioners in lu about by any undue nacy for her release, influence on his part. and, as her religious In this class of cases delusions were her it has been consider only overt sign of ed necessary to show mental unsoundness, that the donor had released she was. independent advice She returned to and was removed 1.ORI) CHANCELLOR IIATIIEKLKY. Prince and made over from the influence of to the Agapcmonc a the donee when the sum of more than .£5,000 invested in con gift to him was made. Thus in Huguenin sols. After her death, her administrator r. Baseley (1807, 14 Ves. Jun. 273) a volun intervened, and in spite of a most skillful tary settlement by a widow upon a clergy and ingenious presentment of his case man, who had not only acquired consider by Mr. Bacon, Q.C., then the most dex able influence over her, but was intrusted by terous of chancery advocates and after her with the management of her property, wards, as vice-chancellor, the most witty — was set aside. The ratio decidendi here was, and inaccurate — of equity judges, Vice- and in similar cases has been, that a confi Chancellor Stuart compelled Prince to dis dential relation being proved to exist between gorge. Another gentleman, of the same the donor and donee, the court will presume character, induced seven credulous girls to that it continued up to and at the time of the believe that they were destined to marry him gift, unless this influence is clearly disproved and comfort him in his ministry. Notwith- by the donee. In Allcard v. Skinner (1887,