APPENDIX TO CHRONICLE. 



955 



petty depending upon the decision. 

 The late Mr. Wilkinson, the tes- 

 tator, carried on iron-works to an 

 immense extent, in several coun- 

 ties ; and requested his nephew, 

 Mr. Jones Wilkinson, to reside 

 with him in his house, as a com- 

 panion and assistant in managing 

 his extensive concerns. Mr. J. 

 Wilkinson, the nephew, was 22 

 years of age, when he began to 

 reside with his uncle, and continu- 

 ed with him for ten or twelve 

 years without any remuneration ; 

 and none was insisted upon, as it 

 was understood by themselves and 

 others, that the nephew was to be 

 the heir or devisee and legatee of 

 most, if not of all, the uncle's pro- 

 perty, the latter having no chil- 

 dren of his own, though his wife 

 was living. The uncle, however, 

 when about the age of 72, hap- 

 pened to meet with a servant girl 

 of the name of Anne Lewis, at the 

 lodgings which he occupied in 

 Thavies Inn, when in London on 

 business. This girl he took to live 

 with him, and by her had three 

 children. To these three children 

 he left the whole, or nearly the 

 whole, of his property, real and 

 personal, to the amount of nearly 

 half a million sterling; his nephew 

 having only the chance of succeed- 

 ing to it, in the event of the death 

 of the children, which he had, or 

 might have, by Anne Lewis, dying 

 without issue. There were several 

 questions in the cause ; but the 

 view which was taken of the first, 

 rendered it unnecessary for the 

 judges to go into the rest. This 

 question was, whether a devise to 

 children generally, withoutdescrib- 

 ing them particularly, was a good 

 devise to illegitimate children, sup- 

 posing that legitimate children 



might by possibility take under the 

 words, which might by possibility 

 have been the case in this instance, 

 as the wife of the testator might 

 have died in his life-time, and he 

 might have married Anne Lewis, 

 and havehad legitimate children by 

 her. It was contended, in behalf 

 of the nephew, that in law, the 

 word " children'' was always un- 

 derstood of legitimate children, il- 

 legitimate persons being only al- 

 lowed to take by such names 38 

 they had got by reputation ; and 

 here these children were not de- 

 scribed by any particular names. 

 It was also contended on the same 

 side, that it was a rule of law, that 

 where the words might include 

 legitimate children, illegitimate 

 children must be excluded. The 

 lord Chancellor had referred the 

 case to one judge of each of the 

 three other principal courts, and, 

 we believe, to the master of the 

 rolls, for their opinions. He read 

 the joint opinion of these judges 

 this day in court, which was de- 

 cidedly in favour of the illegiti- 

 mate children, who, it was stated, 

 had, before the testator's death, 

 acquired by reputation the charac- 

 ter and description of his children, 

 and were clearly intended to be 

 the objects of his bounty. His 

 lordship postponed the farther pro- 

 cecidings in the cause till Monday. 

 It was finally determined in fa- 

 vour of the children. 



Prerogative Court, Doctors' 

 Commons.— Lindo against Linda. 

 —This was a proceeding to try 

 the validity of two codicils to the 

 will of the late Alexander Lindo, 

 esq. which were set up on the 

 part of Mrs. Lindo, the testator's 

 wido\r, aad several of his younger 



