‘268 
July, 1809; and the testator’s 
death happened on the 4th of 
March 1810, on which day he 
was found drowned. The parties 
who would have been entitled to 
his property, if dying intestate, 
were his second wife (whom he 
married at the age of 67, and who 
had a family by a former husband ) 
and his niece who was unmarried, 
and who had offended him by 
having had an illegitimate child. 
These parties endeavoured to set 
aside all the testamentary papers 
which were supported on the other 
side by the executors, Mr. John 
Atkinson, formerly an eminent 
manufacturer at Manchester, and 
Mr. Joseph Atkinson, a Quaker, 
not at all connected with the pre- 
ceding 
The substance of the will was 
to leave 200/. per annum to Mrs. 
Henshaw : Z000/. to each of her 
three daughters; the land and 
buildings at Oldham equally be- 
tween her sons, and George Had- 
field; the illegitimate child above- 
mentioned; various legacies of 
100/. 5002. 1000/. &c. to different 
Jegatees, about sixty in number; 
and the residue to found a Blue- 
coat School and Blind Asylum, 
the trustees of which were to be 
named by a subsequent codicil. 
The first codicil gave 20,000/. 
to the Blue-coat School, and de- 
clared Mrs. Henshaw entitled to 
her savings during marriage. 
The second gave legacies of 
6,000/. in all, to other charities. 
The third named the Trustees 
referred to in the will, and gave 
18,000/. to Mr. John Atkinson, 
who was one of the number. 
The fourth revoked the devise 
of a small piece of land, in the 
will, the testator intending, had 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1815. 
he lived, to build the Blue-coat 
School on it. 
The will was executed at an at- 
torney’s officein Manchester. The 
codicils were all in Mr. John At- 
kinson’s hand-writing, and each 
executed at his house by the tes- 
tator in presence of two witnesses. 
This cause was first heard in 
the Consistorial Court of Chester, 
where the will and all the codicils 
were pronounced for. [twas thence 
appealed to the Archiepiscopal 
Court of York, where the former 
judgment was affirmed with costs. 
The appellants, however, brought 
it again by appeal to the Court of 
Delegates, where it was argued 
for five days in the summer, be- 
fore six judges, who pronounced 
themselves satisfied of the validity 
of the will and all the codicils, ex- 
cept the third, on which, being 
equally divided, they pave no judg- 
ment. It became therefore neces- 
sary to have a rehearing before 
part of the former commission, 
assisted by adjuncts: and the 
present argument, which lasted 
for six successive days was con- 
ducted on the part of the appel- 
lants by Drs. Swabey and Jenner, 
and Messrs. Warren and Williams ; 
and on that of the respondents by 
Mr. Hart, Drs. Stoddart and 
Lushington, and Mr. Cross. 
It was contended against the 
will and codicils generally, that 
the deceased had been of a weak 
and decaying capacity ever since 
1800, when he had a paralytic at- 
tack ; that Mr. John Atkinson had 
obtained an entire ascendancy over 
him, principally by assisting him 
in June 1807, to set aside the 
will of his brother Henry Hen- 
shaw; that by means of this in- 
fluence, Mr. Atkinson had per- 
