£52 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



he ought, and it was most likely 

 he would have so expressed him- 

 self; or the common interpreta- 

 tion would be that it was the gold 

 one that had thus become more 

 peculiarly his, by purchase, and 

 by having superseded the silver 

 one in use : but there was, be- 

 sides, his declaration that he did 

 not mean to wear it, but to give 

 it to his nephew : this observation 

 distinctly applied to the gold 

 watch ; tiie only question then 

 would be, who was the nephew 

 intended ? and that was answered 

 by the words of the bequest. 

 AVhatever therefore might have 

 been his intention previously, it 

 was evident that after accjuiring 

 the gold watch, that was the one 

 he meant to give to ins nephew, 

 the party now claimiug. The 

 Court therefore pronovuiced for 

 the gold watch cliiimed, with 

 costs. 



Prerogative Court, Doctors' Com- 

 mons. — Hynn and others, by their 

 Guardian, v. Ryan. — This was a 

 question as to the interest of par- 

 ties claiming a right to the letters 

 of administration of the effects of 

 Philip Ryan, Esq. late of the city 

 of Cojjenhagen, deceased. 



He died at Hudson's Hotel, 

 Covent-garden, in June 1808, 

 leaving a widow, several children 

 by a former marriage, and one by 

 the hitter, the parties in the pre- 

 sent proceeding. The letters of 

 administration were claimed on 

 the one hand by tlie widow, and 

 on the other by the children of the 

 former marriage, denying the 

 validity of the latter one, on the 

 groimd of the former wife beiiig 

 still living. 



The evidence in support of the 



widow's claim fully established 

 the facts of the two marriages, 

 and also that the first wife and 

 the deceased, being domiciled in 

 the kingdom of Denmark, had 

 entered into a contract of separa- 

 tion, in which it was stipulated 

 (amongst other things) that both 

 parties shoidd be at liberty to 

 mari7 again with the consent of 

 the King of Denmark, which the 

 laws of that country empowered 

 him to give. An act of divorce 

 was accordingly obtained from 

 the King ; and the authenticity of 

 this act, and its being, by the 

 laws of Denmark, an effectual dis- 

 solution of the marriage contract 

 between parties, subjects of that 

 country, was proved by the evi- 

 dence of some of his Danish Ma- 

 jesty's ministers, and persons con- 

 versant with the laws of thut 

 country. 



No opposition was offered ; aud 

 Sir John Nicholl observed, that 

 the shape in which the case pre- 

 sented itself imposed no necessity 

 on the court to examine the 

 grounds of nullity. The divorce 

 was effectual, as a divorce a vin- 

 culo matrimonii, according to the 

 laws of Denmark ; and it was 

 therefore not necessary to inquire 

 whether the groxmds of it woidd 

 be sufficient here, as it was esta- 

 blished that the parties were do- 

 miciled in that country : nor was 

 it necessary to inquire whether 

 such a divorce could invalidate a 

 marriage had in England, if set 

 up in a suit between the parties 

 themselves. The present was only 

 a case of interest ; the fact of 

 marriage was apparent, and not 

 denied ; the legal presumption 

 was, therefore, in its favour. 

 Semper prcesumitur pro matrimonio, 



»nd 



