26 Mr. Mayne on the Administration of Native Law 



different. The Hindu law which prevailed in Madras was 

 so much stricter than it was in Bengal, that wills were ge- 

 nerally scouted on their first appearance as radical innova- 

 tions. In 1824, no doubt, the Madras Sadr Court laid it 

 down as their opinion, " that under the Hindu Law, a man 

 is authorised to dispose of his property by will, which under 

 the same Law, he could have alienated during his survivor- 

 ship, by any other instrument." This decision was confirmed 

 by the Privy Council. It did not however settle the question. 

 The facts of the case rendered the decision upon the testa- 

 mentary power of a Hindu almost extra-judicial, since the so- 

 called testator had actually placed his so-called devisee in 

 possession of the property during his life, and all this was 

 recited in the will. In reality, therefore, for the purposes of 

 the case, the instrument was not a will but a deed of gift, 

 and deeds of gift had always been recognized by Hindu law. 

 Accordingly numerous cases followed in which the Madras 

 Sadr Court expressly denied the validity of Hindu wills, 

 and the Madras Regulation V of 1829 pronounced, that 

 they were " instruments unknown to the Hindu law," and 

 provided, that they should ft have no legal force whatever, 

 except so far as their contents might be in conformity with 

 the provisions of the Hindu law, according to the authori- 

 ties prevalent in the respective provinces under that Presi- 

 dency." One would have imagined that this was a final 

 closing of the testamentary career which had commenced. 

 It seemed that wills must thenceforward be mere waste 

 paper. If they altered the course of succession pointed out 

 by the Hindu law, then they were to have " no legal effect." 

 If they did not alter it, then the law would operate without 

 their aid. This dilemma was acted upon for many years. 

 But in 1851 the question was raised again before the 

 Sadr Court, in a case precisely fitted to settle it. A man 

 had, by a document which was strictly a will, diverted his 



