One hundred years ago
SOCIETY has been defrauded this week of a sensation. The Sutherland will case came on for trial on Thursday in the Probate Court, and as the amount at stake was £1,500,000, and as the Dowa- ger Duchess who claimed the money had burned a letter and been impris- oned for contempt of Court, and as the late Duke was not a good man, Society expected to be greatly entertained. The present Duke, however, does not fully belong to his period, having some respect for the honour of his house, and to the disgust of evening papers, the suit was compromised. It is stated that the Dowager Duchess receives, instead of £1,500,000, half a million and a life- annuity of £5,000 a year. The lawyers employed seem to have behaved very well, for they recommended compro- mise, though a large slice of the great fortune at stake would probably have been divided among them. It should be observed, to correct a popular error, that Judges in these cases have seldom the option of resisting a compromise. They cannot get at truth without wit- nesses, or even with witnesses who are very reluctant.
The Spectator 9 June 1894
Previous page
