MORTGAGE BEQUEST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 72, 26 March 1930, Page 8

MORTGAGE BEQUEST.

INTERPRETATION OF WILL

ALEXANDER BELL ESTATE. DISPUTE OVER INTEREST. An instance of the soundness of Roman law occurred in the hearing of a Supreme Court case in which Mr; Justice Ostler gave his judgment this morning. It was an originating summons to determine certain questions arising out of the will of the late Alexander Bell, >who made large bequests. He bequeathed to his daughtei, Jafiet Taylor, a mortgage of £25,000, held by the testator's son-in-law, J. W. Taylor, over a farm in the Waikato, the bequest to be subject to payment by Mrs. Taylor of £5000 to the testator's trustees to form part of a residuary estate. ' The plaintiff in the action was Janet Taylor (Mr. A. H. Johnstone) and the defendants were the Guardian Trust and Executors Company (New Zealand), Limited (Mr. McVeagh). Uilder the mortgage the interest was seven per cent, reducible to five per cent while the property continued' to be held' by the plaintiff's husband. At the time of the testator's death, £1000 was due for interest. His Honor said the first question to determine was whether the plaintiff was entitled to the interest, and in his opinion there was no doubt the intention was to bequeath a specific mortgage, and not meriely the sum of £25,000. If the mortgage turned out valueless she would have no. claim to be paid cash in lieu of the mortgage. Therefore,' the Latin maxim, "The interest shall pass by the grant of the mortgage, but not the mortgage by the grant of the interest,"/ applied. His Honor said that it was claimed on behalf of the defendants that the plaintiff should pay interest on the £5000 from March 7, 1929,' the date upon which the trustees intimated 'they were in a position to transfer the mortgage. Had the trustees not added another condition which they had no right to add, his Honor thought their contention would have been correct. He held that the plaintiff was under • lib liability to pay the sum until informed that the trustees were ready to hand over the mortgage without tlje, imposition of any unlawful conditions. His Honor ruled that down to the present the plaintiff was not liable to pay any interest on the £5000. All parties were allowed their costs.