GARDENIAS AND CAMELLIAS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21907, 7 October 1936, Page 13

GARDENIAS AND CAMELLIAS

to THK EDITOE oy THE PMBB. Sir, —Will gome horticultural reader enlighten me as to the difference between gardenias and camellias? Are there any gardenias in our gardens? If so, where?. Do they possess perfume and what colours are they? I often see mention of them in books. —Yours, etc,. GARDENIA. October 6, 1936.

ivits submitted at the earlier proiedings for the issue of toe protoc* cm order. He then asked 1 hether he agreed with the statffietttg. i the affidavits that Miss Smith wai lifering from failing memory, lessenig interest in her person and pro-» S£d Ü b? . ie time that there was a changein er ability to handle her affaiM.jujl i lat she showed eccentticlty in h«g«- ; ig rubbish, food, and wpmless hich she picked up off toe roadside, 'itness agreed with the statement He dd be was familiar with toe malady noun as senile dementia, and he was repared to say that there was slight jhfle dementia In November, 1938, or i he preferred to put it, cerebral rterio-scleroait. „ , . Mr O’Leary: Dr. Bussell, deputy-di-jctor of mental hospitals, and Dr. Mc:iUop will say that there was evidence f pronounced senile dementia at that Witness: I cannot agree with that Mr O’Leary: Her memory was so efective that she could not rememer Harris, the man who was apparutly on her doorstep morning, noon, nd night, I suggest that Miss Smith vas lacking In the usual tests of testaicntary capacity in November, 1988? Witness: I do not agree. Witness admitted there was a posIbility that he was deceived as to liss Smith’s condition, but it was not [kely. Relations With Guardian trust Percy Harold manager of ie South British Insurance Company, ,td., and local manager of the Quarian Trust and Executors’ Company f New Zealand, Ltd., said he saw liss Smith before 1933 at different Imes, when she called to collect diviends on shares bequeathed to her by er brother, Howard Smith. In 1933 atness received a communication rom the general manager of the ,outh British Company advising him hat Miss Smith was disposing of some f her shares to the Investment Executive Trust. He saw her about it and ventually she agreed to give the Juardlan Trust a power of attorney a administer her affairs. She also greed to see Mr C. S. Thomas with he object of taking action to recover he shares. About that time witness ound that Miss Smith had been sellng the Investment Trust debentures nd was investing in mining and flax hares and also in Publications, Ltd., 11 of which were recent flotations. A econd parcel of South British shares .as sold by Miss Smith, and the proeeds invested in the Investment Executive Trust. The action for recovery of the hares was not launched because, fter leaving Mr Thomas’s office, Miss Imlth wag prevailed upon by a share alesman to stop the action, and she ccepted dividends on her debentures nd also new debentures of the Inestment Trust. "My head office then uggested that we should endeavour 0 bring Miss Smith under the Aged nd Infirm Persons Act so as to check ter financial atrocities,” witness added. Ie then described the events leading ip to the proceedings for a protection irder. Making of Will Suggested Later it was suggested to Miss Smith hat she should make a will. She re* :eived the suggestion favourably and vitness had several conversations vith her on the subject. Miss Smith proposed to make certain provision or her relatives, amounting to about £IO,OOO, but when witness suggested hat She should make further provision for her nephews, she said she lad already done enough for them In ier lifetime. Witness then suggested eaving the residue to charities to be ipplied at the discretion of the Ounriian Trust. Witness made a further suggestion that the income only should *o to charities and that the capital should be kept Intact. A clause to this effect was drafted and submitted to Miss Smith, who approved of it. Alterations to the draft copy of the will were made in accordance with Miss Smith’s instructions. Witness described the Anal interview when the will was signed. He said that on every occasion when there was any .alteration in the bequests the total amount of the estate and of the residue was explained to Miss Smith. In the middle of 1933 her conversation was that of a worried individual, but later she improved. She was, however, parsimonious in a marked dejVee, and was untidy and dirty in person. Witnmt Cross-Examined “What would be the commission for the Guardian Trust in administering this estate?” asked Mr O’Leary, ih opening his cross-examination. | Witness: The accounts are kept in Auckland and I have nothing to do with it. Mr O’Leary: You must try to help us. What rate of commission do you charge? Tell me that and I will try to do the arithmetic. Witness: The rate Is 2J per cent, on revenue and I per cent, on capital. 1 never prepare the accounts. His Honour: You must be In a position. surely, to advise people who come into your office. Mr O’Leary; Under this will there is a perpetual trust, which, so far as we can see, the Guardian Trust will administer for evermore?— Yes, Mr O’Leary: On this Income the company will charge its 2J per cent., and will have the investing of the capital funds?— Yes. So that this will means a very substantial benefit to your company?— Quite. A residuary clause which disposes of the capital at once would not be of such benefit to your company as a clause which merely disposes of the Income? —No. Extracts from Correspondence Mr O’Leary then said he proposed to read extracts from a number of letters which had come into his possession in compliance with an order for. discovery obtained against the defendant company. The letters had been sent from. the Christchurch office of the trust to the head office in Auckland. The extracts, which were acknowledged by witness, were as follows; — July, 1933—"She is getting senile and it is pitiable that there is no one to care for her." July 18—“ The old girl is getting just a little bit funning and has not been quite frank regarding her affairs. However, the only thing to do is to intimate as soon as possible, especially to the Investment Company, that her affairs are now In our hands.” Interrupting the reading, Mr O’Leary said: “I put it to you, Mr Harris, that after you got the protection order you referred to ‘the old girl’ as ‘the dear old lady?' I suggest that you had a poor regard for her?” Witness; Never at any time. That is a private letter. and la not in the official style. Mr O'Leary continued reading the letters. “Absolutely Dug Her Toes In” July 29—“ Recently she has been making some foolish contracts behind our backs,.and Mr Thomas la of the opinion that she Is incapable of instructing him.” August 3—“ Her transactions of late behind our back make us convinced that she must be classed as an infirm non . . . There is every hope of jkig proved that Miss Smith is not capable of looking after her own affairs.” August 25—“ The way that I should care to express myself would perhaps be unprintable —so I will keep calm. The old girl has absolutely dug her toes in, and how we are going to get her out of the mess she has placed herself in I do not know. I spoke to Mosley yesterday afternoon after the court case, and although I could not draw anything definite from him there is no doubt that toe old girl convinced him that she was not safe to be left on 1 the High Road.” Mr O’Leary: This letter was after the order for protection was granted:

January 18. 1934—*‘1 am more thms ever satisfied that the old lady- 48 irresponsible.”

“Come Up to Scratch”

March 16—“ I will now make an effort to get Mia* Smith in • PWP« state of mind tor themaktng I propose to give this early attenticm, end provided the will come «P. to scratch, to get Dr. Baxter to witness hj< MrOX««y; What do you mean by "come up to ocratch?” — listen to you?—l mean, to get herein the state of mind In which she be used to the idea of the preparation It was you who was going td-bring-her up to scratch?— Yes. And right at tSaf stage it was yodl who had the idea of getting Dr. Baxter to witness toe signature. IWd it not occur to you toat the wMMm should be examined as to her oapamw to make a will?—I was convinced that she was capable of making a will. Did you know there g"asectioiUn. the Aged and Infirm 1® TC tion Act whereby you could go to we court and get the infirm person approved by the court. —No. I was not aware of it. ,■ At the time this wfflwMMdJ* §Jd you know that Miss Smith was to the habit of overhauling garbage tms? Y Did you know that toe w« to the habit of sitting in tram shelter until late at night to avoid light In her home?—l had beard it. Mr O’Leary resumed reading from the letters*. April 10 —“Her not so bad, as is the fart that the Christian names of *U tar relatives have remained wit her. April -.-“ The dear in from time to time and adds little Mis *°May old girl is having a good stretch of her mind to deal with all the money she has . . . I that the matter ispressing.andlam not sparing myself to get the matter completed. Mr O’Leary: Why were you so interested in the matter? What did it matter to you whether toe died intestate or not? Or did you think that if the Guardian Trust did-not get the estate the Public Trust would?— Yes. that was the point.

Query Regarding Letter Continuing, Mr O’Leary asked witness whether he wrote a letter to the Auckland office forwarding a copy of the draft will received from Mr Thomas’s office. Witness said he did not remember. . ;c Mr O'Leary said the order for discovery had revealed no trace of such a letter, although the matter was referred to in later correspondence, and he asked witness to Auckland whether any such letter had bC Hb honour instructed witness to communicate with the Auckland office by telephone, and report to the court in the morning. Mr O’Leary: In some way or other the terms of the will were communicated to Auckland? Witness; Yes. . ~ . „ Mr O’Leary: And the Auckland office communicated with you?— Yea. Are you certain mat there was in any event a telephone communication between yourself and Mr Ward, the manager of the Auckland office?-—Yes. Was it Mr Ward who suggested the alteration in the will for the distribution of the income to charities rather than the capital?—l would rather

l«v. thsltUl the inform*tloo com« bMdM iteration came from himself. and tbe court that adii~MM slotted Out In Letter journed till 9-45 ajtu to-day. ' Mr O'Leary then said that In a letter dated May 19. 1984. three lto«i had been blotted out. Mr Ward had furnished an affidavit that Irrelevant, but he asked that the original letter should be handed to nis Honour to decide whether it was irrelevant or not. . . Mr Barrowciough said he had the original letter in court, but he was un-