TO REVOKE PROBATE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1005, 21 December 1910, Page 6

TO REVOKE PROBATE.

. ,THE HILL CASE, THE LATE MR. HILL'S HABITS.; FETCHING THE WHISKY. ' .'v.,! The affairs:,of a well-known Wellington '•..■family, were further discussed in the Su- '• ipremo Court yesterday, when Mr. Justice Cropev rssumed the hearing of tho case .■iiii-.which four, sons .of the late iHill ask for. revocation of the probate of . ihis will. •• •'•• • ; ..- The ..testator, who was a manufacturer of."drain-pipes,.died in August, .1909, leavr fjng Teal and. personal "estate worth about j . The plaintiffs' ere four of. his ' ifions, namely: George 1 Hill, ; drainIpipe' manufacturer,. Samuel Hill, settler, ■ Hill, sottler, and Thomas Hill, jeettler,- all of Wellington/ and the de- : ifenda'nt,. Oswald Beere, -of Wellington, ' t solicitor, is tho executor named in the : -jdisputed will, and has been administering ' Itho estate in that capacity. Tho_plaini jtiifs claimed that the deceased did not r lat the time of the execution of . the document know and aptirovo of'its contorts, : ahd ; :that he was not then of sound mind, . memory, and understanding. They sought s *to prove that the execution of the docuwas obtained by tho undue influence "vof the - relatives of the deceased residing V .with * him at the time.: aud they asked vi.the'Court,to revoke probate, declare that 'the deceased 1 liad died intestate, and grant administration of tho estate to plamtiifs or such other persons as to .the Court -. anight' seem meet. The defendant, m his statement of defence,. denied : tne above allegations. - ~ Mr.' A'. Dunn appeared for the plamtiiis, - and Mr. M. Myers for the defendant. V Evidence for the" plaintiffs "\vas continued when the.Court resumed yesterday aftermoon. ,'

More Medical Evidence. \ .Dr. JohnEwart said he attended the , itestator from Juno 12 until his death .■ .."When witness-was called in the patient -- [had acutO: gastritis, cirrhosis of the liver ' >and kidneys, heart disease, bronchitis, iand other .diseases. His condition ..was ; idue to alcohol, and improved when he 'drank .-less. -He was 63 years of age. '. lAlcohoiic indulgence must have been gosing on for at least 'a year. Deceased ! was a victim of sleeplessness when witness'was called in, and his voice was >- .thick, this, being due to recent indulgence in alcohol. He was drunk, and in bed Wwhen witness first faw him. His hands ; ' .jtrembltd. The acute gastritis, .was caused ■ iby. recent .indulgence 'in .'alcohol, but ' Ltfcere was, no doubt,, a certain amount :; ;iof chronic gastritis from previous mduligence. Deceased's craving, for 'alcohol , Justed, until his death.' Witness ordered ihim to stop the'alcohol, and treated him r'.'for. gastritis. ' He was . removed to a pri.\i vate hospital where he could not get' alcohol, ■ buthe left .because ihe thought ho would be. able to get alcohol at home. ;He was dropsical when witness'saw him ' . first. ■ Twenty-four 'hours' before his death . the testator had a fit of apoplexy. - Wit- ■ ness certified that death was due to gastntis, arid' cerebral softening of the brain -- —degeneration would bo a more accurate -'- term..

Mental Condition. .' Whilst under tlie effect of alcohol, deceased's. mind was confused and. muddled, and not working properly. When, the alcohol was discontinued, his mental condi--tion .'.appeared to .be normal. About : three' or four years - ago, when deceased ihad double pneumonia, -Dr. Perkins, who ;-was;attending deceased, and called in wit•ness 'in- consultation, said' he. had .been ■drinking heavily. In March, 1509, before rvrithess was. called in, his'physical con- . ditic>n...must- have been bad, but'witness could, form no opinion of'his mental condition. If he had been drinking heavily i.then-. he ..would not;have been in a fit condition to make-his will, but if . he-, had 'been 'kept away ;from. drinking , for, say, a week, .he .woflld.have been in his normal mental condition. Abstention for :-some, days-would be nec'c<sary to restore •his mind: to ,a fit. condition for business

• iifi he: had been drinking ..as. heavily, .as die was after June 12. Chronic, alcohol--1 sism.-'such'as deceased suffered from, ...•times affected a man's moral sanity, and ; )made: him suspicious, and liable, to take . jsuddeii dislikes to people. Witness _was ytnot aware ;that .deceased) had delusions. ~ jHri 'was never in;.a', cinditioii. to be sent 1 . 'to a.lunatic asylum.

.' Those "Two Bottles 1 ' Again.'. .! Mr. Myers directed his cross-examina-lion to a suggestion made on the. previous iday, that the testator had . drunk two. fbottles of'wjiisky. on .the day . when .he igave'instructions concerning the will to . tilr. Beere.', V . - His Honour: The suggestion- is. that : iprior .to giving instructions for the mak■ing ■ of . his will on . March 10, he had ■drunk two bottles of whisky,. but -the •solicitor* says he was perfectly sober and : -rational,' arid conversed with him • for a .considerable time, and produced written .[instructions for his will, and discussed .. ! the terms of the will. Is that, possible : jif he had drunk two bottles of whisky . '.'that-day? ■' Witness: I should say not. ■His Honour: I expressed the'opinion . that such a'suggestion was'too much 'for human credulity. What do you say? Witness: I know that the late Mr. Hill could drink immense quantities of liquor, but I don't think that .would be possible ■ for him. : . Mr. Myers:-There would bo a;smell of alcohol about him,' would there .not?— ' "Yes." CMr. Dunn: He might take cloves. ■ Witness' also said that if deceased had ; absfcaincd'fr'Om liquor for some time prior to June 12,-and had then had a drinking bout, his condition might have been just ; as" when witness found him. He had V. iknown occasions when deceased was drinking moderately, 'but was quite ablo .to transact business. . , More About .Drinking. Habits. . : George Edward iHill, third son'of tho late Herbert Hill, and one of the plaintiffs in' ;the; : case; said lie'had. not-lived with his-father, since 15' years ago. He worked in his father's yard from his schooldays.. With the . exception of' six ■months, he ■ had... always lived near his father. : The latter first started drinking ;19 ago when left; a widower. Ho Iliad never known his father •to give up ! .'drinking, since a fit which he had in jIOOG. Deceased was very .drunk on the lie started for the Sounds trip, in '■ 'January, 1909. On tho day he returned, 'witness saw'he had been drinking. Wit- ' 'jusss-smelt cloves, which, deceased used to chew in order to take away the smell ' ,of<. the whisky. Witness thought he was idrinking. in the month '.of February. 'Witness .used to fetch drink from the 'Tramway and Grosvenor Hotels for his . ifather, or send'for it, '.

Again, the "Two Bottles." Ho remembered Mr. Beere's visit to [the .house-in March, 1 1909. ' On . that .imornirig,-between-8. and 9,' lie had.fetched : a bottle, of Whisky for his father. He was [Called to i the .'house at about G" p.m., ■ iafter Mr. "Beere ha<l gone, and sent for ianother bottle of whisky. He obtained ;it "at the Grosvenor Hotel. He pulled the icork, and, left. the bottle oil the sideIboard,' ii 9 lie had doho in the ,morning. : (That was his usual practice. On the day, liis father was drinking 'Ithe same amount as. usual.- Witness could -riot say he - took him two bottles tHat ? day. He might have taken one. He .could; riot-say' what hour.- He was t drinking heavily about February 12, and !from, then oil to Mr. Beere's visit and i afterwards. When deceased was drinking .heavily, he would take two bottles of whisky in 24 hours. Witness would < fetch : one in the morning and one'later in'the day. This, would-go on for' about, three months, and • then he would be ill, and .send for the doctor. He had known his Ifather tp drink six .small,- bottles of champagne in a day. At one period he •used to drink a bottle and a' half of . whisky in a day,, and drink champagne next morning to recover himself. To Induce Him 'to Stop. . His. Honour:. Why did you carry all this drink to him .'—"Because I had to." But there was no compulsion?—" There was no compulsion, but if I hadn't got it he would have'got it." . Mr. Dunn: You would rather have-him drink at home than at'a hotel?—" Yes." , I"suppose all efforts to induce him to stop drinking were futile? ~ : His Honour: This . witness has not : spoken: of "any efforts to induce him to . .give..it up, v'.'l .1:..

. Ifr, Dunm Did tho relatives in the house, tako any steps to get him to give it up? l - I "They tried to.lceep it from him, and doctors tried to givo him stuff to make him stop/' His Honour: They seem,to have men all ways except retraining •• from takiug liquor to. him. - . , . Witness also said deceased was drunk on a certain day when ho talked ot going to Mr. Beere's" office to alter his. will, but did not go. There was some suggestion of having him sent to a mental asylum at one time—witness could not remember when—but nothing was done. When under the influenco of liquoT, he Used to talk a "lot of rot." \ _ Mr. Dunn: When under the influenco of liquor, could ho talk rationally?— Tho casts was adjourned until 10.30 this morning.