RELEASE IN A WILL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20172, 5 February 1929, Page 9

RELEASE IN A WILL.

SOLUTION OF MYSTERY.

WOMAN'S STATEMENT TO PRESS

Australian and N.Z. Press-.Association. LONDON, Feb. 3. The mystery of certain words contained in the will of the late Sir William Maxwell has been solved. Mrs. Lily Sutcliffo has authorised the Daily Express to reveal tho fact that, the passage referred to read: "To Mrs. Sutcliffo I leave the memory of her base ingratitude and hei slanders on her benefactor for many years."

Mrs. Sutcliffo says there followed allegations as to her moral character which were thoroughly unjustified. Sir \\ illiain had lived apart from his invalid wife for years, and ho and Mrs. Sutcliffe had been on terms of close friendship for 10 years. She had to terminate the friendship in 1927 for very strong and very grave reasons. Sir William offered her every inducement to go back to him, she says, even offering to make her his sole legatee.

A cablegram from London on January 29 stated: An unusual application was made to the Probate Court by Mrs. Stevenson, the sister and residuary legatee of the late Sir William Maxwell, war correspondent, who married Miss Nora Dclaney, to have certain words expunged from his will. The words, which wero not made public, had no testamentary effect but only gave pain to the person mentioned. Mr. Justice Hill decided that he had no power to-grant the application, but he ordered tho words in cjuestion to be expunged from the probate copy. The Judge said that although anyone might inspect the will and see the words, no one could publish them without the risk of an action for slander or libel.