Bequest to Mr. Lloyd George: The Prime Minister was yesterday a defendant in a probate action connected with the estate of a civil engineer who had bequeathed to Mr. Lloyd George certain patent rights. As, however, the bequest was made in March 1918, at a time when the testator was, according to the evidence, “of unsound mind and suffering from delusions,” there was no defense to the suit, and probate for a previous will was granted. Lord Coleridge very properly commended Mr. Lloyd George’s action in sparing the dead man’s estate, the expense of what might have been a protracted and costly litigation. Other Prime Ministers have been more fortunate in regard to the legacies left to them by admirers. William Pitt, the elder, is a famous cause in point. As a younger son of a country gentleman, he was not too well endowed with worldly goods, and the first person to make amends, for rare patriotism and powers of oratory, unsupported by an abundance of cash, was the celebrated Sarah Jennings, Duchess of Marlborough, who bequeathed to him £10,000. William Pitt, however, also benefited at a later period by another admirer, Sir William Pynsent, who left him his whole property amounting to about £3,000 a year. …
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