Part 1

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

Three minor typographical errors were found and corrected, none of which affected the sense of the text.

The FOREWORD is in Latin. For the reader's convenience it is repeated at the end of the text with a free English translation inserted.

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DE MORTUIS NIL NISI BONA:

BY

SPICER & PEGLER

ILLUSTRATED BY E. T. REED

* * * * *

_BY THE SAME AUTHORS_

By SPICER and PEGLER.

BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS. (Third Edition.) PRACTICAL AUDITING. (Second Edition.) AUDIT PROGRAMMES. (Third Edition.) PRACTICAL BOOK-KEEPING AND COMMERCIAL KNOWLEDGE. INCOME TAX IN RELATION TO ACCOUNTS. (Third Edition.) EXAMINATION NOTE BOOK FOR ACCOUNTANT STUDENTS. (Second Edition) UNDERWRITERS' ACCOUNTS. (Second Edition.) TABLE A: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS. (Second Edition.) INCOME TAX PROBLEMS. KEY TO INCOME TAX PROBLEMS. THE MOTOR ACCOUNT BOOK AND REGISTER.

By ERNEST EVAN SPICER, F.C.A.

AN OUTLINE OF THE MONEY MARKET. THE ACCOUNTS OF AN EXECUTOR. (Third Edition.) INTERNAL CHECK IN RELATION TO A MANUFACTURERS' BUSINESS. (Second Edition.) RESERVES, ANNUITIES AND SINKING FUNDS. (Second Edition.) INCOME TAX CLAIMS AND APPEALS. (Second Edition.) A SUMMARY OF THE INCOME TAX PROVISIONS OF THE FINANCE (1909-10) ACT, 1910. (Second Edition.) INCOME AND SUPER-TAX, AND ITS LEGAL EVASION. DISSOLUTION, AMALGAMATION AND RECONSTRUCTION ACCOUNTS. DIVISIBLE PROFITS AND DIVIDENDS. THE EXPORTATION OF BRITISH CAPITAL. THE DEPRECIATION OF GILT-EDGED SECURITIES.

By ERNEST C. PEGLER, F.C.A.

SOME NOTABLE FRAUDS IN ACCOUNTS. (Second Edition.) AN AUDIT OF TRUST ACCOUNTS. STOCK EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS. THE PRINCIPLES OF AUDITING. COMPARATIVE AND INTERIM ACCOUNTS.

By RANKING, SPICER and PEGLER.

EXECUTORSHIP LAW AND ACCOUNTS. (Third Edition.) PARTNERSHIP LAW. ARBITRATION AND AWARDS. MERCANTILE LAW. BANKRUPTCY AND DEEDS OF ARRANGEMENT ACT. 1913.

By RANKING and SPICER.

A PRIMER OF COMPANY LAW

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DE MORTUIS NIL NISI BONA

BEING A SERIES OF PROBLEMS IN EXECUTORSHIP LAW AND ACCOUNTS

BY

SPICER & PEGLER

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

60, Watling Street, London, E.C.

WITH A FOREWORD IN THE LATIN TONGUE BY

D. F. de l'HOSTE RANKING, M.A., LL.D.

ILLUSTRATED BY

E. T. REED

Price 5/- net.

London:

H. FOULKS LYNCH & CO.

9, Fenchurch Street, E.C.

1914

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To All Spinster Aunts and Bachelor Uncles who do their duty by their Nephews and Nieces in Matters Testamentary This Book is affectionately dedicated.

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PREFACE.

No one can say that our Motives are unworthy, for our object is to instruct. But there are some who may object to our Methods, and it is to such that we offer, not an apology, but an explanation.

A very large section of the Public cling to the belief that Law must be as dry as Dust, and Accounting as tedious as the Treadmill.

The truth is, it is not the Practice of Law or of Accounting that is uninteresting, but rather is it the Theory which is often rendered so by Teachers whom Providence never ordained to teach.

If, therefore, the employment of unorthodox methods helps to interest the Student in his subject, and to stimulate him to further effort, any apology would be out of place.

ERNEST EVAN SPICER. ERNEST C. PEGLER.

60, Watling Street, London, E.C. January, 1914.

FOREWORD.

By D. F. de l'Hoste Ranking, M.A., LL.D.

De mortuo illo quid dicam? "Nilnisi bonum" ut aiunt.

Sed quid si nil boni fecit? De bonis licet loqui.

At si nulla bona reliquit? De eo tacere decet: si neque bonum fecit nec bona acquisivit nil valet.

Sed si bona reliquit in sermonem hominum semper venit; vitia operta sunt; pecuniam fecit, illa quidem "non olet." Quem heredem instituit? Extraneis haec omnia livori proxima videntur. Te autem si tu aut cognatione aut affinitate propinquus exspectatio tenet. An mea interest? Si sic habet, quanti? Suave est ex magno tollere acervo; ejus pecunia quid non facere possim?

Siste, amice; aliquantulum cogita; supersunt multi cognati; fieri potest ut aut cum aliis bona partire debeas, aut exheredatus sis.

Gerrae! Sine dubio testamentum fecit: et cum ratione constat me alicuius rei legatarium esse. Nemo enim magis eum fovit; alii omnes cognati asseclae; solus eum amavi.

Insipiens, inter os et offam multa intervenire possunt. Audi de gente Fulvia fabellam: de multis mutato nomine narratur.

(In scena est coenatio Georgii Fusci, argentariorum interpretis. Fuscus, bene coenatus, alterum cyathum Falerni sorbillat. Accurrit uxor, commota; in manu litteras resignatas tenet).

U. Georgi!

F. Quid tibi nunc est? Num quid novi est?

U. Amita mea Maria decessit!

F. Bene! nunquam postea illud vile Sabinum necesse erit obsorbere: magnum est solatium.

U. At tu Georgi semper id laudasti!

F. Et tu simul filiaeque semper miratae estis Persicam illam detestabilem et psittacum dissonum, et laudibus extulistis: pretium fuit vetulae placere.

U. Esto: illa vero suavia erant. At hic mihi litterae a cognitore ejus Semaureo allatae: dicit se hodie vesperi te conventurum.

F. Demiror si testamentum fecit! Sin minus omnia ad te perveniunt, tu heres ex asse; cognati alii desunt.

U. Est quidem mariti nepos iste.

F. Nullus: tu sola heres: si intestata omnia ad te.

U. Tabulas vere fecit: cognitor scribit se te conventurum quia testamentum ad rem tuam maxime pertinet.

F. Mihi crede igitur! Aliquid magni tibi legavit: haud verisimile illam quidquam juveni Albo legasse: nunquam iliam observavit; homo nil est nisi pictor ignotus aut aliquid simile: uxorem quoque duxit quamdam inopem, et eis saepe amita tua subvenire debuit.

U. Fores pulsantur: advenit cognitor!

F. Dic famulae ut alteram cyathum ponat.

(Ingreditur Dominus Semaureus.)

Quid agis vir doctissime? Mea uxor dixit te venturum; nonne ob testamentum amitae ejus?

S. Sic res habet, Fusce; venio ad te quod hoc res tua maxime refert; et scio te onus suscepturum.

F. An sic habet? Vetulae illi multa bona provenere ut opinor.

S. Permulta: super haec te consulendum putavi. Hic mecum tabulas attuli ut eas inspicias.

F. Bene est; Dignissima erat; cui semper plurimum tribui. Falerni sume cyathum.

S. Benigne dicis; dimidium: bona venia uxoris tuae est mihi in animo summas testamenti reddere; ad illam quoque pertinet. (Testamenta allata resignat.)

Post nonnulla famulis legata ita instituit:

"Fratris filiae Mariae lego Persicam et Psittacum quae animalia tantopere admirata est, certa fiducia se illis hospitium praebituram; eidem etiam lego annulum meum gemmatum. Nepoti ejusdem Mariae viro Georgio Fusco lego omne quod in hypogaeo superest vinum illud Falernum quod semper laudabat."

F. (In malam rem.)

S. "Quod ad ceteras possessiones Georgius Fuscus heres esto ex asse: (subridet Fuscus et uxori in aurem susurrat "ita ut dixi.")

S. (Conversa tabula) "et rogo eum ut cum primum potuerit haereditatem adire, omnibus et fundis et mobilibus venditis, pecunias in cautionibus publica auctoritate factis collocet et fructus reddat nepoti mariti mei Jacobo Albo et uxori suae in aetatem aut utri eorum vita superarit: eis mortuis ut inter liberos eorum caput dividat: aut liberis sine prole defunctis caput reddat ad sodalitatem Anthropophagis Africanis informandis et nutriendis institutam: praemio sint fiduciario viginti in annum librae."

F. Anus odiosa et malefica! At enitar ut testamentum rescindatur; inofficiosi testamenti querelam instituam! Delira fuit!

S. Immo mentis omnino compos fuit, Improbe: sic summa fide clamabo et testabor. Verba tua pro tempore et re indecora. Tui piget me: evado.

F. Maria!

U. Georgi!

Uterque. Exsecrabilis Illa!

(Aulaeum tollitur.)

PROBLEM No. 1.

Within St. Dunstan's Churchyard rest the bones Of Charles Augustus Algernon de Jones, Who left, besides a widow, tall and fair, Four infant daughters all with ginger hair.

The worldly goods of which he died possessed Were valued, net, twelve thousand of the best. He died intestate, left no real estate, Broke his neck hunting at a five-barred gate.

Two years before he left this vale of tears, He justified his wife's most anxious fears, He spent ten thousand on a rope of pearls, A gift to one of Daly's Chorus Girls.

This was a falling from the narrow course Which lasted but a fortnight; then remorse O'ercame him, and he gave five thousand pounds To London's Home for Lost and Straying Hounds.

This good deed mollified his jealous wife, And two years later, when he quitted life, The widow buried anger with the bones Of Charles Augustus Algernon de Jones.

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And now as everyone knows This tragedy comes to a close, With fallings and failings And funeral wailings 'Mid sighings and sobbings and woes.

Do not think that this story is lax Or of improbability smacks; I tell you it's true, And I'm waiting for you To say what did the Revenue Tax.

PROBLEM No. 2.

And when Joseph was dead his son Benjamin took unto himself a Wife and they had issue, two Boys and one Girl.

Now the elder of these two Sons was comely to gaze upon and when he was yet two years from Man's Estate his Father said unto him, "My Son, your Father's Brother is old and nearing death. Take heed, therefore, lest his wealth be scattered amongst the Gentiles." And the Son answered, "Fear not, my Father, from henceforth I will be unto my Father's Brother as a Son."

But after Seven Days had passed away the Uncle died and all his Flocks and Herds were left to his Brother Benjamin's Children. And on the Seventh Day after the Brother's death, the Woman, whom Benjamin had taken to wife, gave birth to Twin Children, and after Seven more Days had passed, the Male Child sickened and died. And Benjamin wept for his Son and looked not upon the Child that lived, and refused all meat, so that he weakened, and after Seven more Days he was buried in the Tomb of his Fathers (near Shepherd's Bush).

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N.B.--There were fortunately no further deaths in Benjamin's family, and the Uncle's Legacy to his "Brother's Children," which was valued for Probate at £12,000, was duly divided between them.

How much did each receive?

PROBLEM No. 3.

Sir Hazel Knut, Bart., died, and the whole of his Estate, after the payment of Estate Duty, Debts, and all expenses, amounted to exactly £15,000.

He bequeathed the following Legacies, all free of Duty except the Settled Property.

_Lady Knut_, his widow, £2,000.

Lady Knut also had the use of a Governess Cart, together with a Shetland Pony, for life, with remainder over to the Toddington Cottage Hospital. These were valued for Probate at £60, and the value of the life interest was computed at £12.

_George Filbert_ (aged 12), a son of Lady Knut by a former husband, £200.

_Selina Knut_, daughter (aged 4), £1,200.

_George Lightfoot_, son-in-law, who married Sir Hazel's charming daughter Rose, £1,200. Rose predeceased Sir Hazel by 4 years, but the Twins survived. To each of these children Sir Hazel left One Thousand Guineas.

_Mrs. Gubbins_, Sir Hazel's aged mother, £1,000.

_Mr. Gubbins_, Stepfather to Sir Hazel, the Racehorse "Fleetfoot," aged 14, by Footrest out of Fleet Rabbit, valued at £19 19s. 0d.

_Rev. Stirling Knut_, nephew, £100.

And £50 each to the following:

_Cutforth Crawley_, Lady Knut's sister's son.

_Lady Augusta Ramsbotham_ (sister-in-law, Lady Knut's eldest sister).

_Dorothy Smith_, who married Robert, Sir Hazel's eldest son, 3 months after the funeral.

The Residue of the Estate was left absolutely to Robert.

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Show how much Sir Robert Knut inherited.

PROBLEM No. 4.

Mr. Mordecai Moribund was a pessimist during life and died a violent death. His facial appearance was much disfigured by a sad squint, and this affliction to his eyes contributed in no small degree to the tragedy which at once deprived Mrs. Moribund of a husband and a son. The son, a bright youth of twenty summers, had been sent down from Oxford University by the authorities rather as a warning to others than for any great offence which he had committed. Nevertheless, the disgrace was keenly felt by his mother, and it was for this reason that Mr. Moribund decided to take him for a trip to India, until time had healed the wound.

Arrived in India, Mr. Moribund promised his son, Morton, to arrange for a tiger shooting expedition. This fatal promise caused all the trouble, for Mr. Moribund, owing to his visual defects, thought he observed a tiger approaching from the west and forthwith discharged his rifle. The bullet missed the tiger and passed through the head of the unfortunate Morton, who was thereby killed on the spot. Mr. Moribund, horrified by the accident, moved his position and slid from the back of the elephant right into the jaws of the infuriated animal. Assistance was rendered immediately, and Mr. Moribund was rescued from his unfortunate position, but not before he had sustained injuries from which he succumbed four days subsequently.

Mr. Moribund, by his will, left everything of which he was possessed to his widow absolutely. This property, after deducting debts, amounted to £137,500, but an examination of his affairs disclosed the fact that two years previously he had conveyed as an absolute gift to his son, Morton, the sum of £100,000. This money had been invested by Morton in Bearer Bonds of the Royal Japanese Steamship Company at an average price of £80%, but on the date of Morton's death these Bonds stood at £120%. Morton, by will, had left his entire fortune to a Miss Flossie Teazle, an actress whom he had met at Oxford.

Show what duties were payable to the State as a direct consequence of the Tragedy.

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Note.--The following epitaph, shamelessly copied from one in Malmesbury Abbey, was inscribed on Mr. Moribund's Tomb:--

In bloom of life He's snatched from hence, He had not room To make defence; For Tyger fierce Took life away, And here he lies In bed of clay Until the Resurrection Day.

PROBLEM No. 5.

It is a strange circumstance that little men with red hair usually have large families. At any rate Septimus Hawkins had red hair and twelve children, of whom eleven were living, but strangest of all he died intestate worth £122,600 subject to the payment of Estate Duty, and of which the Real property was valued at £36,000.

Mrs. Hawkins had been very beautiful in her younger days, but time and children had robbed her of her rosy cheeks; and realising that widow's weeds did not become her, she withdrew shortly after the funeral to the seclusion of a country life, where she spent her time ministering to the sick, and looking after her late daughter Pearl's two small children. The names of her children in chronological order were as follows:--

1. P earl. Died 1912 2. E dward. 3. R ebecca. 4. S elina. 5. E mma. 6. V era. 7. E velyn. 8. R ichard. 9. A melia. 10. N athaniel. 11. C hlotilde. 12. E rmyntrude.

How should the property of the late Septimus Hawkins be distributed, and how much did the respective beneficiaries receive?

PROBLEM No. 6.

Very few men can state with any degree of accuracy how long they will live, but Nathaniel Hibbert told his Wife he would die at 8 o'clock in the morning of Tuesday, the 22nd April, 1913, and he did die at that very time on that very day. He was standing on some scaffolding when a platform gave way under his very feet, and he broke his spinal cord. In other words he was hanged. His Solicitor urged him to make a Will and the prison Chaplain added his earnest entreaties, but Mr. Hibbert turned a deaf ear to all such suggestions. Even the sight of his Wife and only child did not affect his determination, and he died intestate.

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What happened to the £1,200 of which he died possessed?

PROBLEM No. 7.

Mr. Chicory loved his wife almost as much as Mrs. Chicory loved her husband. They had lived together for nearly forty years, and every Saturday morning throughout that long time Mr. Chicory had faithfully handed over to his wife his entire earnings, which were not much, and deducted only 5s. per week, which served as pocket money for Mr. Chicory, and enabled him to provide coals during the winter months, collection money at church, oil for the lamps, and sundry presents from time to time to his children, to say nothing of the Lame Crossing Sweeper.

Each week a small sum was deposited in the Post Office Savings Bank, and when Mr. Chicory died, not only had he to the credit of this account a balance of £108 0s. 10d., but his Cottage, which was valued at £90, was his own Freehold Property. He had made a Will and paid the Solicitor 10s. 6d. for drawing it up, and nobody could have read what he said about his old wife, to whom he left everything, without feeling a lump in the throat.

On the day of his funeral not one blind was undrawn in all the Cottages round about, and Mr. Michaelmas, the Carriage Builder, sent a landau specially for Mrs. Chicory. At least one hundred people went to the Church, where the good old Vicar read the Service, and the Lame Crossing Sweeper painted his broom-handle black.

Mrs. Chicory, some weeks later, paid the Solicitor another 10s. 6d., as a fee, and asked him to do the rest.

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What did he do?

PROBLEM No. 8.

Men who are mean during life and who would grudge a present of 5s. to the postman at Christmas, or who would spend a whole day in another man's motor car and fail to tip the Chauffeur at the end of the journey, often prove very generous with their money when they die and can no longer enjoy the satisfaction of possession, which during lifetime they cherished so dearly.

Such creatures usually bequeath their property to Charitable Institutions at the expense of deserving relatives, who have, at any rate, in Equity, a claim to at least some small share thereof.

The Law of Italy corrects this injustice, and no man can will away at death the whole of his property to strangers, if he leaves a Widow or Relatives living of a nearer kinship than a First Cousin.

Now Vincentio Dorando was an Italian subject, whose nearest living relative was a First Cousin once removed. He had been educated at Oxford and had spent the greater portion of his life in England, but at the time of his death he was domiciled in France. He left no property of any sort in Italy or France, and no duties were found to be payable in either of these Countries. He had property in England, however, which consisted of £15,000 Japanese 4-1/2 per cent. Bonds at 94, a Freehold House valued at £2,500, and some Furniture and Pictures which were stored at Messrs. Hudson's Repository, and which were valued for Probate at £480. The only debt due at death was a Tailor's Bill for £62.

He had made a perfectly valid Will in England, by which he bequeathed all his property, with the exception of his Real Estate, to his old Oxford friend, Mr. James Duncan, for life, with remainder over to Mr. Duncan's eldest son. He left the Freehold House to another Oxford friend, Mr. Wallstone.

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Show what Duties were payable to the Inland Revenue Authorities upon the death of Mr. Vincentio Dorando.

PROBLEM No. 9.

The Nurse described them as the most wonderful Twins she had ever seen; but then Monthly Nurses always speak in this way!

The Mother said that she had never known children exhibit such intelligence at so early an age; but then Mothers always think in that way, especially of their first!

The Father wanted to drown the yelling little brats, and had turned on both taps in the bathroom; but then Fathers always want to do something rash!

Altogether it was a very merry little family, and when the Twins were three months old and had been duly christened and vaccinated, Mr. Jollybuck called on his Solicitor and altered his Will so as to provide for the family which had been so anxiously hoped for and so long in coming.

But alas for Mrs. Jollybuck, for whom Widow's weeds were to be so soon necessary, and a plague on all false chemists who fail to label their blue bottles "With Care." Mr. Jollybuck swallowed Carbolic Acid instead of Ipecacuanha Wine, and after the payment of Estate Duty, Debts and all Expenses, except Legacy Duty, his Estate consisted of £16,000 Cash on Deposit at the London, City and Midland Bank, £15,000 India 3-1/2% Stock at 92, and Furniture valued at £500. By his Will he left:

(a) India Stock and the Furniture to his Widow, free of Duty.

(b) £6,000 to his Widow.

(c) £12,000 and the Residue of his Estate to his only Son.

(d) £12,000 to his Brother.

(e) £500 to his only Daughter.

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Draw up a Statement showing the amount each beneficiary under Mr. Jollybuck's Will is entitled to receive.

PROBLEM No. 10.

Family Trees are almost as interesting to study as Bradshaw, and, at any rate in this case, quite as instructive. In fact, without a Tree it is almost impossible to remember who Mrs. Gubbins really was.

The following, which eliminates all irrelevant matters, gives the descendants of George Gubbins, the founder of the family:--

GENEALOGICAL TREE OF THE GUBBINS FAMILY

George Gubbins _____________________|___________________ | | | | George John Charles Oscar | | | | John George Oscar Charles | | | ____________|_____________ | | | | | | | George John Charles Rose Violet Daisy Poppy

Now John Gubbins, the grandson of George Gubbins, founder of the Gubbins Family, married Elizabeth Greatheart, on Christmas-Day, and on the anniversary of their wedding day little George Gubbins first saw the light. But little George knew not his father, for John Gubbins died when George was but two months old.

In his Will John Gubbins appointed his Cousin, George Gubbins, to be his executor, and thus it was that George Gubbins was brought into close touch with the Widow Gubbins.

Friendship ripened into love and resulted in Mrs. John Gubbins becoming Mrs. George Gubbins. In due course Mrs. George Gubbins presented her husband with a little boy, who was christened John after his first cousin once removed.

Little John grew in grace and played very prettily with little George Gubbins, who was his stepbrother and second cousin rolled into one, and altogether it was a very happy little party, until one day little John's Father, George Gubbins, was knocked down by a Steam Roller just in front of his own house, and was rolled into his own gravel drive.