CONSTRUCTION OF WILLS—Continued.

technical meaning of words, how far followed, 429, 435.

autograph wills, 429, and note.

general intent, how far followed, 429, and note.

particular intent, 429, and note.

rule as to intent of testator, 436.

court cannot do what testator would do, 436, 437.

rules in the courts of equity, 437-442.

testamentary there administered, 437, 438.

variety of illustrations, 438.

words have natural, popular meaning, 438.

plain import controls, 438, 439.

scrivener's testimony not admissible, 439.

secondary meaning admissible, when, 440.
recent cases discussed, 440-442.

repugnancy, 443–453.

(See REPUGNANCY.)

supplying words, 453-467.

(See SUPPLYING Words.)

transposition of words, 467-470.

allowed to render will clear, but not to change natural import, 467, 468,

and note 469.

absurdity of incongruity, will not defeat will, 469.

words of local description often transposed, 469, 470.
the American cases referred to, 470.

changing words, 471–492.

(See CHANGING Words.)

can only be done on clearest certainty, 471, 472.

mere doubt will not justify it, 472, 473.

necessity occurs most commonly in familiar terms, 473.

conjunctives read disjunctively, and vice versa, 473, 474, and note.

same rule extends to personalty, 474.

addition of more terms will not vary construction, 474.

difficulty in classification, 475.

how far grammatical construction controls, 474, 475.

the natural import of words followed in later cases, 475-480, and note.
subject illustrated by different forms of expression, 481, and note.

the latest decision of House of Lords, 481, 482, 483, and note.

statement of rule there declared, 483.

subject further illustrated, 483, and note.

how far construction affected by prior gift, 483, and note.

review of Lord Mansfield's view on the question, 484, 485, and note.

CONSTRUCTION OF WILLS-Continued.

in bequests to persons or their children, "or" construed "and," 485, 486
and note.

to one "or his heirs," &c., proper construction, 486, 487, and note.

devise to class, with election, not made effect of, 487, 488.

construction to prevent devesting of legacy, 488.

effect of different use of preceding verb, 488, 489.
construction of words die unmarried," 489, 490.

death in lifetime of A. and B., construction of, 490, 491.
American cases considered, 491, and note.

COSTS,

in interpleader suits in equity affecting construction of trusts, how paid,
493-495, and note.

COSTS IN TESTAMENTARY CAUSES,

English rule in regard to, 117, in note.

COVERTURE,

disability as to making will,

not of much importance in America, 22.
did not exist in Roman Civil Law, 22.
expressly maintained by English statutes, 22.
(See MARRIED WOMEN.)

CRIME,

as affecting testamentary capacity, 118, 119.
CURTESY,
(See TESTAMENTARY CAPACITY.)

D.

DEAF AND DUMB PERSONS,

formerly held incapable of making will, 51, 52.

now regarded same as others except as to proof, 52, 53.

witnesses should be able to communicate with testator, 53.

DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND PERSONS,

blind persons require special care, and instruction in contents of will, 54,

55, 56, 57, 58.

this specially true when testator is deaf and blind, 54,

if able to communicate, may make will, 54, 58.

burden of proof in regard to the will of, 51–58.

DECLARATIONS,

55.

DEFINITIONS,

(See EVIDENCE; LEGATEE.)

of last will and testament, 5.

VOL. I.

65

of real estate, or the avails of real estate, require same formality, 276.
after-acquired real estate not devisable except by statute, 387, 388, and

note.

what estates devisable, 388-393.

(See CONSTRUCTION.)

to heirs at law, means those at date of will, 392, 393.

courts favor estates of inheritance, 420, 421.

how far special provisions repeated by implication, 430.

DISTRIBUTEE,

when right vests.

DRUNKENNESS,

(See ALTERATION OF LAW.)

effect of, on testamentary capacity,"

destroys it if it produce mental oblivion, 160, and note, 161.

the rule in courts of equity, 160, 161.

more objection to, if it become habitual, 162.

DRUNKENNESS-Continued.

may produce settled insanity, 162, and note.

more strictly temporary than insanity, 162, and note, 163.
the burden of proof, 163.

right of aliens to hold real and personal. (See TESTAMENTARY CA-
PACITY.)

by curtesy, right of aliens to hold. (See TESTAMENTARY CAPACITY.)

EVIDENCE,

to establish insanity and lucid intervals,

much the same in all the departments of mental unsoundness, 136.
should come from persons of experience as to the subject, 136, 137.
acquainted with the person, 137.

generally comes from different class, from necessity, 137.

form and manner of giving, 137.

persons accustomed to observe the testator, good witnesses, 137, note.

whether ordinary witnesses may give opinion on sanity, 137, 138.
general rule that questions requiring training, can only be decided by
expert, 138.

on many subjects, ordinary witnesses may give opinion, 138, 139.

on subjects incapable of description, witness may give opinion, 138, 139,

note.

this rule extends to sanity and insanity, 139, note.

the subscribing witnesses may give opinion on sanity of testator, 140.
this is conceding the point that all witnesses may give opinion, 140.
unprofessional witnesses must state facts, on which opinion is based, 140,

141.

decisions in Pennsylvania on subject, 141, and notes.

in Indiana, 141.

in Tennessee, none but subscribing witnesses give opinions, 142.

in Georgia, all witnesses may, 142.

so also, in North Carolina, Ohio, and Vermont, 142, 143, note.

EVIDENCE-Continued.

so also, in Missouri, 143.

rule very fairly stated in Maryland, 143.

rule in Circuit Court of U. S. in New Jersey, 143, 144, and note.

this rule is not adopted in N. Y. and Mass., 144, and notes.

nor in the common-law courts in England, 145.

distinction between subscribing, and other witnesses, without foundation,

145, and note.

facts important as basis of all opinions, 146.

nature of testimony coming from medical experts, 146.

books cannot be read as evidence, 146, 147.

medical writers object to the rule, 147, and note.

reason why medical books not received, 147.

the form of the question to medical experts discussed, 148–152, and note.
weight of, against that of experts, 154.

of experts, one-sided, partizan and unreliable, 154, 155.

may prove declarations of party against his interest, 157, 158.

may be given of will being written or procured by party, benefited by
same, 158, 159.

EXPERTS, MEDICAL,

(See different heads under TESTAMENTARY CAPACITY, so far as de-
pendent on unsoundness of mind.

character of testimony by, 104, 105, in note.

ordinary physicians,

(See EVIDENCE.)

admitted as such, by courtesy, 152, 153, and note.

may always give opinion from personal knowledge, 154.

rights and duties of, 155, 156, and note.

whether must be in practice, 154, and note.

EXTRINSIC EVIDENCE,

(See REVOCATION; REPUBLICATION.),
of contents of last will, 348-350, and note.
general rules affecting admissibility of, 496-507.
same in case of wills as in other cases, 496.
cannot be received to show intention, 496.

but only to place court in place of testator, 497.

nor to incorporate new facts into will, 497.

no distinction between law and equity in that respect, 497, 498.

early cases considered, 498.

cannot supply defect, or mistake, 498, 499.

may show part of instrument not testator's will, 499.

this will not avoid the whole, 499, 500.