after my death, to collect or aid in collecting the said documents, and I hereby, relying on the discretion of the said Montagu Corry, do authorise and request him to destroy any of the said documents, or any part thereof, as he in the absolute exercise of such discretion shall think ought to be destroyed, and I authorise the said Montagu Corry to keep and deposit all or any of the said documents as he shall think ought not to be destroyed in such place as he shall think fit during such period of time as he shall require to have access to them for the purposes of examination or publication. "I give to the said Montagu Corry full discretion with regard to the publication of all or any of such documents, leaving to him to decide as to the time and mode of publication, and as many of the said documents are connected with my official and public life, and contain matters bearing on the character and conduct of contemporary statesmen, and on affairs which it may be of importance to the public interests should not be prematurely or indiscreetly disclosed, I give the above discretion to the said Montagu Corry, in the full assurance that he will scrupulously respect every confidence reposed in me, and will cause or allow nothing to be published calculated to do injury to the public service or to inflict needless pain on the living or on the families of the dead.

And I especially and expressly desire and direct that no portion of my correspondence with Her Majesty Queen Victoria shall be published or made known until the said Montagu Corry shall have ascertained and shall have satisfied himself that no objection is entertained to such use of the said correspondence on the part of Her Majesty herself during her life or after her death on the part of those who may, in the belief of the said Montagu Corry, be likely to be conversant with her wishes and opinions on the subject.

"And I hereby authorise the said Montagu Corry to sell and dispose of the copyright of any of the said documents in the case of their publication, or to make such pecuniary arrangements as to the terms of their publication as he may think fit, and if any less sum than £500 should after payment of all expenses of publication be received by the said Montagu Corry from the publication of any of such documents I hereby give and bequeath such sum to the said Montagu Corry for his own use, but if any greater sum than the sum of £500 after payment of expenses as aforesaid shall be so received I desire and direct that the said Montagu Corry shall pay such surplus as soon as the same shall have been actually received and got in by him to the trustees of this my will, and that the said trustees or trustee of this my will shall apply the same upon the trusts and with and subject to the powers and provisions applicable to moneys arising from sales under the power of sale herein before contained, and investments respecting the same, but I expressly declare that this provision shall not be construed to give to any person the right to interfere with the discretion of the said Montagu Corry with regard to the time and mode of publication of the said documents.

LORD BEACONSFIELD'S WILL.

569

"And I hereby authorise the said Montagu Corry to give gratuitous access, whether for historical, literary, or other purposes, to any person or persons to whom, in his judgment, such access should be given; and with regard to the permanent disposal of the said documents, I direct and desire that the said Montagu Corry will, when and so far as is consistent with the due carrying out of the purposes of this my will as to publication and otherwise, deposit the same at my mansion-house of Hughenden Manor, and allow the same to so devolve and remain as heirlooms together with my said mansion-house so far as the rules of law and equity will permit, but so, nevertheless, that the same shall not vest absolutely in any person hereby made tenant in tail male unless such person shall attain the age of twenty-one years, but on the death of such tenant in tail male under the age of twenty-one years the said documents shall go and devolve and remain as if the same had been freeholds of inheritance and had been devised in strict settlement accordingly.

"And I hereby declare that it shall be lawful for the said Montagu Corry to seal up and keep sealed up all or any of such documents as he shall think proper, and that it shall be lawful at any time for the said Montagu Corry, or for any person bearing an order signed by him, to have access to the said documents, and to make copies of the same or any part thereof, and for the said Montagu Corry to remove to such place as he shall think proper any of the said documents, and to make copies of the same or any part thereof, and for the said Montagu Corry to remove to such place as he shall think proper any of the said documents for such length of time as he may desire for the purposes of examination or publication; and, further, that a list shall be made and shall be signed by the said Montagu Corry, and by every person for the time being entitled to the use and occupation of my said mansion-house or during the minority of any person who shall be so entitled as aforesaid, by the trustees or trustee of this my will, provided always that the said Montagu Corry shall not at any time be responsible for any inadvertent loss or damage which may happen to any of the said documents, but shall not be precluded from interfering for the preservation and protection of the said documents whenever he shall think fit.

"And I hereby declare that if and when the said Montagu Corry shall die, or become incapable to act, or be desirous of retiring from the execution of the trusts herein conferred upon him, it shall be lawful for the trustees or trustee of this my will to appoint a successor or successors to the said Montagu Corry in the execution of the said trusts relating to the said documents, and thereupon the execution of the said trusts and all powers and rights hereby conferred on the said Montagu Corry in relation thereto shall devolve on the said successor or successors so appointed as aforesaid, precisely as if he or they had been named in this my will.

"Provided always that all sums of money received by the said Montagu Corry, which he would be entitled to keep, shall remain the absolute

property of the said Montagu Corry, his executors, administrators, and assigns, and shall not pass to such successor or successors as aforesaid, and such successor or successors shall pay to and account for to the trustees or trustee of this my will all sums of money received by him or them on account of the publication of any of the said documents after payment of all expenses incurred in connection with such publication, and the trustees or trustee of this my will shall apply such sums in the same manner as the money received by them from the said Montagu Corry in respect of the publication of any of the said documents is hereinbefore directed to be applied.

"And I hereby direct and desire that the trustees or trustee of this my will shall collect or aid in collecting the said documents with all convenient speed after my death, and place the same at the disposal of the said Montagu Corry, and I authorise them to pay all the expense of such collection out of my personal estate.

"Provided always and I hereby declare that upon every or any appointment of a new trustee of this my will the number of the said trustees may be augmented or reduced, and, in addition to the ordinary powers of indemnity and right to reimbursement by law given to trustees, the trustees of this my will shall be at liberty to accept less than a marketable title upon the purchase or taking in exchange of any hereditaments, and shall not be answerable for any loss thereby occasioned, nor for any default in the title or value of hereditaments purchased or taken in exchange.

"I hereby appoint the said Sir Nathaniel Mayer de Rothschild and the said Sir Philip Rose executors of this my will. In witness thereof I, the said Earl of Beaconsfield, have to this my last will and testament contained in this and the ten preceding sheets of paper, set my hand, this sixteenth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.

"Signed by the said Earl of Beaconsfield, the testator, as and for his last will and testament, in the presence of us, both present at the same time, who at his request, in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses.

"(Signed)

BEACONSFIELD.

"(Signed) P. Frederick Rose, 6, Victoria-street, Westminster, solicitor. "(Signed) John Brewer, 6, Victoria-street, Westminster, solicitor."

INDEX.