LAW & ORDER – House of Lords – Earl of Zetland & The Crown

Accreditation The Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea Gazette 15/02/1878

THE EARL OF ZETLAND AND THE CROWN

            In the House of Lords on Monday (11/02), before Lord Hatherley, Lord Blackburn, and Lord Gordon the case of the Earl Zetland v Lord Advocate came on as an appeal from the decision of the First Division of the Court of Sessions in Scotland pronounced in a suit for the recovery of succession duty. It appeared that in 1768 Sir Lawrence Dundas executed a deed of entail of various lands and estates in favour of his son, Thomas for life, and to his heirs male. In 1813, his son Thomas obtaining a private Act of Parliament, enabling him to sell certain proceeds of the estate upon condition of his entailing lands of equivalent value upon the heirs in succession, which condition he fulfilled by a deed of entail executed in 1813. Thomas, Lord Dundas, died in 1820, and was succeeded by his eldest son Lawrence, afterwards Earl of Zetland, who was succeeded by his son Thomas the second Earl. The latter under the provisions of the Entail Amendment Act, obtained the Authority of the Court in 1852, and again in 1865, to re-settle portions of the estates. Having died in 1873 without issue, he was succeeded by the appellant, his nephew. The question raised was asked to the amount of succession duty payable, the appellant contending that he was only liable day at the rate of £1 per cent., on the ground that his predecessors must be held to be Lawrence Dundas and his son Thomas, the makers of the entrails of, 1768 and 1813 respectively, whereas it was alleged on the part Chrome that he was liable to duty at the rate of £3 per cent., As having succeeded his uncle. Their Lordships now confirmed the decision of the court below in favour of the Crown.