Nature of the Case
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Facts
The father of A.G. Miller devised property to A.G. for life with remainder, as he should by deed or appoint, with remainder, in default of and until appointment, to the heirs of his body, with reminders over. A.G. died in 1832 without issue. The lessors of P claimed to be his heirs, and they had to prove that they had acquired the fee simple of the property before the time of A.G's death. They offered evidence of a marriage settlement of A.G in 1789 after his father’s death in order to show he had acquired the fee by exercising the power of appointment. That settlement was in the possession of a Mr. Baxter, D's attorney, who had been subpoenaed to produce it and upon his examination stated that he had received it from a Mr. Weetman. Baxter stated that he claimed a lien on the deeds for professional business done for Weetman and he declined to produce the deed. Mr. Weetman was in court but not examined nor called upon to produce the deed. The lessors then proposed to give secondary evidence of its contents. D objected, but that objection was overruled. A copy was offered but rejected as not attested to, so the parties had to read shorthand writer's notes of the proceedings of the trial in the former action, but the contents of the deed were stated by defendant's junior counsel. D objected but was overruled. The items were read, P won, and D appealed.
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