The greatest posthumous joke genius of Charles Millar Bashny.Net

Sunday afternoon October 31, 1926 Charles Millar made two sensational act.

The first was that the slender, smart 73-year-old bachelor, who for all his life is not sick for a day, suddenly collapsed to the floor in his office and died. The secretary was shocked. The second surprise was his will: it was so extraordinary, challenging, and its consequences are so sensational that this legal instrument has surpassed all that Millar, a well-known corporate lawyer, has made a lifetime

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No one imagined that a respected Toronto lawyer and businessman after death suit such a big show in the press. It seems that Millar wanted to show that for a price you can buy everything and everyone. Make a will according to the rules of legal art, this distinguished gentleman created a precedent for the great post-mortem, as pointed out by journalists, "the joke of the century."

Charles Vance Millar was born in 1853 in the family of a poor farmer in Aylmere, Ontario. Clever schoolboy and later a successful student, he received many awards, including a gold medal at the University of Toronto. His average mark for all subjects was 98! "Osgood Hall" Equally impressive were his success in law school. In 1881, this ambitious young man brought to the bar, and he soon opened his own office in Toronto.

Millar started off small, but withdrew its proper housing lawyer - several rooms furnished in the "Royal" Toronto hotel. Over time, his name sounded among successful corporate lawyers, specialists in the field of contract law.

Since the practice of law at first brought is not very high income, Millar bought "Express Company of British Columbia" with the right to address the government's transportation to the Cariboo region. When the construction of the railway company "Grand Trunk began", he expanded the scope of its activities to include the remote Fort George (later Prince George).

It is known that Millar wanted to buy land for the Indians at Fort George, but it is bought by the railway. Millar sued, picking upon some procedural violations, and won the case: the court ruled that the railroad has allocated 200 acres of attorney (in the judicial practice, it has since been called "premium Millar")

. With sharp business acumen, Millar profitable to buy apartment buildings, and on equal footing with the Chief Justice of Ontario has purchased the steamer; In addition, he was president and majority owner of the beer company "O'Keefe" (beer of this brand are sold so far).

His passion was horses and horse racing. Millar was lucky: he had a reputation as a successful player, and two of his horse took first prize at the prestigious race. By the end of his life in his stables were 7 great cross stallions.

It was another passion in this lucky man: he loved to joke and play buddies. Especially sarcastic jokes were exposed to people prone to stupid greed.

Millar Friends and colleagues remembered him as a loving and devoted son. After his father's death, Millar left the "Royal" hotel, where he lived for 23 years and bought for himself and his widowed mother a big house. Favorite Mother zhurila sometimes his son that he had a lot and works hard and finds no time for marriage. However, one can only wonder why he never married. Yet her worried that her son was sleeping on the cold porch at any time of the year. However, for reasons not to fear was: Charles never caught cold. And, apparently, live a century.

Funeral of Charles Millar collected many outstanding figures of legal, business and sports circles not only Toronto, but across the province. Anglican minister Reverend T. Cotton praised in his speech about the moral qualities, dedication and integrity of the deceased. And that was the last time a representative of the church said about Charles Millar something good.

After reading and publication of wills began something unimaginable. In shock, they were politicians, lawyers, businessmen and church leaders, and relatives of the deceased. As reporters wrote: "Apparently, causing a testament Millar is intended to entertain," high and mighty "members of society, imposing their definition of public morality"

. At the beginning of the document Millar wrote: "By necessity, it is a testament unusual and fanciful. I have no heirs or close relatives, therefore, for me there is no standard obligations on how to dispose of his property after

death. " At the beginning of wills Millar listed several of his loyal assistants and employees and appointed them small sums. Distant relatives did not leave anything, explaining that if they hoped he them something to leave, they would be waiting for his imminent death, which he himself did not want to.

But then began the most interesting. No one could even imagine that created the venerable old lawyer.

Each ordained priest in Sandwich, Uolkerville and Windsor (Ontario) Millar left one part of its stake in the Jockey Club "Kenilvert", knowing about their sharply negative attitude to gambling Begum.





He was ordered to allocate the share of the company's shares a beer "O'Keeffe", the owners of which were Catholics, every Protestant community in Toronto and every parish priest who publicly struggle with drunkenness, not calling anyone names. The result was stunning: a huge number of priests came to court, demanding their shares

. For one judge and a priest, who was a fierce opponent of betting on horse races (he named names), he offered to share delicious Ontariyskogo zhokeynogo club, provided that they are written in the club for three years. What they did (though, getting their shares, they were discharged from the club).





Three fellow lawyers, who were friends with Millar, but they could not stand each other, wag Charles left a beautiful house in Jamaica with such casuistic notes that they now had to share the house, restraining himself not to let his fists.
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But it was all innocent pranks compared to the main 9th paragraph of this sensational testament. Charles Millar bequeathed the rest of the wealth (more than half a million dollars) to the woman in Toronto, which for 10 years after his death, will give birth to the most legitimate children to be strictly recorded in the document of the birth.

So testament announced; Moreover, it happened on the first pages of Toronto newspapers. It began "big show", which blossomed, note came in the days of the Great Depression. Relatives tried to challenge the will, clerics-abstainers were eager to get their share "of beer shares", lawyers of various courts have looked for ways to cash in on the conduct of affairs. Even the Supreme Court of Canada (!) Is considered a testament on behalf of the Ontario Supreme Court, which would achieve the transfer of the inheritance to the Government of Ontario, allegedly to establish a scholarship fund at the University of Toronto.

But not for nothing Millar 45 years was the best lawyer of his time, and as regards drawing up wills - unsurpassed. He so thoroughly slandered all items (though in his usual playful way) that there was not the slightest reason to challenge them. 10 years is trying to do the best lawyers of the country - unsuccessfully

. 9 months after the death of Millar started "Battle" for the main part of the inheritance! It caused a lot of publications and discussions in all the printed editions of that time. All mothers who have given birth to twins or triplets, immediately became contenders and their names did not descend from the printed strips. In the press there was a daily column called "The Greatest Race of storks" (how much work halts the papers!), Which published lists of women and the number of children born at the moment.





Church offended announced that testament Millar immoral since questioned the sanctity of conception and birth, and uttered angry sermon addressed to a lawyer. Pastors exhorted women not to take part in this "bad joke". "But that is not to take? - Asked of a woman - not having children "

? When the Attorney General of Ontario started the business with a view to establish a scholarship fund above the University of Toronto, Toronto resident were furious. They insisted that Charles Millar was completely out of his mind when he wrote his will, and that no politician dares to encroach on the rights of women who want to have children. The protests went on throughout the province. Feminists have emphasized the fact that the payments on the remaining items of the will have been made, and the first to receive this testament money were priests and lawyers!

Since 10 years have passed. The tenth anniversary of the death of Charles Millar Ontario Court again read the terms of the will, and reviewed the list of contenders. Two women were removed from the number of "finalists". Pauline Clarke had 9 children, but no one from her husband. Lillian Kenny actually had 12 children, but five of them died in infancy, and she could not prove that they were not stillborn. Each of them was given by the consolation prize of 12 500 dollars.

October 31, 1936 "a great race storks" ended in a draw between Anne-Catherine Smith, Kathleen Ellyn Nagle, Lucy Alice Timlek and Isabelle-Marie McLean (all of them were born on the 9 children over 10 years). They received 125 000 (that in our time -. About 1, 5 million US dollars).





"Great Race of storks" press coverage more than the flight of Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic and even the birth of quintuplets Madame Dion. Ontario Journalists began to publish articles on topics in the recent past illegal and unthinkable: birth control, abortion, divorce and illegitimate children. Put and questions such as: what is meant by the word "Toronto", we consider the deceased and illegitimate children, and most importantly, whether it was competent to paragraph 9? But Millar has provided all.

Ironically, many participants of "race" and were not going to start a large family. After all, we did not mention those who remain behind, giving birth to 7-8 children. Note that half of the "stork races" came in the depression years, when extra mouths were in families to anything. Two of the 4 winners of all husbands were out of work, and the family sat on the dole. The two other husbands worked, but received low wages. And Pauline Clark divorced and gave birth to their last child is not her husband.

Fortunately, the prize winners really helped. All are reasonably ordered money by growing wonderful children, and not stingy on their education. A television movie "Big stork race" immortalized this amazing contest.

They said that triggering an explosion of uncontrolled birth, old bachelor had hoped to embarrass the government and religious circles, who pondered control policy. And poshuchivali that childless bachelor Charles Millar "adopted" so 36 children.

Well, Charles Millar gave a good performance that showed how far people are willing to go to get someone else's money. Perhaps it was the most outstanding achievement of Millar's lawyer.



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