300 HAMMOND v. HAMMOND.—2 BLAND.

and chosen objects of his bounty should take, he then gives to five
of his slaves their freedom, with small pieces of property for their
support during their lives; and then, in conclusion, lie provides
for his creditors: but, in doing so, he cautiously guards against
disturbing the equilibrium he had established among his devisees,
by expressly declaring, that in case the fund, so set apart for his
creditors, should not be sufficient, "that the property devised to
my sons and daughters, and to my grandson, shall contribute in
equal proportion, to the discharge of my debts."

* From this clause, and the general tenor of the will, there
* can be no doubt, that every devise, and every bequest, in-
cluding the emancipation of his slaves, for the gift of freedom to
a slave, is a most precious specific legacy, are all of them specific
legacies which can. in no manner, be made abateable or reducible
by any deficiency of the testator's personal estate; but, in case of
any deficiency of that which he has designated as the creditors'
fund, the several devisees, charged with contribution, might be
compelled to contribute toward the satisfaction of the testator's
debts to the whole amount of the property given to them, before
the donations to the wife and freed slaves, who are not so charged,
could be at all molested. Indeed it seems to be admitted, that the
intention of the will, to this effect, is so unequivocally clear as
not to leave room for the smallest doubt upon the subject.

But the testator, by his codicil, informs us, that he himself had
broken in upon the proportionate distribution which he had pre-
viously made with so much precision, and which, he had mani-
fested so much solicitude to preserve, by parting with some of the
negroes he had given to his son Charles aud his daughter Harriet,
and then says, "I do therefore, in lieu of the said devises, give
and bequeath to my said son Charles the sum of $700, and to my
said daughter Harriet the sum of $300, respectively."

Prom which it clearly appears to have been the intention of the
testator to restore, in all respects, the proportions which had been
thus disturbed; aud that the money, so given, should take the
place, and stand in lieu of the negroes in those shares from which
they had been withdrawn; and that he intended to declare, that
as the negroes had been given as specific legacies, subject only to
contributions in the event and manner designated, so those sums
of money should, in like manner, be deemed and taken as specific"
legacies, attended with the like benefits, and subject to the same
extent of contingency and incumbrauce, and no more.

I am therefore of opinion, that these sums of money, given to
Charles and Harriet, should have been paid by the executors in
the first instance, as specific legacies, out of the fund set apart by
the testator for the payment of his debts, as, in fact, not forming
any part of it; since it cannot be inferred from any thing said by
him, that they were to be paid from any other portion of his estate.