John Yarker – In Memoriam

IN MEMORIAM—JOHN YARKER as the father of . the boys, is entitled to act as their guardian and is entitled to their custody, and further submits that the letter referred to in paragraph 4 cannot have the effect ofde- priving him of the same; even assuming that it could, under the circumstances above detailed the defendant has proved herself totally unfit to be in charge of the boys, and the boys ought to be removed from her charge. When the said letter was given, the plaintiff believed the defendant to be superhuman and was completely under her influence and control, and he took her to be his preceptress who should be obeyed implicitly and make any sacrifice demanded, and the contract, if any, made under such circumstances, is voidable on the ground of undue influence. In any case, if the defen- dant is unfit to be entrusted with the guardianship of the minors, the plaintiff’s natural right as the guardian will again arise, inasmuch as the letter, if valid in law, was only a sur— render of the rights in favour 0f the defendant alone, The plaintiff’s delay in taking action against the defendant has been due only to the faith which until recently he shared with many other persons that the defendant was semi—divine, and that the plaintiff was exceptionally fortunate in getting the defendant to take charge of the boys. The plaintiff was also led to believe that the boy Krishnamurti was also possessed of divine attributes, and the, plaintiff had to change his belief only on discovery of the circumstances connected with Leadbeater’s connection with the boys and on the con- fession of the boy himself that the book A! the Feel of f/ze Master was not written by Krishnamurti, and on the dis- covery of the preSent imperfect state of their education. These circumstances came to light only during the latter part 2I