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--------Who Ordered the Coffin…

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Who Ordered the Coffin ? COLWYN BAY PEOPLE AT LAW. On Thursday, at Llandudno County Court, Edward Bodfield, a Colwyn Bay fruiterer, was sued by R. Llewellyn Samuels, joiner and undtertiakeir, Colwyn Bay, for too sum of £6 ixs. in respect of the funeral of a woman named Coates, who. stayed at the defendant's; house at the time of her death. Mr T. H. Morgan was for the plaintiff, and Mr E. A. Crabbe for the defendant. Plaintiff said that on the igth August, 1908, he was in Station-road, Colwyn Bay, when the defendant beckoned: to him, and asked him to make a coffin for a woman who had died in his house. Bodfieldsaid he would see witness all right, and handed, him a sovereign -on ac- count. Witness made the coffin, and carried out the duties of 'undertaker. The bin was sent to the defendant on several occasions, and he made no objection to it, and never denied liability. Tlhe Xieceas.ed woman was the wife of a man who worked for the defendant. In cross-examination, witness denied that it was the husband of the deceased woman who handed him the sovereign in Station-road, and it was untrue that the accounts were sent to Coates. He had never looked to Coates for payment. The charges he made amounted to £6 i is. Mr Crabbe: Did yo umake the coffin you.r- sellf ?I bought it. Mr Morgan objected, but the Judlge ruled ithlat the questions were in order. Mr Crabbe Allen & Son supplied the coffin, and it was a second-hand one. (Laughter. No, it was not dearer than if I had to. make it myself. Mr Crabbe: How much did you pay Allen for the coffin?—That has nothing to. do. with the matter. His Honour said that the question must be answered. Mr Crabbe: How much did you pay for this coffin?— £ 2 1 os. And you are trying to get the defendant to pay a sum, of £6 ns. ?—Yes. I had the fur- niture and trimmings to pay for, and I had four men bearers at the funeral. Do you think it a reasonable charge to a costermoinger earning a weekly -wage? Did Bodifield. in any way, say he would see you all right?—He did when: he gave me the sovereign. Re-examined, the witness said that the amount charged was quite fair. Thomas Evans, 28, Sea View-terrace, who was with the plaintiff in Station-road, corroborated, and said that he, suggested to Samuels that he should get something on, account from the de- fendant, because plaintiff had made so many coffins for nothing. He saw the defendant hand ove, rsome silver coins to the plaintiff. For the defence, Mr Crabbe said that the de- fendant was in the habit of selling fruit on the Colwyn Bay promenade in the summer, and in the summer of 1908, he employed a man named Coates, who lodged with defendant, and was paid a wage. 'He was a married man, and sent for his wife to come over. She came, and on the day of her arrival she died very sudden1 y- As a result, the man Coates wired to his mother for £s, and his client went with Coates to draw the money out of the Post Office. Bodfield- sug- gested to Coates that Samuels should make the coffin,, and Coates handed defendant a sovereign to give Samuels on account. liodfield never in any shape or form undertook to pay for the coffin or any incidentals of the funeral. Fur- ther than that, defendant's wife went with Coates to the Urban Council Office, and he there paid for the grave. No account was ever received bv defendant from the plamtiH. Both parties had made futile attempts to find Coates, who had disappeared, and everything pointed to the fact that if Coates could be found, the de- fendant would have heard nothing of the claim. Evidence in support of this was given b- the defendamt) and his wife, and William Crayley, who described himself as an outside porter, said he had written letters for both parties, Bodfield usually signing them. He had also written some for Samuels, and had handed them to him unsigned. The Judlge: I think the defendant has ren- dered himself 'liable, but the charge is grossly excessive Judgment for the plaintiff for Î.3 IOS. I think f,4 ios. was quite enough for the plaintiff to charge altogether.

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