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Abergavenny County Court.…

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Abergavenny County Court. I Mondav—before- His Honour Judge Hill Kt-uy Puzzled the Judge. I Reginald (ones, formerly in business as a corn ard seed merchant at Abergavenny, sued E. A. Peake, seedsman and florist, for £ 3 19s. od balance of account. Mr. C. Dauncey, of p..rt, represented plaintiff. Plaintiff stated that on the "oth of June, 1012. defendant owed him £ 12 os. id. His Honour pointed out that in the account rendered bv plaintiff to defendant, at the end of 1012, the balance was £ 6 2s. ¡}d and he asked h>>vv the difference ivas accounted for. Plaintiff said he had a difficulty in saying li<»w hc stood with defendant, as he could not get a statement from him. In replv to Mr. Dauncey, plaintiff said tLJ fi oiii June to December, 1912, all he bought fn ni defendant was a flower-pot, value is., and a wreath value 7s. After further particulars had been entered into. His Honour said that full particulars must be given of the whole of plaintiii s account and also of defendant's contra account, and then he would make an effort to try to understand the matter. If people did business in that sort of way they could not expect to receive much assistance from c court of justice. In the Family, But Rather Complicated. Reginald Jones sued Mrs. Jonathan, tre- argoed, Gihvern, for £ 8 on account of a ton of artificial manure supplied. Mr. Dauncfey repre- sented plaintiff, and Mr. D. G. Harris appeared for defendant. Plaintiff said that on the 1st of February, IU17, he sold his business to Mr. Wibberley, but he sold the stock separately. He had at the time artificial manure on order, and while he was engaged on munitions his father acted as his agent <' and took orders for him. He sup- plied a ton of artificial manure and sent the account for one ilf ton to Basil Jonathan and the account for the other half ton to Arthur Jonathan. He afterwards met Basil Jonathan, who said How many times do you want this bill paid Witness told him he only wanted paying once, and Jonathan replied Well, I have a receipt for it from Mr. A. J. Wibberley. Witness told aim that lie had the manure from him and that he did not recognise that receipt. In consequence of what he was informed by a messenger he sent to Govilon station, he sent the bill for the whole ton to Arthur Jonathan. In consequence of what the latter told him, he sent the account for the full ton to Mrs. Jona- than, for whom her son Basil was acting as agent. His Honour Von sent accounts to two people, then an account to Arthur Jonathan, and then au account to the mother. I am not surprised 1 that you arc not paid, if you do business in that way. Plaintiff It is the stationmaster's fault. His Honour I: is not his business to find out who owes you the money. Plaintiff It is his business to say who had t::t' stuff, sir. Mr. Harris (to plaintiff) You told Mr. Wibberley that he had had money paid him by one of the Jonathans that did not belong to him and he said that he had not ?-I didn't say I would settle matters with Wibberley. You are satisfied that he paid Wibberley for the half ton r—I saw the receipt. When you finished business your father took orders for Mr. Wibberley ?—And for me. He used two separate books. Plaintiff also stated that he had, examined the books at Govilon station, and there were in- structions to release one half ton to Mrs. Jona- than and the other half ton to Mr. Arthur Jonathan.. Mr. Harris Why did you charge "Mrs. Jona- than for the whole ton ? Plaintiff said that he sent to the station- master and found that Arthur Jonathan had had the whole lot. He therefore sent Arthur Jonathan an amended account, and on the following Tuesday Jonathan came at him like a bull at a gate, jumping over the cattle pens, and said that he did not have the manure but that his brother had it. Next day he (plaintiff) went to the station and demanded to see the books himself. He found that Basil Jonathan had signed for iG bags. By Mr. Dauncey He believed Mr. Wibberley had sent a letter that morning returning a cneque for £3 16. to defendant's solicitors. John Morris, statiomnaster, said that orders were received to release eight bags of manure to A. Jonathan and eight bags to B. Jonathan, and B. Jonathan took the 16 bags away. Basil Jonathan, Treargoed, said that oa February last year he ordered 15 cwt. of manure from the late Mr. Arthur Jones, as agent for Mr. Wibberley. Wheu he went to fetch it from the station he also picked up half a ton for his brother, to save him hauling it. He sub- sequently had a bill from Mr. Wibberley and paid him £ 4. Arthur Jonathan, of Little Duffryn Farm, said that he ordered half a ton of manure from Mr. Reginald Jones himself, and he had offered him three or four times to pay for it. His Honour said the action was misconceived. No evidence had been given of a sale to Mrs. Jonathan by plaintiff, and defendant was not liable. The return of the cheque by Mr. Wib- berley was probably accounted for by the fact that he found it was part of the stock which lie had not taken over and paid for. Judgment would be given for defendant. Fined for Failing to Answer Subpoena. In the above case Mr. D. G. Harris said he had subpoenaed A. J. Wibberley, who was a mate-,i-t witness. A letter had been received from Mr. Wibberley, however, who returned the 10s. conduct mouev which had been tendered and stated that he would have come to give evidence without payment, but he had to go to Monmouth inarket that dav. A. M. Cunliffe said he served the subpoena on a girl clerk at Mr. Wibberley's office in Cross- street and gave her the 10s. He had received a letter from Mr. Wibberley returning the conduct money. His Honour imposed a fine of 20s. on Mr. Wibberley for his non-attendance. Sequel to a Furniture Removal. I Messrs. Ross & Son, furniture removers, stud Mrs. Wilson, of Monmouth-road, for £ j, haulage charges for conveying furniture from Newport to Abergavenny. The parties were before the Court some time ago, when defendant counter- claimed for the detention of a portion of the goods, Mrs. Wilson now counter-claimed f.. 7 for damage to the furniture. Mr. J. B. Walford was for plaintiff, and Mr. C. Dauncey, of t:.s- port, for defendant. Mr. Walford said that the claim of £7 f haulage was admitted, but His Honour would remember that on the occasion of the action in detinue he non-suited plaintiff, holding that his contract was not completed till the goods were delivered. Mrs. Wilson said that the furniture was re- moved from Newport to Abergavenny in May last. Mr. Ross said he would be responsible for any damage done. Some of the goods were delivered on the 3rd of May and some were de- tained until after the last action, in August, A white enamel wardrobe was split and the enamel was spoilt. A grand piano was broken in three or four places and one of the hammers was also broken. Other articles were also damaged, and a lady's navy serge costume, which was detained in the wardrobe, was spoilt by the damp until it looked like the wall opposite her and it could not be worn again. She estimated the damage to the furniture at £ 5 9s. and the damage to the costume at about 30s. Most of the furniture, with the exception of two suites, Kvas new. By Mr Walford She bought the p'ano second-hand. She was not at home when Mr. Downes called to inspect the furniture, but sne waited in all day for him on the Thursday. Bessie Thompson, daughter of defendant, gan" evidt-nce as to the damage to the furniture, in- cluding the white enamelled wardrobe, piano, tWd chairs, loo table, and secretaire. She was at home when Mr. Downes came on the Satur- day morning and asked for Mrs. Wilson. She could not let him see the furniture in her mother absence, as it was her mother's affair, and she could not let Mr. Downes into the hoi,e because of the dog. ul Mr. Ross said the wardrobe which contained the costume was never opened and it was kept in the warehouse specially provided for storing furniture. This warehouse was heated in winter and had a boarded floor. The panels of the wardrobe were shrunk at the time of re- moval, and the piano was an old one. He did not remember much about the goods in par- ticular, but they were carefully delivered and, as f,i.r as he was aware, there was no damage in transit. He went with Mr. Downes on the first occasion, but they could not gain admittance. By His Honour He did not SêY anything to defendant about being responsible for damage. it Frederick Williams, in the employ of Ross, gave evidence as to the conveyance of the goods. Charles Downes. furniture dealer, said he went to defendant's house on Friday at 10 and 3 o'clock, but failed to gain admittance. He and the dogs, between them, made plenty of noise. In consequence of information he received he went back a second time and rang the bell. On Saturday he called again and saw the daughter, who looked through a slit in the door and said Mrs. Wilson was not in. He asked her if lie could see the furniture, and she replied that lie could not, as it was Mrs. Wilson's case and she was not at home. She declined to let him in. His Honour said that plaintiff was entitled to the £ 7 for removal charges. He (the Judge) did not accept the evidence that there was any special agreement that the carrier should be responsible for any damage done. There would have to be a special agreement in such a case. The duty of a carrier with regard to that kind of goods, who was not a common carrier, was to do he must the best he could. That was to say he must take reasonable care, and he was liable if he did not do so. It was for the person who alleged lack of reasonable care to prove it, and he Avas not satisfied that there was proof of that. It was notorious that the removal of furniture did do it some damage. If an article of furniture was found to be seriously broken, a table split in half or the case of a piano cracked down the centre, then it might well be argued that there was a clear case of negligence. Here there were a variety of allegations of small damage done to the furniture. It used to be said-it had almost become a proverb—that three moves were as bad as one fire. He was not satisfied that there had been negligence, and lie gave judgment for plaintiff on the claim and counter-claim, with one set of costs. Judge's Sound Advice. Mr Loyal Fraser, of Cardiff, appeared for the insurance company in a compensation case which he said was brought forward owing to the refusal of the Registrar to record the agreement between the parties for the settling of the claim by the payment of a lump sum of £150. The case was one in which Ada James (22). whose parents formerly lived at Roan Oak Farm, Grosmont, and now live at Llanolway Farm, Llansov, near Usk, had been awarded com- pensation for injuries sustained by her clothes catching fire while she was employed as a domestic servant at Pantycolyn Farm. Llan- vetherine, about five years ago. Mr. Loval Fraser said that on the 20th of Januarv, 1913, Ada James was sitting in front of the kitchen fire at the farm, and fell asleep, and in some way or other her clothing caught fire. From that time until the 1St January, 1915 she was paid 10s. per week compensation, and as she was able to do light work this was reduced to 7s. Gd, per week. An agreement for the payment of a lump sum of A 50 in full settlement was entered into in October, 1917. Dr. J. Grant said he examined J ames in lanuary, 1917, and in December last, and gave evidence as to the scars on her legs. On the second occasion the scars were more supple. She had the full range of movement of her knees and the skin did not cause any contraction of the joints. She said she could not kneel down as her knees were too painful. He did not see why she could not kneel down. because there was no scar on the part she rested on the ground and the pain was not due to stretching, as she could bend her leg right up without causing any pain. He did not see any reason why she could not do her ordinary work as a domestic servant. He certainly thought she could kneel on the left knee, if she could not on the right, and lie did not know that she could not on the right. Ada James said she was at home, dusting sweeping and doing light duties. She had not earned any money since the accident. Her father farmed 200 acres, and there were two other sisters at home. She could not kneel because of the soreness in her knees. His Honour pointed out to Miss James that if she had the money it would probably soon be gone. He certainly would not assent to any money being paid out to set up a little business, because in every case where that had been done within his own knowledge it was not very long before the money was all gone. If she invested the money at 5 per cent, she would only receive the ino,,ic y at 5 per ceilt. £7 1 os. per year, or 3s. per week. It was possible that circumstances might arise in which her condition would become worse, and she would have lost her right to come before the Court again for a larger sum if she was incapa- citated altogether for work, and she would not be able to get anything for the rest of her life. She had better continue to accept the 7s. 6d. per week and keep her rights open. He did not think lie ought to record the agreement.

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