DISTRICT COURT.
AsHBOR lOff— L’o-dat. (Before His Honor Judge Ward.) PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS J. W. Sawlo—Mr Crisp for the debtor. Public examination declared closed, and cha Augnat sitting <>f the Court fixed for the debtor to make application for hia discharge. Ja >es McKenor—Mr Crisp for the debtor. Examination declared closed. Robert Pa ton—Mr Wilding (for Mr Stringer) for the debtor. Examination declared closed Peter Hanson—Mr Branson for the debtor. Examination declared closed. John Griffin—Mr Branson for the debtor. Examination declared closedThomas Richmond—Mr Branson for the debtor.—The Deputy Official Assignee asked that the examination might be adjourned till next sitting of the Court. He stated that several creditors alleged the debtor’s wife had cashed a cheque of Mitchell and Turner’s, received before the debtor’s filing, after the bankruptcy.—The debtor said the cheque had been handed to his wife previous to, but cashed after, his bankruptcy —Examination adjourned till next sitting of the Court. James Skilling—Mr Branson for the debtor. Examination declared closed. J. F White—Mr Crisp for the debtor. Examination declared closed, and next sitting of the Court fixed for the bankrupt to make application for his discharge John Gilmour—Mr Willing for the debtor. jNext sitting of the Court was fixed for the debtor’s public examination. OSDSSS FOB COSTS. He J. W. Sawle, and re J. F. White— Mr Crisp obtained orders for payment of solicitor’s costs out of these estates. Deputy Assignee’s costs—Mr Purnell obtained an order for the payment of his costs, as solicitor to the Deputy Official Assignee, in several estates. civil, CASE.
Reid vOrr and Alcorn, claimJL62l2sllsd. —Mr Wilding for the plaintiff, Mr Parnell for the defendants.—Mr Wilding stated that the olaun was for bnt'er sold
and delivered by plaintiff to the defea
dants. Che defendant Alcorn had seen the butter in plaintiffs store, and offered B£d per lb for it The offer was accepted and delivered to defendants’ store. It was| received without objection, and no complaint as to its quality was made until some days after. Still the butter was not rejected, it was admitted, and understood by both parties to the transaction, that three kegs of the batter were inferior to the balance. Mr Wilding called the followin' evidence : Charles Reid, the plaintiff, a storekeeper at Tinwald, said that about March 31 the o.efendant Alcorn saw the butter (subject of the present action) at his (plaintiff’a) k store. Alcorn offered witness 7d per pound for the butter, but he declined the offer. A week later witness saw an employee of defendants. a man named Williams. (Mr
Wilding proposed to lead evidence as to a conversation which had taken place between Williams and plaintiffs, but Mr Purnell objected to the examination, and the objection was upheld by the Court.] On April 17, witness again saw Alcorn, when the latter offered him 8£ 1 per pound for the butter. There were 23 kegs. It was the same butter as seen by Alcorn in
witness’s store. Williams had not, to the knowledge of witness, seen the butter. The butter was delivered to defendants on April 18 At the interview between witness and Alcorn on April 17 there was no conversation in reference to the quality of the butter. When witness was leaving Alcorn said “ I suppose it is fair.” Witness replied “Yea.” and Alcorn said he would give witness the labor in. [ln reply to the Court witness said it was a practice in the butter trade to* mix salt butter to make the odor alike. Toe Ju’ge: hat’s nice ”) The butter was not the best nor the worst. Had it been the best witness would have required lOd per pound for it, the current price for prime butter. After the sale there was a slight decline in the value of butter. The butter sold was wholesome. (The Judge : Many things are wholesome but still very nasty.) He meant it was fair. Alcorn had sent a message to witness to the effect that the butter was not what it should be, and requested witness to come into town, and he (Alcorn) would make him an offer. Witness went to defendant’s store and sampled the butter with Alcorn. Witness had frequently tasted worse butter. Leaving the kegs open would make the butter rancid. Maofarlane, a grocer, had sampled the butter previous to the sale aud pronounced it fair. (The Judge : Yes, but he might have trained his taste uown to your butter ) On April 28 witness received the letter produced from defendants, expressing surprise that the butter had not been removed, and stating that it remained in defendant’s store at plaintiffs’ risk. —To Mr Purnell : Witness had been in a grocery store for about 15 years. He had had a great deal of experience with butter The whole of the butter was in plaintiff’s store when inspected by Alcorn. Witness supposed the purchase was made by defendants for re-sale. He had never told Alcorn that ho had some prime butter coming in, and would give him the first offer of it. He did not say on April 17 that he had 20 kegs of prime farmers’ butter coming in, and was putting 3 u egs down himself. On April 2J witness received a letter from Alcorn, stating that he wished to see him. Witness had not seen Alcorn on April 18. Alcorn had not told witness on delivery of butter that there was not a good keg in the lot. When Alcorn proposed to make witness a second offer for the butter on account of its quality, witness said “It’s a pity, as I could have got the same price from another party. I will see Gudsell, and if he has not written to Christchurch I will send the
butter there. ” Defendants had seat over a man to collect an acoount from witness,
but he did not recollect that iha man had asked him to remove the batter. The who esale price of salt butter at the tim a of the sale was lOi per lb, and fresh butter lid per lb.—To Mr Wilding: Any sort of butter was sold to pastry co ks, salt, fresh or stale, at fid or 7d per lb. The butter delivered to defendants was better than pastry cooks’ butter.—Daniel Maofarlane, grocer, said that he dealt largely i . butter He had seen and sampled part of the butter subject of the present action. Witness sampled the batter with a view to purchase It was not a firstclass butter, but medium ; witness would have paid 81 per lb for it. A week later the value of butter had risen, and witness offered plaintiff B£d per lb for the 23 kegs. At that time prime salt hotter was worth from about 9d to 9£d per lb, with an upward tendency; fresh butter was worth about 11 per lb. The retailers’ profit on butter was from Id to 2d per lb.—To vlr Purnell: Witness had been a storekeeper for two years and nine months. He was doing a fair business ; he did nqt think there was any other >.'rocor in the towu doing a much lar er one. He had taken a sample of the butter from the centre of the keg —To Mr Wilding: The color of the butter was not good, but the smell was right. Salt butter was mixed and washed, nod sometimes treated ia other ways.—Robert Clephane said he had been in defendant’s employ at the time the butter, the subject of thii action, was delivered. Four or five kegs of the butter were poor, the rest medium. The poor butter was fit for pastry, worth irom 4d to fid per pound, the other was medium
Sometimes they had plenty of the satqe quality in the store which they raided up with fresh butter and sold as prime quality. Witness thought thg nutter was worth from 8d to 9d per pound; it was the usual quality purchased, —To Mr PuroeU J Witueta bed ft nubordioaVa
position in the defendants’ store; he had recently started an opposition shop. He hid not had much experience in butter. Ho did not taste the butter received from pUin'iff, but smalt it. f he Judge: If a mm had to taste all the bad bitter that came into a grocer’s shop he would have a lively existence]— To Mr Wilding : No salt butter was sold in \ahburton, it was sent to unedin, Christchurch, Sydney and Melbourne This couc uded the evidence t>r the plaintiff, and Mr Purnell led the following evidence for the defence ;—Robert A corn, one of the defendants ->aid his firm de .it largely in butter. They had for some time been in the habit of purchasing butter from plaintiff. Witness had’never inspected the butter as alleged by plaintiff. The conversation in reference to it took place in ths street at Tinwald. Plaintiff said he had some good butter coming in from farmers, and would give witness the first offer of it. On April 16 plaintiff came to defendants' store, and said he had an offer from Christchurch for the butter, and gave particulars of the quantities and quality. Witness said that if it was sweet and good he would take the butter at Bid per lb. Plaintiff spoke confidently of the quality being good, and arranged that part of the purchase money should liquidate his account due to defendants, and the balance be taken oat in goods. The price arranged, B£d per lb, was the full price for prime salt batter at that time. Fresh butter was selling at 9i per lb. The butter was delivered and sampled the following day. Bight kegs were good in the centra, but rancid at. the sides; a few other kegs were medium la the centre bat very rancid at the sides, the balance was very bad There was not a keg of good sound butter in the lot. The following morning witness wrote to plaintiff, stating that the butter was bad, and requesting him to remova it. Before the letter could have reached plaintiff he came to defendants’ store, and witness repeated the purport of the letter. Witness said that 8 kegs were good and could be taken at a price, but plaintiff wanted an offer for the lot. Plaintiff said he had an offer for the butter from Ohristchurch, and if it had not been declined by Gudsell, he would send it there. Plaintiff declined to examine the hatter Witness had written to plaintiff and sent him a messenger requesting tbs removal of the batter, which was ultimately stored in Roberts’s store. If the butter had been good, the defendants would have made money oat of the purchase. The means of sampling adopted by Macfsrlane was not a fair te«t of the batter.—To Mr Wilding: Defendants bought ths butter for export. Witness had said his firm would be at the trouble of mixing the three kegs. It was not the practice of his firm to mix all butter. The salt butter market had risen gradually since the purchase. WPness had sent Williams to enquire if plaintiff had any batter for sale. Plaintiff de ecibed the batter as good, not as ' medium. Witness opened the whole of | the kegs the day following delivery. They were kept open till the following day that : they might be inspected by plaintiff The I butter was of a fairly good co.or, but rancid. Sometimes coloring was added to butter when mixing. Farmers usually ' used coloring matter in making buctar.— 1 John Orr, one of the defendants, said he had bean de ding in butter for 20 years. He had been judge of butter at tfie Canterbury A. and P. Association Show. (The Judge : I really cannot accept that, Mr Purnell, as evidence of his capacity as a judge.) He was also Chairman of the Ashburton Cheese and Butter Factory. (The Judge : And how’s that going on 7) Witness corroborated the evidence of the previous witness as to the quality of the butter and the currant price. He had never seen a worse sample; the best was only fit for sale to a pastry cook. (The Judge : That pastry oo <k should be avoided.) —G. Winser, accountant to the defendants, said he had had 15 years’ ex periencs with batter He had seen the butter delivered by plaintiff to defendants. It was stale and'-very rancid - -To Mr Wilding : It was the worst line of batter he had seen in the colony.—Counsel having briefly addressed the Court, judg meat was given for defendants with costs.
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Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1553, 11 June 1885, Page 2
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2,083DISTRICT COURT. Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1553, 11 June 1885, Page 2
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