THE DANGERS OF TRUSTEESHIP.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1202, 13 March 1885, Page 3

THE DANGERS OF TRUSTEESHIP.

A case ia which judgment was given in the High Court of Justice recently shows how real and numerous are the dang v-i attaching to trusteeship. The judgment was on a motion to make the ivspom'ent (Mr Henry Mitchell) liable as trustee, for sums amounting to 85564 entrusted by him to a solicitor for payment in o Courts Mr Mitchell was, by the sanction of the Court, acting as salaried manager of a colliery,- a moiety ol which was the property of his late fithe-,' under whos • will he w s one one of the trustees of the estate. He was accustomed to employ a solicitor named Tattershall, both before and alter that person’s bankruptcy in 1579, and had entiie confidence in his integ vity. In Jannarv 1882, and on - the subsequent occasions, he paid Tatter* shall LBs64—the moiety of the profits ■ f the co liery—directing him to pay it i- to Court to the credit of the administration account, In-tead of paying the money into Court, Tattershall embezzled it and was sent.to goal in June. Under these circumstances the beneficiaires under the wi 1 of Mr Mitchell’s father were each entitled to one sixth of the amount, asked lor an order of ihe Court to compel him to refund the money. Mr Justice Chitty, in giving judgement, said the question was whether the respondent had, as peid agent, acted with a “ proper amount of care.” The learned Judge considered that he was jusiilied in employing Tatter hall as a solicitor, for, although a bankrupt, the latter had not been struck ofl the rolls, and since his bankruptcy had been entrusted by other pers ms with large sums of money. But he held that the respon* dent was liable, because he had made no inquires as to what had become ol the suras from time to time Iranijnitted to TaUerslnffh He "appealed, said Mr Jus iee Chitty, to have placed a blind confidence in Tattershall, and

the result was that hff must hold-the respondeat responsible-for the sums lost. This, judgement wjll create:uneasiness in the breasts Ot -not a-few trustees. One would have thought, if Mr Mitchell was justified™ employing Tattershftll as a medium between him self and the Court, that, holding Tattershall’a receipt, he was justified in. pi icing entire confidence in him',' and could not have been held liable but it appears not,, and in future a trustee who wishes to place himself beyond the reach of an action of this kind will have ,to dog every.footstep of the solicitor that he employs. For Mr Mitchell one cannot but feel profound sympathy, because (heir was no wilful negligence on his part; in fact he took as much care as 99 men out of 100 would have done—viz., he took the solicitor’s receipts for -the various sums. The terra “ proper amount of care "is capable, however, of a very wide application, and trustees who read this case will feel . very . uncomfortable when they reflect oh their own. responsibilities.