HIRE-PURCHASE SYSTEM.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 627, 13 December 1913, Page 7

HIRE-PURCHASE SYSTEM.

THE BOOTH, MACDONALD CASE. JUDGMENT FOR DEFENDANT. An important decision bearing °n the ownership rights existing in respect to goods purchased on hire-pur-chape agreements were given by Mr Justice Cooper at the Auckland Supreme Court on Thursday morning. £ The action brought by Booth, Macdonald, and Co. v. the Official Assignee was for recovery of certain agricultural implements seized in connection with the bankruptcy of F. J. Hallmond, farm?r. Te Mapara. Two harrows and a plough were involved, and they had been purchased on hirepurchase system, thfi agreements not beins registered. The. company claimed that there was a well-known custom under which agricultural implements were let on hire to farmers under agreements, and that these implements were not in the possession of the bankrupt under sucb circumstances that the bankrupt was the reputed owner of them. His Honour dealt exhaustively with the leading authorities dealing with the question of custom and usage to the point of notoriety which had to be proved in such actions, and then proceeded to analyse the evidence adduced by the parties in the action, pointingout that the greatest difficulty had to be fsced in determining from the evidence whether the system in relation to the less expensive agricutural implements had become so general as to be notorious. Although there was evidence to show usage in respect to more expensive agricultural implements, he decided on facts that thia had not been established with reference to articles sucb as ploughs and harrows. Usage, in his opinion, had not been proved to be so notorious as to justify a jury in saying that a person giving Tedit to a farmer would not be entitled to assume that he was the owner of the plough and harrow with which he cultivated his farm. The practice of supplying such chattels on the hire-purchase system was becoming more common, but had not yet attained that degree of notoriety necessary to completely establish it as a custom. Judgment was given for defendant with costs on the lower scale, and two extra days, at £ls 15s a day, with witnesses' expenses and disbursements.