SUPREME COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 148, 22 June 1880, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

(Before His Honor the Chief Justice.) [CIVIL SITTINGS]. Yesterday. Scaife r. Boddinyton and others. William Bocldiugton, one of the defendants to this action, deposed : At the latter end of December, 1875, I was first asked to put my name to the bond. Mr Sedgwiok brought it to' me, and I signed it, but I did not deliver it as niy act and deed. There were no seals on it, nor stamps ; there were several blanks to be filled up. When Mr Sedgwiek asked me to sign it, he stated that they wanted to shift the tannery part of the business to Nelson, and that the Bank was willing to advance £800 if they could get two sureties, and they said they could see their way. I did not read the bond, but I believed it was for twelve months. I think Mr Sedgwiek read out a clause that I could release myself from liability by giving notice. I never did give notice. At the time of the settlement I considered the goodwill of the lease of the house was worth £100 a year, because when I went there I had scarcely anything, and in six years I accumulated £300, besides stock, sheep, horses, trap, &o. The lease had two years and four months to run. I bought some land in December, 1878, for which I gave £310 and there was a mortgage of £108 left on it. I had on the 4th April amongst the property not settled, four stacks of oaten hay worth about £90, and about £10^Yrortli in the loft ; a stack of meadow hay worth about £21. My book debts " have for some time averaged from ' £150 to £200. There ' was also furniture worth, I should think, £50 to £60, The stock in trade ÜBed to Yftry I

from £50 to over £100. It must have been worm about £100. It was insured then (1879), the furniture for £80. Besides the above property there were soihe pigs .worth about £13. I had no money in the Bank, but 'we never kept less than abotit £20 in the till. I owed A. J. Palmer, £24 Is sd. Mr . Hooper, £46 llg 6d; Pell >i d Atkinson, £4 12s Bd. That is all 1 owed, and these amounts were all paid shortly after the settlement, except Messrs Fell and Atkinson. I cannot say the exact date that the Bank applied for payment of the bond. [His Honor : I thought that was admitted to be the 6th June. — Mr Fell : That is so, your fion6i'.j t thought Sedgwick and Gowland were doing well, ttiid had I not thought so I should not haye signed the bond. After 12 ra'on'ths I considered the bond was done with. When I rtiadS se'ttle'ttKe-itf? on my wife I knew I had five times as mUch as would pay my debts, besides the settlements. I aid not discuss the matter with the Trusteed. Cross-examined by Mr Fell : After I signed the bond I suppose Mr Sedgwick took it away, I suppose to the Bank. I feel sure there was neither stamp nor seal on the bond Mien I signed. I never saw either. The parties to this bond are myself, who signed first, and my father; I never had the bond to look at since. When I signed, Mr Sedgwick, on reading it, said these blanks had to be filled up. The Judge : It seems a peculiar way of doing business. The Banks think it important td.get a'ga'aran'tee, but are not particular in getting" it eiee'iftsd. Cross-examination c'diitisued ? When I signed the stamps were not Oh the bond. About the time I filed I got several loiters demanding the money, and a writ was served for payment ol the guarantee. Immediately afte* I received the demand I saw my solicitor, and I afterwards filed my declaration. The first time I saw the bond after was when Mr Atkinson held it in his hand at my meeting of creditors. I then acknowledged that tho signature was my own. I might have said to him before I actually saw it that I did not put the seal upon it. I was we'll assured beforehand that I had not put the seal dii. By his .EfoNOE : I did #ot know it WAS necessary' id hrivfe' a\£enft mi it: By Mr Fell : I first fSdtid fe'ut ihaf it was? necessary to have a seal on it \Vhtiii Mrs Atkinson laid so much stress upon it. When the Bank wrote to me and demanded payment I did not know there was no seal upon it. When 1 went to my solicitor I did not kiiow there was" any dfe'Mietfcy in. the execution of the instrumert. Before i &dt i2ot>es I was under the impression that the ffidfldy had been paid. I never, went to ask the Bank, and they never said anything to me. When I signed I understood from Mr Sedgwick that it was only ior one year,, and I trusted to them. I never read the bond. I never had any conversation with them by which 1 learnt they were in difficulties. So far as I saw of them* they appeared to be doing a gdod busihesd. Messrs Sedgwick ard Gkmland are both brothers-in-law of mine". In 1877 I signed a promissory note for Mr Sedgwick. He represented he wanted £200 to buy a property in Examiner street. When I signed that, I asked him if the £800 had been all paid off, and Mr Sedgwick Baid not quite, I did not ask to get the £800 bord back before I signed it. I did not consider .the bill a liability when I made the settlement. It had two months to run, and I did not know that Sedgwick and Gouland would not pay it. By his Honor : My reason for executing the settlement was because when I morried I had nothing, and I ha,l often said I would settle Boruothing on her when I could. By Mr FrlTj ; I considered I bad a right to do wbafc I liked with my own. I spoke to my solicitor about settling on my wife in the early part of Apri', I believe. The land I bought from Costello I may have had for 15 years. As srion as I got together what I considered wns worth while, I made a present of it to my wife. Re-examined by Mr P. ADiMS: The delay occasioned in settling on my wife after purchasing the property from Langley waa because the Bank held my deeiie as security for overdraft, and when that was paid off, I entered into the settlement* Mrs Morrison, owner of the Bellgrove Inn, stated that in April, 1879, there was no rent owing, and the furniture was worth about £130. This Dat. T. Haycock, W. Higglns, and F. N". Trower gave evidence of the value of the property possessed by W. Boddington at the time of bis making the settlements, the latter stating that he was then prepared to give £100 for the goodwill of the lease. R. Boddington, jun. } said that he witnessed bis father's signature to the bond, and could swear positively that there were no seals on it then. R. Boddingcton, sen., said there .were no seals on the bond at the time . he signed it. In November last Mr Haskayne Jones told him that the bond was ODly for a year. Cross-examined : It wag in the "sweating room " that Mr Jones told him the bond was only for a year. The Bank was sueing at the time for the amount of the bond. [Being subjected to a severe cross-examination by way of testing his memory, the witness caused some amusement by saying to Mr Fell: — " I remember the Battle of Waterloo, and that's more than you do."] Mrs R. Boddingtoo, jun., stated that she saw the bond when it was brought to the house for signature, and that there were no seals on it then. P. C. Gowland stated that the bond was executed to satisfy the demand of the Bank. He and Sedgwick had always led the Boddingtons to believe that they were doing a good business. It was the action of the Bank in putting pressure upon thorn which had caused him to file bis schedule. Cross-examined : Ever since Mr Jones had been in the Bank he had heen pressing them. That was for about ten months before they failed. He did not consider it desirable to let the Boddingtous know what was his position. M. M. Sedgwich took the bond toW. Boddington to sign. By the Court : The Bank required two sureties and we decided to ask the Boddingtons. Meantime the Bank-manager enquired into their position and was satisfied to accept them, whereupon I obtained their signatures. This concluded the evidence for the defence. Mr Fell said he should like to call Mr Jones, the manager of the Bank, with reference to what he was alleged to have said to Mr Boddington, senior. This was permitted, aud W. Haskayne Jones was called, and said that in 1875 the bond produced was prepared by his instruction. It was signed, and when brought back one of the iour wafers on it was cracked, and he had it papered over to preserve it. Mr Boddington told him the whole affair would, he thought, be cleared in a year, and he replied that so long as he was guarantee he would be responsible for the amount. „ I' Cross examined : It is not in my power to swear positively that Mr Jenkins and Mr Boultou actually carried out my instructions about putting the wafers on, but I conscientiously believe that they did, and after ,26 years experience I can say that I never '.'. knew officers to neglect to carry oufc such ' instructions. ] - Counsel on both sides having addressed the jury, the Judge was eijmming up when ; ' we went to preßs*