Esso Krrarese and others, trading Sous & No. ye W. Burr,—Tle, 4 sold and delivered.
His Honor read the pleadings. Plaintifts sold to defendant 500 cases of brandy at 85 cents. per ease, payment to be made by an eight-day bank order. Defendant took de livery of the goods, but neglected to give bank order, and subsequently proposed to return them, to which the plaintiff objected. Defendant in his answer said he did not buy 500 cases of brandy from the plaintiffs, and did not owe them Tls. 425, His Honor remarked that the answer was extremely vague and bold.
Defendant explained that he had framed his answer according to the ten r of plaintiff's Petition. On the question of delivery, he Said he had the possession of the goods, which he contended, under the circumstances, could not be construed into delivery. Tesponse to the Court he detailed these circumstances at length. The plaintiffs and he lad various mercantile transactions. On one occasion he offered to sell them 100 cases of sto.t. They expressed a desire to close the bargain, but said they had no storage accommodation on their premises. Having this and to spare, defendant offered to store the goods, and at the same time, in view of the business relations between them, he offered them storage for some fifteen hundred cases of brandy, accommodation for which plaintiffs had been in want of. They accepted the offer. 1 Defendant also hinted that he might be able to sell the brandy for them. Having an opportunity of effect g a sale of the liquor an outport, he offered to buy 500 cases of it, but no sooner was this offer made than Acfendant corrected the Plaintiffs agreed to the d nantity to 300. the was tohave been made directly. Plaintiffs however delayed this for such a length of time, that the brandy became of no further use to defendant, and afterwards when they did give an oder on Pustau and Ca., who appeared to have a lien on the goods, they not having completed certain arrangements with the firm, the godown order was not attended to for a long time. When defendant did take delivery of the goods it was simply on storage for the plaintiffs.
KiT-cHEE, cautioned, stated, a partner in Jimmy John's, the plaintiffs in this action. On the 16th July defendant came to my house and bought 500 cases of brandy at 85 tael cents. a case, total Tls. 425. Was to pay, by an Says bank order. 1 gave him the godown order on Pustau and Ca. for 500 cases next day (17th.) On the 24th I went to defendant's house to get the order. He then said he had made a mistake, and that all he had wanted was 300 cases, Defendant took delivery of the 500 cases on the afternoon of the 24th, I saw then on his premises. Defendant said he wou'd keep 300 and wanted me to take back the 200. Iwas not willing to do this. He never gave a bank order. "He ought to have given it to me on the 24th payable that day.
fe has not paid me in any other way.
By Defendant—It wae Mr. Scheppellman [efendaut's clerk) who arranged with me for the 500 cases. He did not a short time afterwards come to say that 300 was all that was Wi $5 cents was the price. T am sure of it. He came next day to my house, and got a godown order for 500 cases written by my clerk. It was an English godown order. It remained in your keeping from the Lith to the 24th sent a man along with when you took delivery. On the 24th w you. I paid coolie hire for removing the brandy from the godown to the boat because Mr. Scheppellman wouldn't pay it and [aald, "'maskee, I'd pay." T paid Pas tau & Co.'on the 16th by a bank order. got no receipt for the 800 cass wanted send a large number of cases to defendant's godown for storage. This would be about the 10th July.
[The Court adjourned here for half an hour Cuntsriax Somerrentxax, sworn, stated—I am defendant Tcouldn't get the In the evening, when I came from a drive I saw half the cases had been stored in the godown, and was told they came from the plaintiffs.
By the Court—They are still there. On the 24th one of the plaintiffs came and applied for an 8-day money order for 300 cases, I told him that Thad thrown up the contract, and that we have received these on storage, and were willing to keep them there in that way. He said if I did not pay for the 300 cases, he would make me pay for 500. There was no written agreement, because it was for immediate delivery. I was not to charge for storage on the goods. The brandy was to have been sent over to Japan on consignment. The mail left on the 18th. It is not our custom to give receipts unless applied for.
Judgment reserved.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.