Adjourned at 4 v.26, might have to pay it, Ishould consider such demand as a kind of highway robbery.
defendant says—Plaintiff knows I am not in the habit of making exorbitant bills. It often happens that Doctor and patients can't agree to annual terms. I have, since April 24th, made offers of my services to plaintiff on very moderate terms. Attendance per visit is common in all practises, Plaintiff says, with regard to claim for damages, I consider I am entitled to pay another medical man to attend my wife and family.—I have lost all confidence in Dr. Watson,—or to make other arrangements for their medical attendance. I also claim for anxiety of mind. I want to protect myself from defendant, My feelings have been much injured, Iwant defendant bound over. If he is bound over, his services may become valuable to me again. As the defendant broke his contract, I am entitled to get medical leave the Court to decide what other relief I require Defendant says in reply—The plaintiff can. not claim damages under the first contract, the first issue is declared void, and as this is the foundation of the plaintiff's claim, I maintain he has no case, 1 did not intend to make a contract in my letter of 6th April, but for the sake of peace I consented, at Mr. Adkins' request, to consider I had done so; but even before this (27th April) I offered to attend on very low terms, only 20 taels more than plaintiff said he would give, He pays me less than any patient of his class. As to monopoly, L think it is pretty notorious that my unpaid services have been frequent in Newchwang. Thave told plaintiff himself more than once that he should have my services for nothing, if I felt he could not pay me.
I certify the above to be a true copy of the minutes of the evidence taken by me in the cause, Tnowas AvKrNs, Consul, Reasons for Juilgment, I come now to the reasons which influenced the Court in coming to a decision into in 1864. On tat point pla tiff could give Ast,—With regard to the engagement entered no information whata His notions of the circumstances under which the defendant came here are of the vaguest. He can only contend that if there is any good thing to be got out of defendant, he (the plaintiff) is entitled to share it, because he was a partner ina firm which signed a guarantee in 1864, He insists that the amount guaranteed by him was £200 per annum, and that a condition was that the defendant was to be a married mau, because he (the plaintiff) had gone home to get a wife. He would not care to have the first condition enforced against him, at any rate, It seems to the Court, in considering the let issue—the engagement of 18G4—that the intention of the parties was simply this,—to offer such inducement to " medical manas would enable him to settle at Newchwang. They said in fact—There is a practice here worth we don't know how much, but we ourselves—Consulate, Customs, and Merchants—are willing to guarantee you some £400 per annum, if you will practice medicine here. The other sources of your income will be the shipping and the fees paid you by various subscribers. You will find out ina year's time whether your expectations are answered or not. To enable you to come hither, we advance you a sum of money." Now, it appeared to the Court that with the completion of a year's residence by the Doctor at Newchwang, the negotiation between the parties was adhoccomplete, and thatthe general ature of the understanding came to an end, From this date the engagement became particular:—that is to say, the signatories and Doctor made their own terms on the basis of the guarantee they had given in 1864. When a tory ceased to subscribe, the other signatories never made good to defendant the amount of income he lost by such signatory's withdrawal, It was never pretended until now, that the Doctor had by his coming here become in fact the hired servant for every signatory of the paper of 1864, There was not the least risk of the place being without a medical man, for the defendant, were he to leave, would wish to recover the money he had spent in coming here, and to this end would seek to realise his principal asset, the good will of his practice and connection, which would of course be only valuable to a professional man.
But even supposing the defendant did make
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.