Smuxc-pee v. Tuowas Prestox, Defendant is manager of the Celestial Eimpire office, and the action was brought to recover $98 for work done at his request in the month of January Inst, $79.28 Ind hoon paid int answer to his Lordship, defendant explained that the claim was one of a number of items in the plaintiff's bill, All the other items wore admitted, and the tone for which the claim was ma binding of 405 copies of the j North-Ubina Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Plaintiff charged 20 cents per copy, and the amount paid into Court was 15 cents Por copy, which be was able to show by witnesses wav more than the full value of the work dono, He hiad not paid the costs into Court hecatise 15 cents per copy was offered to the plaintiff before he took cwt th His Loupsurp said the question to be or rather whether defendant. was entitled to then was whether it was good or bad work—
charge 15 cents or 20 cents for hindu each copy of the journal.
jofendant said the defence was that the work done was very bad work, but inasmuch ax payment for it had not been refused in cou quence of its inferiority, and he had accepted that the amount pai yoh sufficient. He wanted 20 cents per copy, which was the Prop is Lonpsuir pointed out that there was a difference of $23 between the parties.
Defendant said thatrif the work had been well done 15 cents per copy was wore than sufficient to pay for it His Lonpsmir said if that were so there was an overcharge of five cents per copy, and the work had been badly done.
Defendant replied that that was the case.
Plan erose-exanimation by the defendant, aald the hok produced was a fair specimen of the work generally, It was "stabbed" three times, and the sample copy lo showed ut) before he did the work, and now produced, was stabbed four times, He did not bind the book produced, "Lhe treaty rights of foreign merchants," of 421 pages, but he should say 15 cents a copy was a fair charge for binding it.
Defendant pointed out that the journal Lif now claimed 20 per cents per copy for ing only contained 325 pages, and. plai tiff lin admitted that 15 centa was a fair price for a volume of 421 pages, and the work was well dove.
Pisintiff, in answer to farther questions by the defendant, said he received 95 cents per copy for binding the journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, for 1876. In that year the volume was thicker than the present one, and it was stitched and not stabbed. For binding the same society's journal last year, he was paid by the defendant 12 cents per copy, but it was a much thinner book, and it was stabbed. Stabbing was much easier and quicker than stitching.
Defendant produced other volumes on which ho questioned the plaintiff in reference to the price and quality of the binding to show that plaintiff's charge of 20 cents per copy in the Present instance was much in excess of his previous charges, and that the work was inferior to his previous production Defendant was then sworn and deposed that he bad examined more than 100 copies out of the 465, and the books produced were fair specimens, They were not bound according to the one submitted by the plaintiff as sample, and the general character the work on the 100 books he had examined was very bad indeed. He had no contract with the plaintiff for the work.
1a Branch of the Royal Asi tie Society had been brought out at their offi three years, and the plaintiff hnd always done the "Che journal varied in size, and for that of 1876, 25 cents per copy twas paid him for the binding. In that case the hook was stitched, and plaintiff did the work very well. It was left to the plaintiff whether he stitched or stabbed the book, Ho knew he to do the work well. The journal for was stabbed because it way a much thivuer book than the one for 1878. It was practice to stab thin books, bat thick ones like the journal for 1878 should be stitche His Lorvsurr examined the specimen volumes produced, and remarked that some of them appeared fo have been knocked about or maltreated by some one, Defendant said they were fair specimens token indiscrimately from the lot of the 100 hho had examined.
In answer to his Lordship, defendant the plaintiff worked on the premises of Celestial Empire office, but he did not belong to their regular staff, They gave him a place to work iv, and he was paid for what he did. His work was not superintended. Besides doing their work, he worked for other people. 15 cents por copy was ample to pay bim for the work lo had done, He had made inquiries of two of the largest Chinese bookbinders in Shanghai aa t what they would have done the work for, and one had said his charge would have been eight cents per copy, and the other's price tras ten cours per copy.
'Tomas Brows, partner in the firm of Kelly and Walsh,' stationers, printers, Look-ides, &c., deposed that he had been to the Celestial Empire office, and had ex-nined a dozen out of a lot of about 100 Royal Asiatic for 1878, and should say that journals of the North-China Branch of the
10 cents pi Was an outside price to pay for the binding. The work was very badly done, A. book of that size should not have been stabbed; it should have been itched. If the work had been done for hit, he should have sent it back.
F. S. Ouivetea, Superintendent of the Drinting department of the Nordi-China ald office, also deposed that he had ex-the plaintifis work, and gave it opinion that eight cents per copy was a fair price to pay for it.
plaintiff was only entitled to the amount His Lonosutr thought on, this evident id into Court; and now there was the question of coats. ceedings were taken plaintiff consulted Air, Defendant explained that before the pro-
Hannen and letters had passed between Mr. Hannen and himself. In his first letter to him he offered him' the amount paid into Court in satisfaction of the claim, His Lonpsmtr perused theee letters, and then gave a verdict for the plaintiff for the amount paid into Court, and ordered plaintiff to pay the costs of the Court, Defendant applied for costs to be allowed the two witnesses he had called, explaining that he made the liberal offer of 15 cents per copy to the plaintiff to prevent the case coming into Court.
In reply to his Honour, the Usher said it was not the practice of the Court to allow witnesses anything for attending. It was, ed, for them to show that they hed Defendant replied that witnesses were paid for their atteadauce in County Courts in England.
His Logpsuir asked whether the witnesses in this case would be satisfied with Home rates.
Defendant thought they ought to be allowed more, as salaries, &c., in Shanghai were different to those in England.
His Lorpsurr said that as it was the practice of the Court not tallow costs to witnesses he was afraid he could not allow them in this case.
Defendant r the point further,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.