Judgement has been given by the French Consular Court in the case in which damages were claimed by the widow of the late Mr. 'fT. G. Smeaton, and also on behalf of her two children, against the French Municipal Council, on the contention that they were responsible for the obstructions' on the French Bund which resulted in a fatal accident to Mr. Smeaton. It will be remembered that, whilst running to catch a tram, he tripped over some paving stones and several witnesses at the inquest declared that there was not sufficient lighting at that part of the roadway. The plaintiffs were represented by M. J. Barraud, instructed by Mr. A. C. Holborow, and M. A. clu Pac de Marsoulies appeared on behalf of the French Municipal Council.
The Court awarded Mrs. Smeaton Tls. 6,000 damages, and the children Tls. 4,000 each, also directing the Municipal Council to pay the costs. A translation of the judgement follows:—is granted that.—On October 20, 1921, as it stems between the hours of a quarter to six and six o'clock in the evening, Thomas Gibb Smeaton, returning from his office, collided with some paving stones placed on the French Quay. for Municipal purposes and fell, was taken home and then to the hospital, and died during the night.
The responsibility of the French Municipal Council cannot be maintained unless it is proved, in accordance with Article 1383 of the Civil Code, that damage has been caused, i.e., that the sole cause of Smeaton's death is the fall that took place on the French Quay and that this fall has been caused by the paving stones that were placed there, and that there has been negligence on the part of the department concerned owing to the fact that the precautions prescribed by Article 14 of the Municipal Police Regulations were-not taken in time to prevent the accident.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.