For the defendants, Mr, Macleod said it was not their case that the claim was an exaggerated one, but that certain definitely false statements were made, the falsity of which must have been known to plaintiffs. [f they were to accept plaintiff's res, they must believe that he manufactured 120,000 cigar rettes a day at a cost which was 20 per cent. above the market price. The whole trouble arose because plaintiff was unable to produce stock-books, invoices qtt., amd it was precisely with a view to securing such data in the event of fire that the company inserted the clause with reference to the safekeeping of the books. They would have been perfectly entitled to say they would not insure if plaintiff had refused to accept that clause. There was no ambiguity about it: it req: ired plaintiff to keep his stock books in some place other than that covered by the policy; and it required that plaintiff should prepare and keep these books in such manner that a description, and quantities, of the goods Insured might be known and calculated at any moment. This had not been done, and counsel asked for judgment on this ground, as well as upon the ground that the false statement made by plaintiff disentitled him to benefit, according to the terms of the policy.
His Lordship reserved judgment.
COUNSEL'S FEES, Referring again to the matter of Mr. Schuh], mentioned on the previous day, Mr. Goldring said he wished to correct a report which stated that Mr. Schuhl's 10 per cent. bill of costs was permissible "ander American law." Counsel's point was that the practice of the American bar allowed him to do so. Mr. Schuh] had asked him to hand up some letters showing that he had considerably reduced his claim.
His Lordship—What has that to do with me, Mr. Goldring? The only point was that of keeping document. I felt quite sure Str, Schuh] would allow the court to see the policy, and when he was asked he did so at once.
Mr. Goldring—He has reduced his fee to Tls. 500.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.