The evidence on the transaction follows:—According to the plaintiff, a few days before November 5, 1926, the defendant had ran him tp onthe telephone and ask: him about the rubber market and the plaintiff had said it was "atrong." On November 6, the aid he bad 3000 Tanah Merah plaintiff rang up the defendant and
shares to sell at Tls. 2.25 for Aelivery December settlement day' and the defendant said he would consider and let the plaintiff know later. Later, the plaintiff again rang up the defendant and the defendant agreed to buy, and in duo course signed the confirmation note for the 3,000 shares which were to be transferred to him on December settlement day by one Hannah Abraham, who owned the shares. The defendant states that there was only one conversation on the telephone, that plaintiff? rang him up and offered the shares, and that the defendant asked.if the market was "firm." The plaintiff' replied that the price Tls. 2.25 was the best price obtainable and accord. ingly he agreed to buy and did buy and signed the confirmation note for 3,000 Tanah Merah shares. After the purchase it appears that the defendant, Komaroff, went to the American Club in the evening and asked two - friends, Mr. Ollerdessen and Mr. Elias, who are both on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, what they thought about 'Tanah' shares and they both said they did not think they were much good. They both gave the price at Tis, 2.74 cash and Tls. 2.10 forward as the closing price of the market. Mr. Ollerdessen, in his evidence, says that he merely stated his opinion and that, if his opinion turned out be wrong, he would not expect to be charged with fraud.
Transaction Repudiated Komaroff, on obtaining this information from his friends, appears to have immediately come to the conclusion that Arakie had defrauded him, or, in his own words, he had "been stung." It does appear that he had been sold rubber shares above the market price. He tries the next day to get into communica tion with Arakie, but as it was a Saturday and, according to his religion, his Sabbath, Arakie was not at his office." Consequently, Komaroff did not sco Arakie til Monday morning, November &, and at about 9 a.m, or 10°a.m, when he went with a friend, a Mr. Jones, to Arakie's office and there and then repudiated the transaction, put the contract mote on the desk and left, Arakie asked him to put his reudiation of the transaction in interview Arakie said "that if he (Komaroff) thought he had not] been fairly dealt with he need not take up the shares," and Mr. Jones (who has now changed his name to "Cavendish") states that Arakic said:—"If you do not think I dealt fair, you are under no obligation to bay." Arakie states he never: said anything of the kind. If such a proposition had been put forward by Arakie there would surely have been some reference to it in the letter which Komaroff wrote to within a few hours of the meeting. I think there must, be some mistake by Komaroff and Jones on this point.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.