IMPORTANT MINING CASE.

Auckland Star, Volume XII, Issue 3527, 25 November 1881, Page 2

IMPORTANT MINING CASE.

A OAse of interest to holders ofmininc shares has just been decided at Tauranga. Major 1 Swindley sued Mr John B. Kanderson for £100 damages sustained by the nonv delivery of fire shares in the Surprise | mine, Coromandel. It appeared, from the - evidence, that the shares bad been sold to plaintiff by a Mr Clark, acting, OB was alleged, agent for the defendant. In the beginning of August last Mr Clarko was spoken to by a miner named Shakespeare about selling the shares, and consequently called on Mr Kanderson, believing he had some connection with the ; mine. At this time Mr Handerson m had no such connection, though a day or two subsequently he was appointed secre- 1 tary pro. tern., and requested by Shakespeare and Ford to send five shares to Clark \ for sale. This was done, the price being hxed at £10 per share for the ten shares. Kauderson signed the letter as secretary pro. tern. Clark replied that Shakespeare had apparently given Eanderson to under-;f; stand that the writer was simply acting as , Shakespeare's agent, which was not the case. Clark also wrote to Shakespeare that fl he was not going to be Kanderson'a jackal. If he sold the shares he would send the money direct to the vendor. Clark sold tho shares on. August 31st to Swindley for £50,. signing the receipt as Ban- i dereon's agent, and the next d»y •: he received a telegram from Shakespeare taking the commission out of his hands and ordering a return of the full amount back ■ to the purchaser if any sales had been made. I Without obeying these instructions, Clark ; sent the cheque off lo BandersoD, which the latter at once returned. After soroefnrtber I correspondence, gold being struck in th« .*: meantime, Clark tendered tha cheque to g bwindley, but he refused to receive it. Tn'i ■ promoters of the company determined to 9 validate Clark's salts, and Kanderson sent H for the cheque. The cheque was returned, I but the shares having come down in ■ Value, plaintiff instructed the bank not to m . «,l I -.. . .

honour it. Mr Brabant, K.M., in giving judgment, said :— "The Court is of opinion, from the evidence, that Clark and Randerson wero both agents for Ford and Shakespeare—that on those grounds plnintiil cannot recover; further, both Uanderson and th«j prospectors appear to me to have been willing to complete as soon as) they were satisfied of the bona fides of the transaction, but this was prevented by the cheque having been stopped. Ido not think lam wrong in remarking that the evidence shows that both plaintiff and defendant have been misled by the inconsistent conduct of Mr Clark, but I »m unable to see that defendant has committed any tortuous act."— Plaintiff was nonsuited, with cats, £9 93.