THE LAW OF CONTRACTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18496, 5 September 1923, Page 7

THE LAW OF CONTRACTS.

ADDRESS TO BUSINESS MEN.

An address on the law of contracts was given by Mr L. P. Leary at the Karangahape Road Business Promotion Society s luncheon held at Rush Munro's cafotiria yesterday. A large and interested gathering of business men was presided over by the chairman. Mr. M. J. Bennett. .

Mr Learv gave to, his address the title, " When two minds think alike," a caption which he considered aptly conveyed the underlying basis of a contract. The common element in a contract, he said,- was that one party made an offer and another, party" accepted it in exactly the same terms. The,trouble was that no matter how carefully the contracting parties believed they • had drawn up and consented to the terms, a loophole appeared to be left for the long arm of coincidence. ' The speaker devoted some attention to the doctrinj of consideration and offered illuminating examples to show how an illegal consideration vitiated a contract, He dwelt on the question of specific performance, and concluded with an illustration of a common pitfall in connection with contracts for carriage. This referred to a case in England in which . a broken steel shaft of a mill was despatched by railway to a distant foundry for repairs. It was accidentally left in an obscure siding and lost. As a result, r the , mill was subjected to enforced idleness for weeks, involving the loss of thousands of pounds. When the railway company was sued for heavy damages, the Court, held that as the company had not been informed of the vital importance of the shaft and the serious consequences: of delay it could not be held liable for anything like the full damages claimed. A short musical programme was given by Mr. George Poore. flautist, accompanied on the piano. by Miss . Poore, concluding with the singing of a chorus by the whole' assembly, led by Mr. J. McDougall. . : M-