WOODEN SHIP CONTRACT

Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15867, 13 December 1923, Page 9

WOODEN SHIP CONTRACT

HOARY LEGAL ACTION WIN FOR THE COMMONWEALTH. (Australian find X.Z. Cablo Assn.l WASHINGTON, Dec. 10. The Commonwealth of Australia won an important decision in a suit arising out of the wooden ship contract when the Supremo Court granted the, Commonwealth Government a writ certiorari permitting a rehearing before the highest tribunal. This ease, which has run Lhc gamut of the inferior courts, is several years old, and is extremely overgrown with legal details: but the issue in its simplest form is as follows:—The Patterson-Mae-Donald Shipping Company, which was building wooden ships for the Commonwealth, became bankrupt before. completing its contracts, and a special Master in Bankruptcy was appointed. The Commonwealth advanced certain claims against the company for the ships not completed and for the undertaking not being fulfilled, while the company presented opposing claims against, the Commonwealth. Those conflicting claims wore taken before a Hoard of Arbitrators, who decided Hint, the Commonwealth's just, claims amounted approximately to 0.37fi,000 dollars and the company's to 9.680,000 dollars. The Commonwealth brought an action seeking to set aside the arbitrators' award, but the Court refused the Commonwealth's petition, and the Commonwealth appealed to a higher Court, but again without success. The Commonwealth finally appealed to the United Slates' Supreme Court for a writ certiorari, stressing the point that as a sovereign friendly Power Australia was justified in asking for a re-hcaring of the entire case. The, Supremo Court has acceded to this request, and it is now expected that several months will elapse before the matter will come on for linal issue. Another interesting feature is that the company attempted to secure a verdict, in several courts, making the difference between the claims, namely 31.3,000 dollars, stand as an enforeable judgment in the company's favour, but it did not succeed in this.