PORTSMOUTH COUNTY COURT.
FRIDAY, JUNE 22ND, 1866
(Before T. Gunner, Esq., Deputy Judge)
AMERY V. HUNT
Mr. White appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Field for the defendant.
The plaintiff is a dairy, farmer in the neighbourhood of Petersfield, and in December last he sold to the defendant, who is a butcher at Landport, two calves and three cows at Petersfield. The cows were, it was alleged, bought at 3s. 8d. per stone, for 60 per cent. of the live weight. On the 11th a man in the employ of the defendant came for the beasts, which were weighed at Petersfield, and were found to weigh 32 cwt. Two days later the plaintiff received a letter from the defendant, in which the latter acknowledged that the beasts had arrived, but alleged that they only weighed 29 cwt., and enclosed the tickets received at the weigh-bridge. The plaintiff came to see the defendant at Landport, and it was then arranged that the beasts should be taken as weighing 29 cwt. A month afterwards the plaintiff received a cheque for 40l., and it was not cashed for some time, and it was alleged that during the whole of this time the defendant did not raise the least dispute as to the sum due. When pressed, however, for the balance, the defendant contended that the agreement was that the beasts should be weighed when dead, and that he should only pay the difference by the dead weight. The action was accordingly brought to recover the balance, 9l. 10s. 8d., but the defendant paid 1l. 2s. 4d. into court, and disputed the claim.
The simple question was whether the cows had been purchased by the live or the dead weight. On the part of the plaintiff, letters written by the defendant, in which the ‟live weight” was alluded to, were put in, and the plaintiff also put in a memorandum book, in which was an entry to the effect that on a certain day he had sold three cows to Mr. Hunt at 3s. 8d. per score, for 60 per cent. live weight. This entry he swore he read to the defendant before he parted with him at Petersfield. On the other hand, the defendant as distinctly swore that the purchase was by dead weight.
His Honour said no evidence produced by the defendant could, after the evidence produced by the plaintiff, lead him to any other conclusion than that the beasts had been sold by ewe weight. He ultimately gave judgment for the plaintiff.