* > V
Conservative *
SOME INTERESTING LEGAL DE
CISIONS.
Iii theory , everybody is supposed to
bo familiar with the laws of the coun
try iu which ho lives , and to know
exactly what he may do unto others ,
and what other persons may do to
him. In practice , however , nobody
can be said to know , the law , because
nobody is capable of remembering the
law upon every subject. But lawyers
are required to know where to find it ,
and , in cases where doubt exists , they
are able to determine it , with the
assistance of the courts at the ex
pense of their clients.
Among the numerous instances of
apparently simple cases , which were
disputed for something like a century ,
' may be mentioned the controversy con
cerning the phrases "from the date"
and ' ' in and from the date. ' ' The
English courts eventually decided that
the phrases were synonymous. Equal
ly important is the decision that the
words "value" and "annual value"
refer to net , not to gross value.
About a dozen years ago the Cana
dian Court of Queen's Bench was re
quired to decide whether"Old Tom's"
gin came within the definition of
"spirits. " A number of experts were
of the opinion that it did not , since
it was a composition of spirits , sugar
and flavoring matter. The court ,
however refused , to agree with these
experts , and held that "Old Tom"
belonged to the "spirits" family ,
maintaining that any other view would
bo absurd.
Some names of perfectly well-un
derstood institutions or customs are
difficult of definition from a legal
point of yiew. The term "saloon" is
one of these. The following decisions
were all given more than ten years
since , and their interest is enhanced
by the light of recent events.
In Michigan , a saloon has been de
fined as " a place for the sale of general
refreshments. " In Connecticut , the
judges held that an inclosed park
and an nninclosed platform where
beer was sold were not saloons ,
houses or buildings within the mean
ing of the statute forbidding the sale
of intoxicating liquor on Sundays.
The legal luminaries of Texas were of
the opinion that a saloon meant a
place for the exhibition of works of
art.
art.The
The New Hampshire courts at one
time held that " spirituous liquors"
and "fermented liquors" were dif
ferent things.
In Massachusetts the evidence of a
man who had merely smelt ale was ac
cepted as tending to prove the alco
holic nature of the drink , but , in In
diana , the judges took the view that
the mere opinion of a witness that a
certain drink was intoxicating was in
sufficient , and that personal experience
of the overcoming quality of the
alleged beer was requisite. The law
of Iowa at one time declared that wine
was not an intoxicating drink if made
from fruits grown in the state.
Some legal decisions illustrate tno
fact that common sense plays a very
important part in the ruling of the
judges. Here is a case in point. The
relatives of a man who had been killed
by a train while lie was walking along
the track , brought an action for ten
thousand dollars as compensation for
the loss which they sustained. The
judge gave judgment in favor of the
defendant the railroad upon the
ground that the deceased had no right
to trespass upon other peoples
property , and that the train was in its
proper place when upon the track ;
In other words , a railroad track is
private property and if people trespass
they do so at their own risk.
A subscriber to the telephone in
Cincinnati was deprived of the privi
lege for which he had paid for a year
in advance , because he frequently made
use of the word "damn. " He sued
to be reinstated. But the majority of
the court took the view that the word
was coarse , unbecoming and profane ,
or , if not profane , improper. The rule
prohibiting the use of improper lan
guage was a reasonable one. The tele
phone reached all classes of society ,
and it was quite possible for a com
munication intended for one individu
al to reach another. Moreover , the
operators , often ladies , were entitled
to be protected from insult ; and the
inventors were justified in their de
sire to have the instrument placed in
a respectable light before the public ,
otherwise it might cease to be used.
For all these reasons the plaintiff was
non-suited , one judge dissenting. This
learned gentleman held that the offen
sive word was not profane according
to the decalogue , the dictionary , the
common law , or the statutes.
The following point concerning tele
graph companies and their methods
may be of interest. Most if not all
telegraph companies print upon
their forms a notice disclaiming re
sponsibility for errors , unless a mess
age is repeated At some cost to the
sender of course. In an action in
volving this point the court held that
any regulation which sought to relieve
a company from performing its duties
with integrity , skill and diligence
was contrary to public policy , and if
it was necessary to repeat a message
in order to secure its correctness , the
company must do so at its own ex
pense.
How a "vacant' house differs from
an ' ' unoccupied' ' house , appears to beef
of some importance. A gentleman
owning a house in which he and his
family lived from May to November ,
left it for the rest of the year to be
attended to by a farmer who lived in
the vicinity. The house was insured
under two policies , the provisions of
which wore as follows : Policy num
ber one undertook to make good whatever
over part of the house might bo
burned "unless it should become
'vacant or unoccupied.1 Policy
number two relieved the company of
the liability if the house became
1' vacant and unoccupied. ' ' The house
was burned , and when called upon to
pay , the insurance company repudi
ated all liability. An action being
brought , the court decided that no
claim could arise on the first policy ,
since , to be occupied , a house must
have persons living in it , and using it
as their usual residence. Under the
second policy the court held that the
company was liable , as the house was
not vacant so long asit contained
furniture and cooking apparatus.
A few English decisions may bo
worthy of attention. They are cer
tainly curious and , in some respects ,
instructive.
What is "a date ? " Certain persons
who wished to vote in the part of
London called Maryleboue , sent in
their claims to the proper official ,
duly signed , but dated "August ,
1885. " The law required that the
claim should be made between the 1st
and 25th days of August. The Revis
ing Barrister , who attends to the re
vision of the lists of voters for mem
bers of parliament , decided that , as
the papers were in the hands of the
overseers , ( the legally authorized
officials ) prior to the 25th day of the
month , the omission of the exact date
from the papers by the claimants was
immaterial.
An English Accident Insurance Com
pany , evidently anxious to escape pay
ing a thousand pounds to the repre
sentative of a policy holder who was
drowned near Birmingham , raised a
novel question. The policy provided
thatno claim should arise except
"for an injury from an accident. "
The company contended that the de
ceased fell into a shallow stream , and
died from suffocation as a result of his
inability to raise his head above the
water , from exhaustion , caused by a
fit , and that the company was not li
able for any injury due to natural
disease. The court determined that
the man died from drowning in a
brook while in an epileptic fit , and
drowning having been decided to be
an accident from oat ward and visible
means , there must be judgment for the
plaintiff.
An actor named Frayue.it may bo re
membered , was charged with the man
slaughter of a Miss Behren , by shoot
ing her on the stage , in attempting to
perform William Teli's feat of shoot
ing an apple which was placed upon
a person's head. The defence was