The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-08-14 00:00:00

;icocat anb ;istrict fon,

I'ERESTING LOCAL ASSURANCE CASE.

At the Birmingham Assizes on Thursday, before
Mr. Justice Day, an action was brought by John
Taylor, tailor and publican, Lye, against the Refuge
Assarnuce Society, to recover the sum of .I=loo upon
pobv issued to Thomas Burton. The defendants
denio,l that they owed the money, because the plain-
tiff had no insurable intt.rest in Burton's life, and
,Irt' Burton had niisrepresentsd his state of health
lit reply to questions put when he was to be insured.
The defendants paid £ 7s Sd into court, he
amount plaintiff alleged he had paid to defendant's

ageu.t.
Li L.. Hugo Young (instructed by Mr. Waldron,
Br i hill) appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. J
C Lawrance, Q.C., M P., and Mr Alfred Young
(instructed by Messrs. Peacock and Gracie, of Man-
chester) for the defendants,
Mr. Hugo Young said the man Burton died within
the same year as the policy was taken out, and the
defendants declined to pay the money upon the
ground that the policy had been refused Although
the policy had not been actually issued, the pre-
mium had been paid, and a receipt sent to plaintiff.
The policy ought to have been issued within a
month of the proposal, under a penalty of £5O. It
appeared that Burton, the deceased, owed the plain-
tiff some money, and the latter insured. Burton's
life with the defendant's agent, Hughes.
Plaintiff was called, and examined, and, in reply
to Mr. Lowrance, said Burton was a sound healthy
man, of temperate habits, before the time he was '
insured. Witness was not aware that a doctor at-
tended Burton from the 3rd February until the
14th of May, when the policy was taken out, and
passed by a doctor as a " first-class life," Witness
saw Burton a week before his death, and he heard
that he had been hit on the stomach with a brick
that was thrown by his son. He did not mention
what he had heard to Burton.
Deceased's son was called, and admitted striking
hs father with a brick.
For the defence, Mr. Lawrance said the policy in
question was rejected because the plaintiff had no
in3urable interest in Burton's life.
His Lordship (interposing) said if the directors
of iasurance companies would set their faces against
insufances in which there was no substantial inter-
est, they would be adopting a course which was
eminently proper, but, he was sorry to say, ex-
tre,nely unusual. Insurances on the lives of little
chi: dr n often led to the most hideous crimes.
Me Lawranee (continuing) said itwould be shown
fro.n
_post mortem appearances that Burton could
not have been a healthy man when he was said to
havo passed the medical examination.
Lis Lordship: This must be a case of persona.
:ion.

Mr. Lawrance: Quite so, my lord.
r. Lawrance said if the man was in the condition '
he - a said to have been at the time of his death it
co Ii not have escaped the knowledge of the de-
ce•eil that he was suffering from a disease of long
st 4 n ling at the time when he was supposed to have
be n examined.
.Evidence was called in support of Mr. Lawrance's
stet,-meat,
3.itnes Hughes and William Croak, two of the
defendants' agents, gave the reasons why the policy
war rejected
it noel James Meredith, who isaid he was an
asht ant to Dr. Griffiths, medical referee of the
aJci-ty in the district, said he went to Taylor's
un',llc-house, and saw a man who was said to be
Thomas Burton, and examined him. Witness de-
son ii-..! I the man he examined, and his Lordship re
marked that it was perfectly clear he did not ex
amino Barton. Instead of an 18-stone man, he
exqmined a 10-stone man; instead of a fair man, a
diriz man.
:‘lr. Bayley, surgeon, said he attended deceased
t• r =e,•eral weeks beginning from February 3 last.
Dire ised suffered from asthma and heart disease,
an had the appearance of a heavy drinker.
Eiiza Burton, the widow, said her husband had
been turvell for two years previous to his death.,
For the last nine months he did no work. Deceased
ilk:du. drop of beer, but he was not a heavy drinker
She remembered Taylor fetching her husband to his
pW,lic-house to see the doctor.
I.) reply to Mr. Hugo Young, witness said she
!flied half a pint of beer.
r. Young: You liked half a pint, and your hus-
band liked a drop. Does that represent the relative
drinking capacities of the two ?
, Witness: I never go against my conscience.

Young:lr What did say .?
I is Lordship. She says she never goes artainst
her conscience. I suppose she drinks as much AB
hei conseience will absorb. (Loud laughter.)
Mr. Lindsay (for Mr. Alfred Young) at the con-
clu•ion of the evidence withdrew the imputations of
drunkenness and personation. lie. howaver, aub-
Miltt.,l thet there never was a contract binding
up, it the defendants; and if such a contract did ever
exist, it was based on the answers given in the
tue.it:.al report, which answers being untrue, re-
lieved the defendants of all liability. They had it
that the proposal was first of all made to Hughes,
and there was no doubt that he gave a receipt and
took the money for the premiums. That, however,
dii it bind the company, because Hughes had no
autherity to bind them in any way. Until the pro-
posal cme before the office in Manchester there
could t.:o no contract binding on the defendants;
and when they received the proposal they rejected
the policy.
In summing-up, his Lordship said he was satisfied
from the evidence that the proposal of insurance
on Burton's life dated from the 13th of April, tine
on the 17th of April what was supposed to be the
premium was paid. It appeared that Burton was
supposed to have been medically examined by Dr.
Griffiths, M,8., but instead of such being the case
an un:lualified man named Meredith, who was Dr.
Griffith '3 assistant, made the examination. He
considered that the proposal was definitely accepted
by the company, and that the policy was not re-
jected until after Burton's death. He did not con-
sider that the policy was declined within a reason-
able time. He was clearly of opinion that the
, agreement for insurance did exist between Taylor
on the one hand and the company on the other.
The defendants had produced no evidence from
Manchester in the shape of books or documents to
prove that the policy was rejected within a reason-
able time. Counsel had agreed that the amount re.
coy ruble was £5O, and he should give a verdict for
that amount. with costs on the higher scale.

Tnr,: PROPOSED VISIT OF TIIi COLONIAL AND IN-
DI %N DELEGATES.—On Wednesday night an ad-
janrued meeting of the Commissioners was held,
andor the presidency of Mr. W. J. Turney, to con-
sider a proposal for inviting the Colonial and
Indian representatives to visit Stourbridge and
neiehhourhood. Since the last meeting the Town
Cleiks of Worcester and Kidderminster had been
writ ten to with regard to an expected visit from
the I n I.ian and Colonial representatives, and the
replie„; were to the effect that the project had been
aka-cloned. The letter from the Town Clerk of
Kid de emiester stated that General Burn had written
to s iy he was sorry the matter had been allowed to
drop.—Mr. Turney expressed regret that he had not
i been eb'e to be present at the meetings of the!Com-
miesioners when the question was under discussion,
bat seeing that their neighbours at Kidderminster
and Worcester had abandoned the scheme he should i
say let it drop. The question was one of funds '
It would be infra dig. to ask outsidersto assist in en-
terlaining the party. There were only two courses
—either for the Commissioners to put their hands
in their pockets or for the Chairman to do so. If
it had been a matter of £5O or £lOO he should
have been pleased to defray the cost, but be did not
think he was called upon to do so when it meant
perhaps £4OO or £5OO. If the Colonials and Indians
should themselves express a wish to visit the neigh-
bourhood, they could but reconsider the affair
Mr. Platt remarked that it would have been un-
• easonable to have expected the Chairman of that
Boerd to entertain at his sole expense such a party
as the Indian and Colonial visitors. Ho should
move a resolution waiving the question unless the
1 visitors expressed a desire to see the various manu-
factures.—This was seconded by Mr. Newnam, and
carried.-.. The Board then proceeded to make ar-
rangements for the annual election of Commission-
ers. The retiring members are as follow East
Ward, Messrs. Nash, St:inger,and Platt; West
Ward, Messrs. Palfrey and Woolley; South Ward,
Messrs. Parkes, Gillam, and Walker.
IN PURSUIT OT GAME.—At the Police Court,
yes.erds,y, before Messrs. W. J. Turney, A. :Freer,
and E. Webb, Samuel Fletcher, striker, Love Lane,
Lye, and Samuel Bromic% horsenail maker, Lye,
were charged with trespassing in pursuit of game,
at Pedmoro, on the 10th inst. Charles Wellsbury,
gamekeeper, saw the two defendants with another
man go over by -Wychbury Cover and beat 3 fields.
They had two 'archer dogs with them but he did
not see them start any game.--Charles Pike, farm
bailiff, and William Bayliss, a keeper, gave corrob
orative evidence.—Both defendants were fined 101
and costs.
: NEGLECT BY PARENTEL—CharIes Aaron (10), Tal-
bot Street, was charged with stealing a box, the
property of Charles Nicholls, High Street, on the
• 4th inst.—John Minton, assistant to prosecutor,
was called and identified the box as his mastet's
property, He missed the box on the sth inst, and
valued it at 2s.—Mr. Turney : 2d you mean: it's
! absurd.—Albert Thatcher said the prison,:r td-
mitted to him that he had the box from Mr.
• Nicholls' yard,—P.O. Bird said when he charged
I the prisoner with stealing the box he made no
• reely,--Squire Baker, school attendance officer,
I said the prisoner was a very troublesome boy, and
' there appeared to be no means of gettiug him to
school, lie had been convicted for stealing peas.

—Mr. Turney said the parents ought- to be ashamed
at not being able to control the boy. The husband
never got liss than 27s per week.—The prisoner
woe ordered to receive 6 strokes with the bitch rod;
arei said if he came again he wolf d get more —Mr.
Tu-ney, addressing Mrs. Aaron, said that she was
me cto blame than the child. She ought to exer-
eiee more care over the child, He (Mr, Turney)
happened to know something of her husband and
he, self and knew that they took no ca-e of their
children.—The expenses of the witness Minton were
di.-ad!owed owing to his not attending to give eli-
de e + last week.
"CIE WAS WlCKED."—William Southall, coal
dealer, Lye, was charged with being drunk on the
sth i Ist —P.O. Newman said the defendant was
dr .1.!:. and tis;ng bad language t,.) a man whom he
wa eed to fight.—Defendant said that he was not
drilu:z, "but he was wicked to think he had been
d: o pod on."—Henry Tompkins, coal dealer, Lye,
was , barged with being drunk whilst in charge of a
hors • and cart at the same time and place as the
above.—P,C. Newman proved the case.—The
Bench said they considered that they were both
drunk, but owing to their previous good characters
the eases against them would be dismissed on their
pi\ i g COStS.
AS6AULT ON A MOTHER.—James Thomas Warr,
! labourer, Oldswinford, was charged with assaulting
Ann Hill, his mother, at Oldswinford, on the 7th
ins.—The complainant said the defendant pushed
her and knocked her down three or four times.
She did not know what he did it for.—Maria Haden
alse gave evidence, and said she heard the com-
plainant ask for a brick to knock out defendant's
brains. She saw the complainant on the ground,
but did not see the defendant touch hen—Defendant
said he did not strike his mother, he should be
ashamed to do so. She called his wife a althy
name. and that made his temper rise and he pushed
her.—Mr. Turney said it was a disgraceful state of
1
thiegs between mother and son. They thought
there had been considerable provocation and should
be I, nient as possible with him. They should fine
him 53. and costs, and hoped such a thing woald
not occur again. —Mr. Freer said if his mother
1
provoked him he ought to have walked away.
NEGLECTING HIS WIEE AND FAMILY. Elijah
Hare striker, Lye, was charged with neglecting
to maintain his wife and children and with leaving
there. Mr. Mills said that on the 29th May, 1885,
the defendant's wife and family were aimitted into
the Union. The defendant was summoned in July
and he case was adjourned for a month for the
defeedant to come to some arrangement with the
Guardians. The defendant did not appear before
the Guardians nor at the Court at the end of the
month. The wife and family had been chargeable
to the Union since then, and the amount of the
expeile for their maintenance was £2O. As there
was ne previous conviction defendant was sent to
prin-)11 for one month,
8., 1:13 OF GUARDIANS.—The usual weekly meet-
ing ef this Board was held yesterday, Mr. Haskew
in rho chair. The Master reported : Admitted,26 ;
died 1 arged, 16; dead, 1 ; remaining in the house
500 ; Nit year 519. Relief: Kingswinford, £4B
6s 4d ; Stourbridge, £3l 4s 10d; Halesowen, £26
12s 2d ; non- resident ill 17s sd. ; total £lOB Os 9d,
correre' ending week last year, £lOO lls 40,