The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-11-11 00:00:00

COUNTY COURT.-YESTERDAY.

The Court sat at ten o'clak on yesterday.
IGs.,_/4-ITn v. LAMBERT. This was an action brought by
FiZr• I%* Henry Smith, John Stanley, and Thomas
piazzas printers, against Mr. Robert Lambert, 13 Goree
ci_lfza.s, to recover £3l 10s. It appeared that the defen-
fo'razh.had agreed with plaintiff to print a number of bills
ria lin and post them as advertisement in railway car-
riages, for ss. a month, and they now sought to recover
t;„'.4! amount for six months. Mr. Groeott appeared for
'Le Plaintiff and Mr. Evans for the defendant. The ae.ree-
inent was entered into in January, and it was sought to
teem-
the er for printing and posting up to September. Upon
part of the defence it was urged that a regular contract
:as entered into, and that the plaintiff undertook to do the
rIE for defendant as cheaply as any one else could get it
re, which hordeafterwards discovered was not the case, and
a therefore red them to discontinue it. The Court
1 ,I.°llsuited the plaintiff upon the ground that a contract had
verdict
entered into, but gave them permission to move that a
ebe entered for them, upon which they could go to
the court above.
TheLIVERPOOL HIP JOLNERS' FRIENY SIETY.—
PI L LEECERP AND S
OTHERS V. SHINGLERDL ANDOC OTHERS.
This was an action ;brought by a portion of the Liverpool
Joiners' Friendly Society against another portion of
Hat body to obtain a decision relative to a dispute as to the
zPpointment of officers. Anagreement was entered into
htr,t,ween the parties that His Honor should be empowered
uecide upon all the questions which should arise, and that
Ls decision should be regarded as final. The ourt was
inewded with members of the body, as the decision would
olve most important interests.
thr,34r,. Aspinall, instructed by. Mr. Peacock appeared for
fn: Pi'aintiffS, and Mr. Blair, instructed by Mr. Snowball,
trio defendants.
lair ASPINALL stated the case of the plaintiffs. The
dogt y regarding which the question arose, was one estab-
-4,7d among the ship joiners of Liverpool, of the same
eia,llre as other friendly or benefit societies. The plaintiffs
%lined to be.president, treasurer, and senior stewaril: of the
trZetY, and in that capacity, according to their rules, the
14,Zees and persons entitled to the custody of all the pro-
'Y belonging to the body. The society was established
Ye ~18, 45, and according to its rules the members held halt-
bib"rlY meetings, at which they elected their officers. The
halt-
9th provided that the general meetings should be held
the society's club-room, on the first Tuesday of every
enth, and that at the general meetings, which took place
m",ligust and February, the half-yearly elections should be
of a president, vice-president, treasurer, and two
auditors, and that at each meeting in May and November
there she uld be elected three committee-men and one steward.
at general meeting was held upon the 2d of August last, and
di
,t.h.at time there were some divisions existing in the society,
f,Nislons which he believed principally arose from the dif-
iLeat opinions entertained by the members regarding the
r'ess of a person named Stephen Dowling, one of the de-
fendants, for holding the office of secretary. When the
ti.leetion took place the plaintiffs were undoubtedly elected to
he offices which they now claimed. John Leece was elected
resident, Thomas Young vice-president, and John Haughton
ate,asurer. He believed it was admitted upon all hands that
rosin Owen was elected senior steward, and the only 14,mate-
question between the parties was as to the election of
ti,,,e,eo and Haughton, which he would show unanimously
CIK place upon the 2d of August. That they were elected
dis-
puted, considerable majority of the meeting could not be dis-
,,4, but the question would turn upon another point, to
which he should call attention.
HONOR : Do all the members vote, Mr. Aspinall ?
1611.• ASPINALL said all the members voted, but he be-
b7:_ed there would be no question so far as the mere voting
ti concerned, concerned, but the dispute would turn upon the ques -
It' Whether they were eligible to be elected at the time.
4 Would now direct the attention of the Court to rule 18,
tin be
19, which provided that no member who should be found
itilye three calendar months in arrear of any fine or penalty
Ival'esed by the Society, was eligible to hold office. There
tit: another clause to the same effect in rule 2, requiring
t all members seeking office, should be free from all fines
c)R,:penalties of three months' standing, and should also be
til.„l‘, and of good character. Now, at the meeting upon
tioi);ed August, Mr. Dowling was present, and as the clec-
eessir,l'roeeeded for the different offices, he was asked in sue-
assvrwn, Whether the parties so chosen were eligible, and he
°bpi ered in the affirmative in each case. It must have been
the °!8 to him, that the question was put in reference to
in ea he
regarding fines and nothing else, and he answered
a, 'aoh case that the party was eligible to be elected. It
luscious
that Mr. Dowling subsequently became tolerably
thnscious that he would not be continued as secretary by
he new officers, and for this reason, or some other reason,
.e resigned his office, and sent a notice of his resignation to
'very member of the Society.

Ifs HONOR ?
Mr. ASPINALL said he was Secretary, and he was perfectly
Well aware thatthe gentlemen elected were parties who didnot
approve of his continuing in the office of Secretary, and feel-
ing that, he resigned the office. He still, however, con-
tinued to act as Secretary, and intrigued a little, for the pur-
Paaa'of setting asile the election of the plaintiffs. Shortly
Pliblt,er that election had taken place, the Society was somewhat
1,44',!1ed at the issue of a circular, signed by the
that be -President, Mr. Roe, (and he might add
upon Thas not instructed to throw any imputation
'Mite I. Roe, who was believed to have acted
to at,:'°/lestly in the matter) summoning the members
PriaZ4(l a special general meeting of the Society upon
electi,f night, August 12th, 1853, for the purpose of
ea Parties to fill the offices:for the ensuing half year,
~,o?
to ell occasion each member was urged in the circular
Lead
punctually for the purpose of defending the
Zi,t4,of the society, and preventing the meeting from being
here was
like that at which the regular elections took place.
thatl'e,was not at this time any attempt made to set aside
fileii.e!ection upon the ground of the parties chosen being
said table ; at least in the circular there was not a word
that effect, and if these gentlemen had been
tho iglble upon the score of fines, there was no doubt that
re, se Who were anxious to get rid of them would have
°fted to that objection. The circular only alleged that
the sheeting was a packed one, and that there was some ,
"er in the Board of Directors, to set aside its proceedings.
thet:thier an such power existed, or how it was given to
y
lie did not know, because the principal portion of
G e directors were the very persons who went out of office.
the 12th of August, a meeting was • accordingly held,
a
131 j all the old officers were re-elected there. At that
ttlng there was a very large attendance indeed, but the
we
who took part with Messrs. Houghton, Leece,
Young, had been advised by some one that by voting
val.the election, they would be accordingly te authority
fro kit caned tile meeting, and they abstained
01,111 voting ; the consequence of which was that the
ptt ofiacers were re-elected. On the 24th of August, the
44„tletnen for whom he appeared, attended, according to
of the rules, the first committee meeting, after they
tall! elected for the purpose of being inaugurated, according
these Provisions contained in the rules. They were told
that it was not the right day, and that they should
h" Upon 'the 30th of August. There was some reason
admire 'the ingenuity of that postponement, because
f
teLiground upon. which it was now urged that these
el:eon were li was that they were in arrear
th,: a'-'ea since the ine
24thgible, of May, and the postponement was
1,,,4 three
assented to in order that they might be alleged to
'ree months in arrears. At the time of the pospone-
‘,„en,, Mr. Dowling, from these t came did not say one
tiff about the existence of fines, of which the plain-
was not in the least conscious until the 30th, when,
ire. online. to be inaugurated, they were told they were
upon Bible 6
the ground of being three months in arrear.
to 'e f the rules was, provided that if any member declined
ith act upon committee, he was liable to certain fines, and it
Vecared that upon the 24th of May, it was the duty of the
i'aatiffs to attend and be inaugurated as committee-men.
Raley did attend, and upon that evening a dispute arose re-
-41'441g the inauguration of another person who had been
the elected a. committee-man. His clients took part with
roan whom tho committee refused to admit until he had
undergon
e an investigation regarding some breach of the
files he was alleged to have committed, and the result was,
foil't two of the plaintiffs left the room with him, and were
3,q„,,ed by the third. Upon that occasion not one single
tto;4 was said to them by anybody of any fine whatever,
lea.„.;aa any intimation given that they would be fined for
ierv'ttg tho room. Never, until it was alleged against them
tcaa purpose of voiding the present election, wereor they
4ligaittlat a fine was to be enforced against them, the
ti ‘est intimation whatever of the kind given. The ques-
4,pa Which would now arise were, whether any fines were
attalli;allY imposed, inasmuch whether the plaintiffs were dis-
tl4Tted by them, as it could not be contended
ijoiu'eY were three months in arrears at the time the elec.?.
ph took place. He thought there would be some doubt
it 1,-"uer any such fines were ever inflicted at all, and whether
Dallas not altogether a very ingenious contrivance on the
1/°f Mr. Dowling.
a•0,11.,s rioNeu What is the rule under which the fine
DT become become imposed ?
iltaLr• ASPINALL said, that the 7th section of rule 18, which
that if any member, after being elected, should re-
eli t 0 office, he was liable to a fine. Neither of his
for 'ts, he contended, could have been liable to that fine,
014441:Ler of them had refused to take office. They went
44444 the room, but they said nothing of not taking office,
itti nothing whatever was said to them about a fine being
th4°Bed upon them. Mr. Aspinall then proceeded to say,
t,nia clients would be quite satisfied if the Court declared
111, " offices vacant. They were strongly of opinion, that
ita
tsreat body of the society were as anxious for its welfare
tat; ‘,Y were themselves ; and they would therefore be quite
ikraed that a new election should be declared, every officer
lib`e* removed from his position, and the society left at full
(9,0' to elect those parties in whom they placed the fullest
tlo,.4enee, At present there had been actually three elec-
ter,o', all parties claiming to hold office. Let them all be
kr ti:ed, and leave it in file hands of the majority to chow°
to h ealselves the persons whom they believed best qualified
141cZ,arli.age their affairs, and they would then see whether
coabi Leece, Haughton, Young, or Messrs. Slangier,
re of and Moore, were the persons. At present, the mem.
'ee; the society had not the slightest notion who were
itl'eaVtlPer parties to receive their subscriptions, and the
Acuities which existed in that respect, rendered it

most desirable that some arrangement should be at once
adopted.

Sohn Haughton was examined by Mr. Aspinall, and de-
posed that he was a member of the general committee of the
Liverpool Ship-Joiners' Friendly Society in 1852. Previous
to the last half-yearly election of officers, there was some
dissatisfaction among the members, upon account of the
secretary having given in no report ; no report had been
given in for more than two-and-a-half years; it was part of
the secretary's duty to make a report and furnish accounts
every half year ; witness was elected treasurer upon the 2nd
of August, at the same time that Mr. Leece was elected
President, and Mr. Young Vice-President. Mr. John Owen
was elected steward ; there were 86 persons present at the
meeting; witness had 59 votes; there were 4 candidates for
his office, and 14 votes were the largest number given for
any of the others : Mr. Leece had 46 votes, and the nearest
to him was Mr. Roe, who had 19 ; Mr. Young had 58, and
the next to him had 23. There was no dispute about the
election of Mr. Owens. Remembers Mr. Dowling being
asked if they were eligible, and he replied that, they were.
Received a circular from Mr. Roe after the election; believes
all the other members received a similar circular.
His Honor : What is the whole number of members in
the society ?

Witnes; said, he never heard what the number was, but
should suppose 400 or 500. The meeting commenced by
the Chairman, Mr. Roe reading the circular which declared
that the election of the 2nd of August, took place at a
packed meeting. They then proceeded to elect other officers,
but the greater part of the meeting refrained from voting.
The president, vice-president, and secretary were proposed
by themselves, and seconded by themselves. There were
two candidates for the office of secretary, Mr. Dowling
and Mr. Pattisson ; 101 voted for Mr. Pattisson, and 6 for
Mr. Dowling ; but, it was afterwards said, that this election
was invalid, because it took place after eleven o'clock, which
was contrary to rule. Two auditors were elected. On the
23rd of August, witness attended at the Committee meeting,
for the purpose of being inaugurated, when Stephen Dow-
ling said, that was not the proper night, because the quarter
would not be out until after twelve o'clock. Went again on
the 30th, and was then told that there was a fine of 13s. 4d.
against him since the 23rd of May. Went up stairs to take
his place as a Committee-man, when he was prevented by
James Fitzpatrick. Was told that the fine against him was for
refusing to serve upon the Committee. Recollects being elected
to serve upon the Committee in February, 1853, and did
serve. In May there was an election for three other commit-
tee-men, and Mr. Howgate, Mr. Leece, and Mr. Young,
was elected. There was some dispute about the inaugura-
tion of Howgate. Leece and Young wanted to have the
three inaugurated together, and they finally left the room.
Witness also left the room shortly after they did. Not a
word was said to him or any of them about a fine, nor was
any caution given to them. Never refused to serve upon
the Committee, and from that time never heard of any fine
being inflicted upon him, until he went to be inaugurated as
a Treasurer.
Cross-examined:by Mr. BLAIR, : Did not say he would not
be inaugurated until Howgate was also inaugurated. Ed-
ward Parker did not tell Leece and Young that if they left
the room they would break the rules and would be fined.
Witness left the room because he felt dissatisfied with the
mode in which the business was transacted for a length of
time. Gave no reason at the time why he did so. and did
not intimate his intention to Leece and Young.

Mr. John Leece was examined by Mr. Aspinall, and gave
similar evidence, admitting to Mr. Blair upon cross-examin-
ation, that he had heard of the fine against him on the 12th
of August.

Tilt; closed the case on behalf of the plaintiffs.
Mr. BLAIR briefly stated the grounds upon which the
defendants claimed a judgment in their favour. He did
did not lay any stress upon the objection raised by the meet-
ing being held upon the 12th of August, orwith regard to the
meeting where the elections took place being packed. But he
relied upon the disability 'of the gentlemen who had been
elected, upon the grounds that having been, as ho would
clearly shew, in arrear of fines since May, they were alto-
gether disqualified at the time from holding office.
This being the case, in declaring, as the Committee had
done, that the office was therefore vacant, and in
holding a public meeting for the election of offi-
cers to fill the vacant places, he contended they were
adopting the course which, under all circumstances, was
best calculated to meet the views of the majority of the
society. They adopted every measure which was
required to give the necessary publicity to the step
which they felt bound to take. They issued placards, which
were put up in every part of the town, especially in those
places where the members of the society were most likely to
see them. The meeting was called for a regular fixed time ;
it was held accordingly, and the officers duly and formally
elected. It seemed to him, therefore, that the course had
been adopted which was most likely to meet the views of all
parties, to put an end to the differences which existed, and to
carry out the rules of the society. Under the rules of the
society an officer was liable to be fined for not attending at
the general meetings. _

His HONOR : That rule clearly applies to a man not attend-
ing at all. It surely cannot apply where he does attend, but
leaves the room after some time. According to the rules, if
he does not present himself before the expiration of the first
half hour he is conaidered az not attending, but that io quite
a different thing from the circumstances which are before us
in this case.
Mr. BLAIR : But your honour will observe that the rule
also says—" If he shall be guilty of breach of order or
neglect of duty." We contend that this act was a breach of
order.

His Ho !ion : Very well. I want to know how you
put it. . .

Mr. BLAIR also observed that under section 11 they were
entitled to impose a fine upon a man if he gave up his office.
His HONOR : That refers to a different thing altogether,
refers to a man giving up his office, and saying he will not
hold it. I have very great difficulty in seeing how you can
fine Haughton upon that ground at all, even supposing that
you had the right to fine Leece and the other party, for there
is a manifest difference between the cases.

Mr. BLAIR said his leaving the room and refusing to re-
main there, clearly constituted a breach of order, and a
neglect of duty, which brought him within the rule, and
entitled the society to impose a fine upon him.
Stephen Dowling was then examined by Mr. Blair. lle
deposed that he had been secretary to the society. for some
time. The reports of the society were usually given after
a period of eight years. _ _ _ _

His Ilorroi: What have I to do with this ?
Mr. BLAIR : My learned friend Mr. Aspinall made some
reference to the reports not having been furnished by Mr.
Dowling.

His HONOR : I do not think that I have anything what-
ever to do with the question of whether Mr. Dowling was a
good secretary or a bad secretary to this society.
Witness continued : Was present at the meeting for the
inauguration of the officers in May last. Houghton and
Leece were summoned to be inaugurated. Leece came
first. Lecce was told that a person named Howgate was
not to be inaugurated until after he had undergone an in-
vestigation into a charge which was made against him.
Leece refused to be inaugurated unless Howgate was inau-
gnrated also. The chairman cautioned Leecc against re-
fusing to be inaugurated, stating that he would be dealt
with according to the rule if he persisted in his refusal.
Leece still refused, and left the room. Young did the same,
add before leaving was also cautioned by the chairman.
Houghton was also present while this was going on, and he
retired from the room saying that he would not keep his
seat any longer, or some words to a similar effect. The
chairman also cautioned Houghton, but Houghton made use
of some expressions to the effect that he did not care about
the rules. In consequence of this there were fines imposed
upon each of them. Leece and Young were never inaugu-
rated. Does not know that notice was given to them that
the fines were imposed; the caution which tbey received
from the chairman was considered sufficient to answer the
purpose.
His HONOR : I must remark that these men ought to
have been informed. They might have been quite willing
to have qualified themselves for office by paying the fine. I
am clearly of opinion that if behind a man's back he is
fined that cannot possibly disqualify him. He cannot be
expected to be liable to disqualification for not paying a fine
which he never heard of.
Mr. BLAIR : You have it in evidence that they were in-
formed of it upon the 12th of August.
His HONOR : I am not saying a word about, that part
of it.

The witness continued : On the 24th of August, the plain-
tiffs were told that the fines were still against them, but
they would not pay.
His HONOR : Mr. Dowling, how is a man to know that
he is fined ?

Witness : lie is called up before the Committee, and he is
told that a fine has been imposed on him.

His HONOR Was that done in this case ?
Witness : In this caso they were cautioned that they
would be dealt with according to the rule.
His HONOR: After a fine is inflicted in an ordinary case,
what do you do ? Is the party summoned ?

- -
Witness : He gets notice.
To Mr. BLAin: Witness tendered his resignation upon
the Bth and 9th of August, and upon the following day
there was a meeting of the Board of Directors, when they
refused to accept the resignation.
To Mr. ASPINALL : Keeps a record in the fine book of all
fines which are paid, Records some of the fines upon the
minutes. Does not know of any member of the society who
saw the record of the fines entered against Houghton,
Lcece, and Young, until August; cannot say that there is
any person now in the Court who saw it.
Edward Parker, and a party. named Maxwell, were ex-
amined, to prove that the plaintiffs were cautioned before
leaving the room, on the 23rd of May, that they would be
dealt with according to the rules. The evidence of these
witnesses in general corroborated that of Dowling.

His HONOR : If a man conceives he is unjustly fined, has
he any right of appeal? _

Mr: D"OWLING7 Yes; to the Board of Directors.
Mr. ASPINALL : Shew me in what rule that right is men-
tioned.

Mr. DOWLING : In rule 3, section 4, page 12.
His HONOR : I must say that it appears to me that all
these disputes might have been avoided by simply keeping a
book of fines, and putting down there the names of every
party fined, so that any party fined for misconduct, or for