The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-12 00:00:00

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.

(Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Guildhall, before Mr.
Justice Crompton and a Special Jury.)
LINTON Y. MERSON.-LUNCHEON BARS AND
SAUSAGES.

This was an action to recover compensation for
alleged misrepresentation relative to the sale of a
coffee-house and refreshment bar. The defendant
pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Sergeant Parry and Mr. Henry James were
counsel for the plaintiff; Mr. Huddleston, Q.C.,
and Mr. Biron were for the defendant. _

The defendant was the keeper of a coffee-house
and refreshment bar called the Ship and Notch
Block, Rateliff highway. The alleged false repre-
sentations were that the defendant wished to leave
for family reasons—that it was a genuine concern,
and that as he could make a living out of it the
plaintiff could not fail in doing so. He sold 600
1 sausage rolls weekly over the counter—a fortunate
thing, said the learned counsel, for the neighbour-
hood that he did not (laughter)—that he made up
more beds nightly than paid the rent and taxes,
land that he had frequently had to turn away cus-
tomers. His wife's mamma, who lived at the West-
end, objected to her serving the class of customers
who frequented the house. (Laughter.) As his
wife insisted on closing the house at nine o'clock
at night much that would otherwise have been
taken was lost, and he instanced taking £3 in one
night from 9 till 12 o'clock when he kept the house
open in his wife's absence. On the defendant's re-
presentations plaintiff agreed to give him £3lO for
the business. He paid £5O deposit, and afterwards
£9O cash—two bills for £3O and a promissory note
for £l4O to Messrs. Lightfoot, the brewers, who
had a claim on the house. After he took possession
he found that none of the representations were re-
alised. The coffee trade was not worth more than
3s. per week, and he scarcely let a bed. A few
months after the brewers took possession of the
house, and a fortnight after the freeholder ejected
them. In proof of the wife's mother's respectabi-
lity defendant produced to plaintiff a letter, pur-
porting to come from the Queen's physician, stat-
ing that the mother's life was only a question of a
few hours. On her death the defendant said his
children would have £2,000 settled on each of
them. On one occasion, when the plaintiff passed
through the bar he found a number of persons eat-
ing, drinking, and smoking, and others call-
ing for beer -and cigars. (Laughter.) The
whole thing was a sham. There was no sausage
rolls sold—in fact the defendant told the sausage
roll man not to call, as the plaintiff would not want
any—(laughter)—and with regard to the drinking
and smoking going on, it was given away by the
defendant to induce the plaintiff to believe there
was a trade to the house. The trade varied from
3s. to 6s. or 7s. per day, and on one Sunday the
barman gave him 2d. as the gross receipts.
(Laughter). Plaintiff had to borrow £2B to live on
during the three months he kept the house open.
He offered the business to the defendant for £5O
but he declined to accept it.
The Plaintiff and other witnesses were called, and
it appeared that the letter referred to was from Dr.
Hamilton Roe. The two bills for the £3O were re-
newed. Plaintiff made some alterations after he
took possession, and he sold about £5 worth of
articles and fixtures. A former occupier, who kept
the house open as a sailors' lodging• house, said he
did well there during the Crimean war. He made
up about 70 beds. He sold the business for £lBO,
but only got half the money.
Mr. Michaels, who lived opposite, and kept a beer
and coffee-house in addition to his clothes shop, said
there was no trade done in coffee and lunches in
Ratcliff-highway. Meat was put in the window,
and it remained there till spoiled. (Laughter.)
Mr. Huddleston—Why, you keep a coffee-house !
Witness—Yes, for my wife to amuse herself. I
have no customers. (Laughter.) The house was
fitted up very fine, like the West-end. (Laughter.)
Outside was painted up " A sausage roll and a glass
of ale for 2d." (Laughter.) Witness also had a
photographic establishment, and took the sailors'
likenesses—(laughter)—but he did not stand at the
door with a card and request the public " to walk
up and be done." (Loud laughter.)
Miss Sophia Michaels was galled, but she added
nothing to the case. She, however, repudiated her
father's assertion that her mother made coffee for her
amusement.

The defence was that no such misrepresentations
were made as alleged. He told the plaintiff that
his wife disliked the business on account of the
number of loose characters that assembled there.
The plaintiff when told of it said he had no such
objections, and intended to make it a sailors' lodg-
ing-house. He was further told by the defendant
and his wife that the house was only fit for that
trade, and that they had made a mistake in fitting
it up as a luncheon bar. He added that as he had
only been there about six weeks he was unable to
say anything about the trade, but expressed an opi-
nion that it was capable of being improved. The
fact was the defendant's wife objected to the cha-
racter of the trade, and would have the house closed
at nine o'clock at night and all Sundays. The plain-
tiff was told so, and it was only in consequence of
his not getting the pecuniary assistance he antici-
pated with which to change it into a sailors' lodg-
ing-house that the speculation failed. The charge
of giving away sausage rolls, &c., was false. The
learned sergeant had dwelt so often and so loug on
the sausages as to impress them with the idea th ,t
he was horrified at the notion of the neighbourhood
being 'poisoned ; but Mr. Huddleston would dis-
abuse him by calling the sau,age-roll man, who
would give him a full description of their constitu-
tion. (Laughter.) That witness would also prove
that the defendant did sell 600 sausages the first
week he opened the house as a luncheon bar. The
defendant purchased the lease from Bolas, the
previous occupier, for £l2O, and paid the back rent
and taxes, The.brewers advanced him £l5O. He
spent about £175 on the premises. The brewers
did the gold writing about the sausage and beer
department. It was notorious that it was the best
sailors' lodging-house in the neighbourhood.
Between eigut and nine o'clock at night,
the time when the loose girls were about, his wite
insisted on having the house closed. The swearing
in the neighbourhood, the defendant said, was so
bad that they could not go to bed till three o clock
in the morning. After he opened the house he found
out that sailors and loose girls were the only custo-
mers. It was, however, an excellent trade in its
way, so far as it went. (Laughter.) The defendant
in his evidence said that a fortnight after the plain-
tiff had purchased the business, and was standing at
the bar, there " was some sort of thing—a mysteri-