The Sun.
London, England, 1824-01-29 00:00:00

INDIAN HORSE CASE.

SUPREME COURT, CALCUTTA, JULY 17, 1823.
LONGUEVILLE CLARKE v. HENRY LECHMERE WORRALL.

Mr. PEMBERT ON opened the proceedings in this case. He
;recapitulated the counts, and stated that -the Defendant had
pleaded the general issue.
Mr. TUILTON addressed the Court. 'Whatever, he said, one
of the parties may be, the other was well known as an Advo-
cate in that Court, and who, more knowing in his profession
than in horse-flesh, had been taken in by one more knowing
than himself. The Defendant in this case, Mr. Wortal, was
in the Body Guard, and had good opportunities of bargaining
in horses, of which he took good care to avail himself. The
real Defendant, however, was Mr. Hodgson, styling himself a
Veterinary Surgeon. On the 27th January an advertisement
of a horse appeared in Taylor's Catalogue, which appeared to
be just the kind of horse Mr. Clarke wanted. He accordingly
bought The • horse, and sent it to Mr. Cook, the livery stable-
keeper, for his examination. He gave it a character as. being
lame, and it would be well if the Defendant could prove that he
was ever known to be sound for three days together. Mr.
Clarke having discovered the. -unsoundness of. the horse, re-
turned him within-48 hours to Messrs. Taylor's and. CO., but
he first of all sent him to another-Veterinary Surgeon, who said
the horse was lime, and never likely to be sound.
When the horse was thus returned to Messrs. Taylor's,
they sent 31r..Clarke'e note to Mr. 'Worrell. A correspondence
passed, and Mr. Worrall'refusect to take him back, on the
ground that the warranty was to be settled between Mr. Clarke
and Messrs. Taylor's, because Mr.
.Hodgson had written a
note to Mr. Worrell, which he had sent to Messrs. Taylor's,
and which they sent to Mr. Clarke,. couched in the following
terms :-- -

" My Dear Worrall—lt is my opinion that the grey horse
is sound.—Yours truly, • J. HODGSON."
A notice was sent to Mr. Worrall, and another to Mr.
Clarke, that the horse was sent to Mr. Cook's stable at the ex-
pence of the two parties to which Mr. Worrall replied that he
had made over all right in the horse to Mr. Hddgson. Upon
this Mr. Hodgson went to Messrs. Taylor, informing them,
that as the horse had been bought and not paid for, he must
be resold, and that he would bring an action against the first
purchaser for the difference in price, or else against them for
the whole amount. Messrs. Taylor, however, paid the money
to Mr. Worrall and thus settled the matter. _ _ _

No one could possibly have pursued a more liberal line of
conduct than Mr. Clarke did upon this occasion. In coming
upon Messrs. Taylor and Co., Mr. Worrell principally relied
upon the fact of their having trusted the horse to Mr. Clarke
before the money was paid for him. Mr. Clarke determined
that they should not lose, and paid the amount over to them.
The Learned Counsel stated that he was really sorry to
trouble his Lordship so long, but in the course of the evidenee
many circumstances would come out of much importance. As
to the warranty of the horse, he could prove him to be un-
sound, and he believed that he could prove, too, that the ,de,
fendant knew him to be so. He should not enquire how he
was unsound, for it was generally.understood that any want of
action or utility, or any temporary illness, was an unsoundness.
There was only one instance in which it was held that, the
fleshes were not an unsoundness. In this case he would prove
that the horse was unsound in the fore feet, and that in conse-
quence of it, he could not go as other horses did. He would
prove Mr. Hodgson's knowledge of the horse fora long time,
and that if he were not shod in a peculiar manner, he could
not go. He would shew that, Mr. Hodgson knew this, and
that he did every which his skill could devise for him—that he
bled him in the feet, and shod him in his own way but that
nothing succeeded.—He would prove also that Mr. Hodgson
was very near.having an action brought against him once be-
fore, when he gave a certificate of the soundness of this very
horse. He could trace him through several hands, and shew
that he had been sold twice under the same warrantry, and
had been returned. He had been bought by Mr. Gordon, and
by Colonel Broughton, the latter of whom sold him agaiu with-
out warrantry at a considerable loss. In April 1822, he was
pompously advertised as the Grey Arab Horse Centipede.
The ADVOCATE-GENERAL.—He could afford then to be
lame of a foot or two.

Mr. Ttrwrox suggested that he may have been called Can-
tipede on the principle of " Iwo: a non lucendo," because he
had not a foot to stand upon, or at any rate only two. Colonel
Broughton bought him and sent him to Mr. Vaquelin, who
said he was unsound, as he no doubt would be proved to be, to
all the knowing ones, both in horse flesh and in law.—No
doubt, when Mr. Hodgson should be called, he would say his
horse was good ; he saw another gentleman there who of course
would say that he did not sell a bad horse, and there was an-
other gentleman in Court who would say that if the horse were
unsound he had not found it out, although he was in his pos-
session. But Mr. Hodgson had declared his' to be the only
legal opinion in horse-flesh, and he (the Learned Counsel)
could never be so foolish, he trusted, as to put the skill of old.
John
Vaquelin, a man who understood horses before Mr.
Hodgson was born, into competition with the experience of
that gentleman. Colonel Broughton thought so too and when
he did not find him to be such a horse as he expected, lie said
that if Mr. Hodgson would warrant him, he would keep him.
Mr. Hodgson did so, and Major Broughton took him back,
supposing that the lameness was only a temporary affair. Mr.
Hodgson wrote to him at this time to say that in shoeing the
horse, care must be taken to cut away the crest, and to save
the sole of the foot to prevent pressure, and thus if this were ne-
cessary the horse must be sent from Barrackpore to 'Ballygunj
every time that he needed shoeing. The Learned Counsel
proceeded to slim that the character of the horse depended
entirely upon Mr. Hodgson's good opinion, and 'expressed his
surprize that that opinion should be disputed. What, said he,
shall his opinion he disputed ! shall Mr. Hodgson's opinion
be disputed ? shall the only legal opinion in Calcutta
be disputed ? And by whom ? By Mr. Cook, Mr. Va.
quelin or Mr. Burtlis—all young men, just came out.
No ! thus to dispute the only legal authority would be as bad
as to dispute that of the Advocate-General. The ipte dixit of
such an authority as Mr., Hodgson's ought to satisfy Colonel
Broughton, Mr. Cook; or any one else who chooses to buy the
grey horse Centipede.
The Learned Counsel proceeded to state that he would prove
that the horse wanted peculiar treatment when he needed to be
shod. That Col. Broughton took him to Lamb's sale, where
Mr. Hodgson bought him, and as no subsequent sale had
been proved, he had a right to presume that Mr. Hodgson was
the real owner of him. His name it was true was too much
mixed up with him for him to appear in that 'character—people
would not buy a horse as soon from a veterinary surgeon as
from an officer of the regiment ; all this may account for his
not appearing so, but perhaps there was a stronger reason than
all these together—perhaps Mr. Worrall thought that Mr.
Clarke was obliged to take the word of the only legal autho-
rity, against those of Mr. Cook, Mr. Vaquelin, Mr. Burdis,
Col. Broughton, Mr. Gordon, and Mr. Hunter. That the horse
had been made up by Mr. Hodgson he would not deriy,hut he
did deny that a horse could be sound which had an organic de-
fect at' such a nature as certainly to recur frequently, and if the
Learned Counsel could prove what he had stated, he would
leave Mr. Hodgson to take his only legal opinion And the grey
horse Centipede, where they would carry more weight than they
did in that Court.

PETER HEIVETT was then called and examined by Mr.
PEMBERTON.--:He deposed that he knew Mr. Worrall's hand-
writing, and had frequently received note,: from him in the same
hand as the copy of advertisetnent now produced. The copy
described the horse in question as a capital grey horse,--a good
mover, warranted sound and quiet, and driven with a lady in,
the hug y. In consequence of the advertisement the horse
was sold to Mr. Longueville Clarke and delivered to him under
the regular conditions of the sale.---the horse was returned within
the prescribed time. by Mr. Clarke with a certificate of unsound-
ness—the certificate was signed by,Mr. Burths, who pronounced
him lame in the fore feet—this was communicated to Mr. Wor-
rall who refused to have any thing to do with the horse, which
was subsequently sent to him, and he refused to receive it. He
afterwards wrote to Messrs. Taylor, and said that he expected
the money from them. This was communicated to Mr. Clarke,
who,also refused to take him, and he was afterwards sent to
Mr. Cook's stables at the expense of the seller and,purchaser.
Witness proved all the documents and correspondence which
passed between the house of Taylor and Co. and the other
parties in consequence of this transaction. After this Mr. Wor-
rall wrote •to say that he had made over all right and title in
the horse to Mr. Hodgson, and they received a communication
to that effect front him, desiring also. the re-sale of the horse
and threatening to bring an action against the purchaser for the
difference or against them for the whole. An, action, was com-
menced against Messrs. Taylor and Co., who to settle the
Matter, paid the proceeds of the sale with interest, costs,
&c., and Mr. Clarke paid them the price of the
horse. Witness knew the horse before, had never