The San Francisco call., 1898-04-10
HALE $ NORCROSS
 DECISION IS IN
It Is No Nearer a Conclusion Than It Was Many
 Months Ago.
S,,prerne Court Rehashes Former Ruling and Sends the Case
 Back.

The long-expected declslon III the case of NJ w. Fox against the Hale & NOT cross Silver Mining Company was hand ed down yesterday. and the findings of the majority of the court leave the matter in practically the same condition that 1t was in after the previous de- cisiou by the same tribunal. The opinion was written by Justice Temple and con- cured in by Chief Justice Beatty and Justices Henshaw and Harri Son, Justices Garoutte and Van Fleet dissenting. The substance of the decision is summed up in the following findings:
 The judgment will therefore be as upon the first appeal, that the judg- ment below is set aside and the Su- perior Court is directed to enter a judgment as of the date of the first judgment against Alvinza Hayward, H. M. Levy and the estate of W. S.. Hobart, deceased, for the sum of S21O,19 50, with the interest from that date upon the issue, for having paid an excessive price for milling the ore in the Mexican and Nevada mills. As to the issue presented by a claim for damages sustained for reason of imperfect and fraudulent milling, a new trial is awarded and the court is directed to proceed and try that issue and make findings in accordance with the views hereinbe- fore expressed.
 In order that the full meaning of this decision may be understood a brief his tory of the matter must be given. M. w. Fox, on behalf of himself and other stockholders of the corporation, began an action against the company, and par ticularly against Hayward. Hobart. H. M. Levy, the president of the company, and the Virginia and Mexican Mill, the Nevada Milling and Mining Company and several directors. wealthy citizens of the Pacific Coast. The defendants were ac- cused of conspiracy and frauds of the most gross nature, the principal charge being that Hayward and Hobart, owners of the mills, made an arrangement with mine to their mills should be so treated that large part of the precious metals should go into the shines and tailings and later be converted to the use of the with the suborned president, Levy. thus defrauding the stockholders out of large sums of money.
 The case was first heard before Supe- rior Judge Hebbard, who found that the directors named in the complaint, to- gether with Hayward, Hobart and Levy. were guilty of fraud. That the sum of S21O, 900 be paid by the accused in lieu of the. fraudulent excess of milling charges and the enormous sum of S1,025 900 judg- ment for the amount embedded. From this an appeal was taken to the Su- preme Court. where the Justices. after long deliberation, exonerated the incrim- mated directors of the charge of fraud They also reversed the judgment relating to the s1,o25 900 embezzlement. The Judg- ment on the first amount named, $21O, ,197, was affirmed, the higher tribunal holding that this was merely for an overcharge for milling, but in the damages for fraud reversed.
 When the remitittur went down the Judge of the lower court entered judg- ment for s210,197 and from this another that the Judgment was segregated and there could not be two judgments in ono