Case Name: PUMEROY against BRUCE
Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1825-09-12
Citations: 13 Serg. & Rawle 186
Docket Number: 
Parties: PUMEROY against BRUCE.
Judges: 
Reporter: Reports of cases adjudged in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (Sergeant & Rawle)
Volume: 13
Pages: 186–189

Head Matter:
[Pittsburg,
September 12, 1825.]
PUMEROY against BRUCE.
IN ERROR.
The narr in covenant by the apprentice against his master, set forth, that the plaintiff put himself to the defendant, to learn the trade and mystery of dying and fulling, which the defendant then professed to follow, and the usual covenants, on the part of the apprentice, and that the master, in consideration of their performance, was to provide sufficient sustenance, apparel, and schooling, and give him two sufficient suits of freedom clothes; the breach assigned was, that the defendant did not teach the plaintiff the art, &c. of fulling and dying, but kept him at other business; nor give him two suits of clothes, and schooling: held, had after verdict.
In the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland county, from which the judgment in this case was removed, by writ of error, Alexander Bruce, the defendant in error, and plaintiff below, declared against George Pumeroy, the plaintiff in error, and defendant below, in covenant. The declaration set forth an indenture between the parties,, dated the 20th of August, 1825, which wit nessed, that the said Alexander Bruce did, on, &c. by and with his own consent, put and place, and by the same presents, did put and plage himself, the said Alexander Bruce, with his own eon-sent, and that of his father, and next friend, John Bruce, apprentice to George Pumeroy, and his heirs, of the same township and county aforesaid, to learn the trade and mystery of dying and fulling, which the said George Pumeroy then professed to occupy and follow. And with him as an apprentice to dwell, continue, abide, and serve, from the day of the date of the said indenture, for and during the term of twelve years, and forty days, fully to be completed and ended; during all which time, he, the said apprentice, his said master well and faithfully should serve, his secrets keep, and his lawful commands every where gladly obey. Hurt to his said master he should not do, nor suffer it to be done by others, but of the same, to the utmost of his power, should forthwith give notice to his said master; the goods of his said master he should not waste, or them lend to any without his consent. At cards, dice, or any other unlawful games, he should not play;, taverns or alehouses he should not frequent; fornication he should not. commit; matrimony he should not contract; from the service of his said master he should not at any time absent himself, or depart without license from his said master; but in all things behave himself as a good arid faithful apprentice ought, to do towards his said master. In consideration of the full performance of the above-mentioned terms snd covenants, the said George Pumeroy was to provide sufficient meat, drink, washing, lodging, and apparel, for the said apprentice, and to give the said apprentice one year and and nine months’ schooling, and to give him two sufficient suits of freedom clothes, one on and another off. And the said Alexander Bruce in fact saith, that he hath well and truly kept and performed all the covenants in the said deed of indenture, on his part to be kept and performed, and did well, truly, and faithfully serve him, the said George, during the term of twelve years, and forty days, as mentioned in the said deed of - indenture. Nevertheless, he, the said George Pumeroy, hath not kept and performed the covenants, on his part to be kept and performed, but hath broken them in this, to wit, that the said George Pumeroy did not instruct and teach the said Alexander Bruce the art, trade, and mystery, of fulling and dying; but that he, the said George Pu~ meroy, kept him, the said Alexander Bruce, at other business and labour, about the other business of the said George. Neither hath the said George Pumeroy given the said Alexander the schooling, nor the said two suits of freedom clothes, nor either of them, as mentioned in the said deed of indenture, nor any part thereof. Although to do the same, &e. &*c.
--- The defendant craved oyer, a"nd pleaded non infregit convenHones, and covenants performed, and issues were joined. Tim plaintiff obtained a verdict for four hundred dollars, and judgment was rendered thereon.
Alexander, for the plaintiff in error,
now argued, that the breach assigned, or rather one of the breaches, is, that the defendant did not teach the plaintiff the art of fulling and dying, which it is not averred, that the defendant covenanted to teach him. The damages are entire for all the breaches. He cited 1 Chitt. Plead. 220, 241.
Foster, contra.
It is set forth in the declaration, that the plaintiff bound himself to the defendant, to learn the art of fulling and dying, which is as much as to say, that the defendant agreed to teach him that art. The defendant pleaded covenants performed, which refers to the covenants properly laid.

Opinion:
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Duncan, .1.
The objeclion to this declaration is after a verdict, ou atrial of the merits; and it, therefore, became the duty of the court, and has been their inclination, to support the judgment, if it could be done. But this anxiety to overlook form, and to consider as cured every defective statement of title, which a verdict could cure, ought not to prevail, where no title is set out, and where one of the breaches assigned is on a covenant not contained in the covenants set forth in the declaration. The covenants stated set forth the usual covenants in indentures of apren'ticeship, on the part of the apprentice, and that the master, in consideration of their performance, was to provide sufficient sustenance and apparel, and give him two sufficient suits of freedom clothes. The declaration then states the service of the apprentice, and faithful performance of all his covenants, and assigns the breaches in the following words: "that the said G. Pumeroy did not instruct the said Jl. Bruce in the art, trade, and mystery, of fulling and dying, but kept him at other business and employment; nor did he give him the two suits of clothes, nor the schooling, as mentioned in the said indenture." Now, it is not stated in the declaration, that he covenanted to teach and instruct him in the art and mystery of a fuller and dyer. This breach is broader than the covenants; and, therefore, is erroneous, on every principle of pleading. 1 Chitt. Plead. 325.
The inference of law is irresistible, that, from the covenants of the apprentice and his service, the master's covenant was to teach him the trade; for that was the very consideration of his service; and even though the indenture omitted this in terms, yet it was the spirit, effect, and substance of the contract, and might have been so laid in the declaration, notwithstanding the omission of the words. The court would so have construed the instrument, if the declaration had so alleged it. But it set forth other covenants, contained in the indenture, and totally omits this most important Covenant, the moving consideration of the whole contract. The breaches assigned, are of the minor covenants, as weli as of the essential one, the instruction. But, as it is not stated that the master did covenant to instruct, the verdict cannot cure this fatal omission, which is the very gist of the action, and the consideration of the whole contract. The argument of the defendant in error, that the damages might only have been given on the breaches properly laid, is not supported by any authority. The general doctrine, that, where the same count contains matters of various kinds, some good, some bad, the damages shall be intended only to be given for that which is good, is generally applied to actions of slander, where the words were all spoken at the same time, and all must he laid as spoken. Then it must be intended that the damages were given only for the actionable words; otherwise, the slander would go unpunished, if he would mix with his actionable words, words that gave no cause of action, for the jury must find the words as laid. But the law is very different, where the plaintiff introduces into his declaration breaches out of the covenant he has stated, though there are some that are within it. This matter is very fully considered in Gordon v. Kennedy, 2 Binn. 287.
In actions of covenant, it is sufficient to state the substance and legal effect of the covenant, not literatim, but their spirit. 2 W. Saund. 366. Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch, 87. It is always allowable, and often necessary, to-declare according to the legal effect and import of written contracts, rather than on the precise words. 10 Mass. Rep. 286. But where there is no contract alleged, there can be no breach assigned; and though the court, after verdict, may presume every thing to have been proved that is alleged, yet that cannot be presumed which is not stated, and which is the very gist of the action.
The contract should be stated; the covenant, the breach of which is complained of, and which prescribes the duty to be performed. In order to support any action, the cause of it must be alleged. The plaintiff does not recover according to the probata, but secundum allegata et probata, and the contract must be always stated, but may be according to its legal effect. Common sense, as well as the rules of pleading, which are founded on strong sense, but which, misapplied and misunderstood, are sometimes used as instrument of chicane, requires of a party to allege that which forms a constituent part of his title; and this holds particularly in written contracts. Now, before the plaintiff below could recover for the breach of not instructing him, the covenant to instruct him must bé alleged. There could be no breach assigned for the nonperformance of that which the plaintiff has not alleged the defendant contracted to perform.
Judgment reversed,