Page:New Brunswick Magazine Issue 1.djvu/153
right to one half the lands was conceded. James White was at St. John when the second contract was agreed to by the other partners, and he declined to sign it on the following grounds, viz.:—
"That having one fourth part of the duties, trouble and services to undergo and perform in transacting the business of the Copartnership, yet he was by the said Contract entitled to one sixth part only of the lands to be divided under the Contract. But that, although he disliked as aforesaid his having no greater share than one sixth part in the Concern, he nevertheless joined with James Simonds in carrying- on the business in full confidence that some equitable allowance would be made to him for his services over and above his proportion of the said profits and lands."
The question of the division of the lands was afterwards the source of much controversy, ending in legal proceedings which, in one form or another, were prolonged for a period of twenty years. The history of the proceedings will be found in part in the records of the Court of Chancery preserved at Fredericton. The first "Bill of Complaint" of Hazen & Jarvis against James Simonds was filed by Ward Chipman, their attorney, July 19, 1791. It is a formidable parchment containing some 12,000 words. The "Cross Bill" of Simonds against Hazen & Jarvis was filed by Elias Hardy, attorney to Simonds, Nov. 17, 1794. It is written on large sheets of paper, attached to each other so as to form a continuous roll 20 feet 6 inches long and 20 inches in width, containing about 17,000 words. To this Ward Chipman responded with an answer on behalf of his clients of 19,600 words.
The law student will find much information in these documents concerning the mode of procedure then in vogue, and will form a high estimate of the abilities and industry of Chipman and Hardy, men who, in their day and generation, were giants in their profession.
In carrying on their business at St. John, Messrs. Simonds and White found their task no light one. So many and so diverse were the interests involved that it