Page:The English Reports v1 1900.pdf/382

Pillans and Stewart, till about July, 1711, and then pressed Stewart to let him peruse the partnership accompts, and after many delays, and frivolous excuses, respondent was shewed very fine books neatly bound, which he was told were the partnership books; and respondent, not being versed in merchants accompts, carried an accomptant with him to examine them; but when they came to be opened, to his great surprize, found them blank paper, without a word or figure written in them; and thereupon respondent finding that he had been fraudulently drawn in and imposed upon by the appellants, exhibited his bill for a discovery of their transactions under the partnership, and to compel them to repay him his money; and then the appellants insisted by their answers, that they had entered into a new partnership with five persons in North-britain, for fifteen years, for respondent and Denn as well as themselves, and that the respondent ought to be bound by, and liable to that partnership, though they did not pretend respondent was ever previously acquainted therewith, or expressly consented to it; and that when the articles of that partnership were read at the hearing, which was the first time respondent over saw or beard those articles, respondent or Denn's names were not once mentioned in them, nor were they said to be entered into by appellants on the behalf of the respondent and Denn; and the articles appeared to be such, as put it into the power of the six North-British gentlemen, not only at their pleasure to dispose of his present stock, [448] but to call for, and dispose of as much more of his money as they pleased: And that the schedules annexed to their answers, consisted of Items and particulars foreign to the fishing trade; and that appellants thereby endeavoured to charge respondent with considerable sums pretended to be laid out by the appellants, or one of them, in buying up cloths, serges, ratins, and stuffs, proper for their business, in the way of their trade or merchandize of wine; and though it did not appear that any fish was ever caught, yet Pillans charged respondent with his salary of 250l. per ann. and Stewart and Pillans, demanded an allowance from respondent, about 1000l. for sallary exchange, and remittances of money from Stewart to Pillans, and from Pillans to Stewart, and for Bleau's salary for book-keeping, although no books were ever kept according to the articles, but said the books were kept at Edinburgh; and that appellants at the hearing insisted on several letters, some subscribed by respondent, and some by Stewart, respondent and Denn, as evidence of respondent's consent to the Scotch articles; but when the matter was examined into, it appeared that respondent was drawn in to sign such letters by fraud and imposition; and that the letters were brought ready wrote by Stewart's book-keeper to the respondent; and though the respondent was not by the English articles to concern himself in the management of the trade, yet he was thereby made to give directions concerning it, to the end that appellants might afterwards tell him he had approved what they had done, though he was then a perfect stranger to the Scotch articles: And respondent showed that the Lord Chancellor spent about eight hours in hearing the cause, and declared