Volume Eleven - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - some more aspects - A Dispute at Yokohama -  1889 . . .

To substantiate this affirmative action on their part they called three Chinamen in their employ who weighed the coke on board the ship and these produced their tally books, showing according to the method of weighing an apparent deficit of 37¼ tons. They added that the coke was carefully and properly weighed, against which last statement there was the evidence of the plaintiff himself that both he and his chief officer had frequently remonstrated with the Chinamen for the careless manner in which they were weighing out the coke. The plaintiff said he could hear the scales go thump, and on more than one occasion both he and his mate had to instruct the Chinamen to take coal out of the scales.

The Judge said it must be remembered that the plaintiff himself was a party to the weighing all the time.

Mr. Lowder said he was checking the weighing, but he was not a party to it; it was not his duty to weigh.

The Judge thought it was as much his duty as the others, at all events to see that the coke was correctly weighed.

Mr. Lowder held that his duty to himself was to check the weighing, and his men were there to do so. His argument was that the weighing must have been carelessly done.

The Judge remarked that there must have been carelessness on his side as well as on the other.

Mr. Lowder said the captain did not undertake the weighing.

The Judge thought he agreed that should be the method of weighing.

Mr. Lowder submitted that there was no agreement as to that at all. The defendants simply announced their intention of weighing the coke and the plaintiff acquiesced.

The Judge pointed out that in the very act of weighing the coke was delivered, and the captain must be taken to have acquiesced in that method of weighing. Whatever the result was it seemed to his Honour the plaintiff could not very well get out of it.