294 EXCHEQUER COURT REPORTS. [VOL. XVII. r 1 .. 9 -1 „ 7 ~ . IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF RIGHT OF June 26. THE GULF PULP & PAPER COMPANY, A BODY CORPORATE, SUPPLIANTS, AND HIS MAJESTY THE KING RESPONDENT. Contract—Hire of horses—Military officer—Liability of Crown. A contract for the hire of horses entered into by an officer of the Crown's military forces acting under the authority of the commanding officer is binding upon the Crown. PETITION OF RIGHT to recover for the loss of horses hired by a military officer. Tried before the Honourable Mr. Justice Audette, at Quebec, June 21, 1917. A Fitzpatrick, K.C., for suppliant. G. F. Gibsone, K.C., for respondent. AUDETTE, J. (June 26, 1917) delivered judgment. The suppliants, by their petition of right, seek to recover the sum of $850 for the hire of a team of horses, damages, and for the loss of the horses. In the month of August, 1914, after the declaration of war by Germany, Sergeant-Major Moisan, of the 7th Field Ambulance, came to the suppliants' office and hired a heavy team of horses, which was delivered at the Drill Hall to said Sergeant-Major at 8 o'clock, on the evening of August 21st, 1914, by witness Paquet, who received from the Sergeant-Major the receipt for the same, Exhibit No. 1.
VOL. XVII.] EXCHEQUER COURT. REPORTS. - 295 After taking delivery of the team, witness Paquet 1 917 helped the Sergeant-Major to at once hitch the & p cô. horses on an ambulance waggon to go down to Beau- THE mont, to the Martiniere Battery, where Captain Reasons for Judgment. Delage, who was in charge, was stationed. The Cap- tain saw the horses several times, and he says they wëre the 4best horses they had. Without entering into full 'details, it will perhaps - be sufficient to say that when the rent for, the hiring of these horses was sought, they could not be found and'they seem to have disappeared. The name and description of these horses, as well as the name of their owners, are not on an official list, which was long after prepared, as best it. could ' be done, because Major Lagueux said, ,although; he repeatedly asked for information with 'respect to the horses from Major Wright, who had been in. co . of a section of the 7th Division at Levis be-. fore him, he never could get an answer. ' Some horses, to the knowledge' of 'Major Lagueux, were omitted from this official list. This list is more or less reliable. However, I must find that this team of horses was actually delivered, bn behalf of the suppliants, to Sergeant-Major Moisan, who on that same evening had them hitched to a military ambulance waggon. The horses were actually delivered and accepted, as' attested by the receipt. Sergeant-Major Moisan went to the front either in August or September, 1914, and is now in France. • . The evidence further disclosed that the Commanding Officer, in presence of Captain Delage,' authorized Sergeant-Major Moisan to procure the necessary horses for the use of the 7th Ambulance Division.
296 EXCHEQUER COURT REPORTS. [VOL. XVII. 1917 War at that time had been declared. Sergeant- GULF PULP &PAPER CO, Major Moisan was in active service ) acting under V. THE the authority of his Commanding Officer. It is there- Reasons for fore obvious that it must be taken he had then the Judgment. proper authority to hire these horses, and, moreover, that the Crown, through him, took delivery of the same. If, as is contended, these horses were afterward converted to the use of someone else, the suppliants herein have nothing to do with it. After delivery it was not the suppliants' duty to see that the horses were not stolen. They were delivered to the Crown. If the Crown did not get much benefit out of the horses, it is not the suppliants' fault. The Queen v. Henderson. 1 The horses had been hired in the regular manner, no other provision having been made for procuring them. They have been delivered and used by the Crown, and therefore the Crown must be taken to have ratified what in this respect its officers and agents had done. Henderson v. The Queen.2 The Crown has paid no rent to the suppliants and the horses have apparently been lost—they are therefore entitled to recover for the breach of the contract under the decision of the case of the Wind-sor & Annapolis Ry. Co. v. The Queen.' I am not satisfied with the evidence respecting damages, but I think the suppliant should get the value of these two horses, which I hereby fix at the sum of $450. In lieu of their rent and damages, there will be interest upon this sum from August 21st, 1914, the date of the delivery of the team to the 1 28 Can. S.C.R. 433. 2 6 Can. Ex. 48. 3 11 App. Cas. 607.
VOL. XVII.] EXCHEQUER COURT REPORTS., 297 Crown. Johnson v. The Queen;' Henderson v. The 1917 Queen;2 Wood v. The . Queen; 3 and Hall v. The GULF PULP & PAPER Co. Queen . 4 V. THE KING. Therefore,' judgment will be entered declaring Reasons for Judgment. that the suppliants are entitled to recover from the respondent the sum of $450, with interest thereon at 5 per cent. per annum, from August 21st, 1914, and costs. • J udgment for suppliant. Solicitors for suppliant: Fitzpatrick,' Dupré & Gagnon. Solicitors for respondent: Gibsone & Dobell. 1 8 Can. Ex. 360. 2 6 Can, Ex. 39; 28 Can. S.C.R. 425. s 7 Can. S.C.R. 634, 639. 4 3 Can. Ex. 373,
You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.