Page:The English Reports v1 1900.pdf/649

father of Godfrey Bagnall Clarke, being possessed of a very handsome fortune, applied to the [377] appellant to take upon himself the office of private preceptor, or tutor of his son the said Godfrey Bagnall Clarke, offering at the same time to make the appellant an allowance of one hundred guineas a-year, so long as he should find it convenient to attend to the education of his said son, for the care and trouble which he might have therein; and also, to grant the appellant a handsome or suitable annuity for his life, if at any time afterwards in the course of the education of his said son he should forego all other means of preferment, and would constantly attend him till he should have finished the same: that the appellant accepted of the said offer, and, in consequence thereof, from that time began to have the care of the education of the son, as his preceptor or tutor, and continued to have the care thereof till the beginning of the year 1763, being ten years, under the said salary or allowance of one hundred guineas a year only. And the said Godfrey Bagnall Clarke having, during the time aforesaid, made a great progress in his education by the assistance of the appellant, who had constantly attended to instruct him, not only whilst he resided with his father, but also on his travels abroad, in so much that the same was nearly finished; and the said Godfrey Clarke and his son apprehending the appellant to be then entitled to the annuity, which had been so proposed or offered to be paid to him for his life as aforesaid, informed him, that such annuity should be £200, and should commence from Christmas 1763, and confidently assured the appellant, that the same should be regularly paid to him accordingly; and that they would enter into a suitable security to the appellant: that the appellant being satisfied with the quantum of the said annuity or allowance, which had been so agreed to be paid to him for his life, as a consideration for his dropping all thoughts of preferment by any other means, and of his attending wholly to the care of the education of the said Godfrey Bagnall Clarke, till the same should be finished, or nearly finished; the appellant continued to attend him as his preceptor or tutor till the month of September 1766, about which time the said Godfrey Bagnall Clarke being sufficiently accomplished, the appellant's preceptorship over him ceased; but the appellant frequently afterwards used to visit the said Godfrey Bagnall Clarke as a companion, and to give him such further occasional instructions in the prosecution of his studies as were necessary: that the said Godfrey Clarke, after the said annuity for the appellant's life was so fixed at £200 as aforesaid, paid the same till about Midsummer 1767, and afterwards paid several sums of money on account thereof, and also on account of interest of the sum of £1000 in which he stood indebted to the appellant upon note; and no account having been stated or settled between the appellant and the said Godfrey Clarke concerning the same, the said Godfrey Clarke drew out an account thereof, and also with respect to the said sum of £1000 in writing, and sent the same to the appellant, inclosed in a letter, dated about the 6th of July 1773; and in that account made himself [378] debtor to the appellant in the following articles, viz. Principal money, due to Mr. Jameson, £1000; seven years interest of the £1000 due to Mr. Jameson at Midsummer 1773, £350; the yearly payment to Mr. Jameson for six years from Midsummer 1767 to Midsummer 1773, at £200 per ann. amounts to £1200%; the said several sums making together in the whole £2550: that the said Godfrey Clarke, after debiting the appellant in the said account with several sums of money to the amount of £870 or thereabouts, on account of sundry payments made to the appellant between March 1768 and May 1773, on account of the interest due on the said £1000 and the said annuity, made a balance of £1680 due on the said account to the appellant from the said Godfrey Clarke: that the said Godfrey Clarke having intimated by his said letter, that he could without inconvenience remit to the appellant the balance of the said account, or any part of it, the appellant being then about going abroad, the same was paid to the appellant or to his order accordingly, by which means the appellant's said annuity was paid to Midsummer 1773; but that the appellant had not received any security for the payment of the said annuity so proposed to be made to him by the said Godfrey Clarke and his said son as aforesaid, notwithstanding they had frequently, by letters sent by them to the appellant and otherwise, apologised to the appellant for not having given, and promised to give him such security that shortly after the said account was sent by the said Godfrey