M'XA.Y V. IRVINE.
'[25
costs of this suit to be taxed. And it is further ordered, adjudged. and decreed that complainant have execution against said defendant to enforce the payment of the sum so decreed to be paid and costs. NOTE. .A receiver, appointed under the provisions of this act, may com· promise doubtful debts" on the order of a court of record of competent jurisdiction." in re Platt, 1 Ben. 534; and see, generally, Kennedy v. Gibson, 8 Wall. 498; Bank of Bethel v. PahquioqueBank, 14 Wall. 383; Bank v. Kennedy, 16 Wall. 19; Chemical Nat. Bank v. Bailey, 12 Blatchf. 480; Cadle v. Baker, 20 Wall. 650; Harvey v. Lord, 10 FED. REP. 236; Fifth Nat. Bank v. Pittsburgh & C.8. R. Co. 1 FED. REP. 190. The liability of .stockholders of a national bank for its debts is several and not joint. Nat. Bank v. Knox, 2 Morr. Trans. 248. It is that of principals, not of llureties. Hobart v. Johnson, i:>
FED. REP. 493.-[ED.
MoKAY 1.
'l).
IRVINE.
(Oircuit Court, N. D. iUinoi8. February 22,1882.) HORBE.RACING-NEGLIGENCE-FoUL RIDING-LIABILITY OJ!'
OWNER. The owner of a horse entered for a race takes all the risks incident to the race: and if a horse is intentionally fOUled, or purposely runs against or interferes with a competing horse in the race by the rider, the employer of such rider is liable for damages for any injury which results.
2.
SAME-FoUL H.IDlSG, WHAT Is-RIDERs-RULE OF DUTY.
1f a jockey attempts to take the track ahead of another horse before his horse is a clear length ahead of the other horse, or if he crowds the other horse, so as w impede him, or compels his jockey to hold him in, or change his course to avoid a. collision, it would be foul riding; and the fact that the rider who attempts a foul runs as great risk to himself and his horse as he imposes on his competitor, will not justify him in attempting a foul.
3.
TllIAL-CoNFUCT OF EvIDENCE-PROVINCE OF JURY.
In case of a conflict of evidence the credence to be given to the testimony of a witness is for the jury to determine. 4. MEAslmE OF DAMAGES.
In an action for damages for the death of a horse, caused by'the collision of a competing horse in a horse-race, the damages must be estimated at what is shown by the evidence to have been the value of the horse killed.
M. O. Lewis and W. I. Culver, for plaintiff. S. K. Dow, for defendant. BLODGETT, D. J., (charging jttry.) Gentlemen of the jury, this is a suit for damages alleged to have been sU8tained by the plaintiff from the wilful or negligent act of the defendant's servant. The plaintiff claims that on the twenty-fifth of June last he was the owner of the thorollghbred stallion known as "Wolverton j" that this horse was
726
FEDERAL REPORTER.
entered for a race that day at the Chicago. Driving Park, near this city, competing with eight other horses for a purse offered by the Driving Park Assooiation; and that the defendant was also the owner of a mare called the "Belle of Nelson," entered in the same race; that in the second heat of this race the defendant's. mare, ridden by his servant or employe, was, by intention or negligence of the jockey or rider for the defendant, foully rielden against the plaintiff's horse, whereby the latter was thrown and killed. The defendant denies that his mare was either intentionally or negligently ridden against the plaintiff's horse, and denies that the death of the plaintiff's horse was caused by any act of his jockey or .. . rider. If you have no knowledge of horse-racing, other than that devel. oped by the proof in this case, you must see that in a race like this a horse is necessarily exposed to great hazard and peril. In the first place the horses are mostly ridden by boys, who can do little in the wa,y of guiding or controlling them, and wnose chief office would seem to be to urge them with whip and spur to the top of their speed; and in the second place the horses themselves are high-strung, nervous, and excitable,and with so many competitors as there were in this race, on a comparatively narrow track, not running in a s,traight line, but around a parallelogram with curved or rounded corners, so that at least four turns must be made, there must be great risk of collision, especially at these turns, even when the horses are fairly and carefully ridden; and those risks the owner of a horse, starting in a race, must be presumed to take,-that is, he takes all the risks of accident incident to the race. But if It horse is intentionally fouled, -if it is purposely run agaiitst or interfered with by the ridel' of a.n, other employer of the rider who so fouls him or interferes with him is' liable for damages; and, so too, each i"ider is bound, as far as possible, to keep his horse from fouling with another, and his employer would be liable for any palpable or clear act of negligence, whereby a foul was occasioned; but I can hardly imagine a case where there would be liability for negligence except where the rider was incompetent. The owner starting his horse in a race is bound to have a rider who is competent, to such an extent as is necessary, to sufficiently manage and control the horse for the purposes of the race, and the owner who starts his horse in a race with a rider incompetent to perform the duties of so guiding and controlling the horse, might be held liable for the consequences of his rider's petency. This qnestion, however, does not arise in this case, as
M'KAY V. IRVINE.
727
there is no charge that the defendant's jockey was not competent for the service and duty assigned to him. The foul complained of in this case is charged to have consisted in an attempt on the part of the rider of the Belle of Nelson to take the track ahead of Wolverton before his mare was far enough ahead of Wolverton to enable her to draw in front of him without collision. You can readily see if a jockey attempts to take the traok ahead of another horse before his horse is a clear length ahead of the other he runs great risk of colliding with the other horse; and if he does so collide, Of if he crowds the other hOfse so as to impede him or com· pel his jockey to hold him in or change his cOUrse for the purpose of avoiding a collision, it would be unfair, and therefore would be foul riding; but there may be a case where there is a clear space between the horses sufficient to justify the foremost one in attempting to take the track, and yet at the moment the jockey of the foremost hOlse -attempts the maneuver the rear horse may be pushed or rushed sud· denly up, in which event a collision may occur by the act of the rider of the rear horse. You will also bear in mind that so far as danger is concerned the rider who attempts a foul runs as great risk to himself and his own horse as he imposes on his competitor, because it is impossible to teU in advance who may be the sufferer. But this fact does not justify a jockey in attempting a foul on the ground that he risks as much as his competitor. So much as to the rule of duty and obligation which each rider and the employer of the rider assumes in a race like this, and is bound to observe towards his competitor. The plaintiff has given proof tending to show that his horse had the second position in the second heat-that is, that he was started under the wire next to the horse that had the pole, and that he maintained'that position and was a little behind Nero, who had the pole, and that the Belle of Nelson was a little ahead of the plaintiff's horse up to and at the first turn, which was from 150 to 200 yards from the wire; that at this point the Belle of Nelson was reined in to the left onto the plaintiff's horse, and, in attempting to pass ahead of him, tripped him, and he fell and was fatally injured. The testimony on the part of the plaintiff tends to show this state of facts. This testimony comes from persons who were spectators of the race,and who, from different positions or stand-points of observation, saw, or think. they saw,dhe movements of each horse, and saw acts on the
'728
part of defendant's rider which, if trne, would show an intentional fouling of plaintiff's horse. The defendant has given proof tending to show that his mare was in the lead well ahead of Wolverton when he fell, and that his fall was occasioned either by collision with some other horse l or by his stum- . bling, or some other inherent weakness. The proof on the part of defendant tends to show that immediately after leaving the wire the Belle of Nelson and the horse Clan Alpine rushed to the front; that they became the leading· horses in the race and were clear ahead, a length or more, of Nero and Wolverton at the first turn, and at the time when Wolverton fell, so that a collision between Wolverton and the Belle of Nelson, according to the testimony of the plaintiff's witnesses, was impossible; the defendant's proof, as I have said, tending to show that the Belle of Nelson and Clan Alpine took the lead within a. few jumps after leaving the wire, and that she could not have collided with Wolverton at the turn, as she had been ahead of him for quite a distance before they reached the turn. The defendant has also given proof tending to show that plaintiff's horse was badly ridden; that his rider was incompetent and did not understand the proper management of his horse, and that the horse was out of condition; that he had stumbled in his exercises before the race, and was in such condition as to be liable to fall upon pushed to his utmost in the second heat of a contest like this You will see, therefore, that there is a conflict of testimony here, which you must settle, as to whether this injury was occasioned by the fault of defendant's jockey. It is for you to say which one of these witnesses you will believe, or where you will place credence; not that you must necessarily conclude that either of these witnesses have sworn falsely, because you must see from the manner in which these witnesses have testified that it was very difficult to judge just exactly, at the critical moment when this horse fell, what horse was next to him, or what horse caused him to fall, or what did actually cause him to fall. The whole matter seems to have occurred instantaneously, and witnesses of equal intelligence and equal credibility have given you dif:erent versions of the way in which this accident occurred, and the manner in which the horse fell, and what horse was nearest to him. Some say the Belle of Nelson was. ahead; some say she was clear ahead of him-more than a length; and others say she was running with Wolverton's nose about at her saddle-girth, when her rider pulleu her in ahead of him and thereby tripped him up.
lIt'KAY V. IRVINE.
729
These witnesses testify from variO'1S positions. You must mine irom the intelligence of the witnesse3, from their apparent candor and fairness, and from their opportunities of observation, where the truth lies in this ease. l'he plaintiff has the burden of proof. He is bound to satisfy you by a preponderance of testimony that the accident in this ease was occasioned by the fault of the defendant's jockey. If you cannot say, from the testimony in the case when it is all considered together, that it was the fault of this defendant's jockey, then the defendant is not liable. The plaintiff is bound to satisfy you, not only that his horse fell, but that it was caused by this defendant's act or the act of his jockey, and that it was a wilful or intentional act on the part of the jockey, or so grossly negligent as to amount to incompetency on his part. If the proof does not satisfy you that this horse was killed by the act of the defendant's jockey, or by the gross incompetency and negligence of the defendant's jockey; or if you find from the proof that the death of plaintiff's horse was caused by his being out of condition, or his stumbling, or the negligence or incompetency of plaintiff's jockey,-then the defendant will be entitled to a verdict at your hands; but if you find from the proof that the horse was killed, as charged, by the foul riding of the defendant's jockey, then it will hi! your duty to find a verdict for the plaintiff, and, in case you do, it will also be your duty to fix the damages which the plaintiff has sustained by the loss of his horse; and in doing so the damages must be estimated at what is shown by the proof to have been the value of the horsC'. The proof tends to show that this was a thoroughbred horse, bred in England and imported into this country only a few weeks prior to this race. The plaintiff alleges that the pedigree of his horse shows a high degree of excellence of blood, but the pedigree is not before you; there is, however, testimony of not only the plaintiff himself, but of experts who saw the horse and who claim, from experience, to be able to judge whether a horse is or is not thoroughbred, that he was a thoroughbred horse. From the testimony in the case you are to say, if you find the defendant guilty, what was the value of the horse; because the measure of plaintiff's damages is the value of the horse, it being conceded that the loss was total.
730
UNITED STATES V. BUNTIN.-
(Circuit Oourt, S. D. Ohio, IV. D. February, 1882.) 1. CRIMEs-DEPRIVATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS-COLORED SCHOOL CHILDREN-REQUISITES TO CONVICTION-REV. ST. § 5510.
Ina prosecution under 5510, Rev. St., for depriving a colored child of the right to attend school">public school, held that, to warrant conviction, the defendant must have excluded such child under color of a law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom ofa state, and on account of his color. 2. SAlfE-CIVIL ACTION NOTA BAR TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.
Held, also, that the institution of a civil action and recovery of damages for the dllprivation of the right charged in the indictment, is not a oar to a criminal prosecution therefor. 3. OF OFFENCE-GOOD CHARACTER IMMATEHIAT,·
. Where 'the defendant admits the essential elements of the crime alleged,. except. that the prosecuting witness possessed the right which the defendant is charged with vio]ating,-i. e., in this case, where he admits the exclusion of the chiid; that he excluded him under color of a statute of the state, and because of his color,-evidence of defcndant's good character is immaterial, and entitled to 'no consideration by the jury. 4. SAME-ACTING IN GOOD FAITH UNDER ADVICE OF COUNSEL NO DEFENCEMITIGATION.
That the defendant in good faith consulted counsel, and was advised by them that he was authorized to do that with which he is charged, and acted on such advice, is no defence to the indictment, although sl1ch evidence would address itself strongly to the discretion of the court after conviction in mitigation of punishment. ' 5. CIVIL RIGHTS-SEPARATE SCHOOLS FOR COJ"ORED CHILDREN.
Separate schools may be provided for colored children, but they must be reasonably accessible, and must afford substantially equal educational advantages with those provided for white children. 6. SAME-OHIO SrA'l'UTE NOT IN CONFLICT WITH FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT.
The provisions of the Ohio statute upon the subject (section St.) are not in conflict with the fourteenth amendment. State v. McGann, 21 Ohio St. 198, followed.
Ohio Rev.
Indictment for Deprivation of Civil Rights. It charged that one John Buntin deprived James H. Vines and others, children of Jacob H. Vines, of a right secured by the constitution and laws of the United States, to-wit, the right to attend the only school">public school situated in a certain subdistrict in Washington township, Clermont county, Ohio; said children being entitled to attend said school, and Si1id Buntin then being the teacher of said school, and excluding said children therefrom by reason of their being colored children of African descent, under color of a statute of Ohio providing that the *Reportcd by J. C. Harper, Esq., of the Cincinnati bar.