34 THE LAW AFFECTING ENGINEEES 



he had never heard of the agreement to which we have 

 referred, and refused to be bound by it. Accordingly, the 

 plaintiff brought an action, claiming a declaration that the 

 agreement in question was subsisting and valid, and damages 

 for its breach. In giving evidence, the plaintiff said that he 

 was not a specialist in electrical engineering, but that this did 

 not matter, inasmuch as he could get the best possible 

 assistance. He also claimed that, apart from the question of 

 electrification, he was at least able to attend to the permanent 

 way and carriages, in respect of which he was entitled to 

 remuneration at the rate of 5 per cent. The answer of the 

 defendants was that the whole of the work had to be handed 

 over to the Westinghouse Company, who were to undertake it 

 on their own responsibility. In giving judgment, Mr. Justice 

 Lawrance said : " The question is, whether the contract is 

 still in existence, or whether the fact of the electrification of 

 the railway made a difference, so as to relieve the company. 

 . . . Neither party contemplated the possibility of any other 

 system than that of ordinary traction, and all I can do is to 

 look at the condition of things when the contract was made, 

 and then say whether it was confined to that state of things, 

 and had ceased to have effect when electrification was decided 

 upon. In my view, as neither party contemplated any change 

 from the original state of things namely, the use of steam 

 traction this contract is no longer binding upon the com- 

 pany." This decision, which was not appealed from, is 

 somewhat extraordinary. If the plaintiff and his colleagues 

 were to hold their respective appointments only so long as the 

 railway company continued to use steam traction, this should 

 have been made a term of the contract. If the change was 

 made without the consent of the engineers, they ought to have 

 been able to recover the damages sustained. Whatever the 

 effect of electrification upon the terms of employment, it is 

 difficult to see the answer to the claim for 5 per cent, upon the 

 cost of the rolling stock. 



27. Employment of an engineer "by local authorities (a) 

 Municipal corporations. Contracts made with a municipal 

 corporation must be under seal in cases where the contract 

 is executory. The only exception to this rule is where the 

 contract is small and of an unimportant character. So, if an 

 engineer were called in to advise the mayor and corporation 



