Shain

In 1886 J. Ivancovich & Co., plaintiff’s assignors, had a joint venture with the defendant in the importation and sale of some oranges, and on the 1st of July of that year they presented to the defendant a statement and account of the transactions relating to the venture, showing that they were indebted to him in the sum of two thousand and sixty-three dollars and fifty-one cents, and paid him that sum of money. These accounts were kept by the plaintiff’s assignors in one of their firm books, in which were also placed an account of importation of oranges by themselves on their own account. The statement of the account which was given to the defendant was prepared by the book-keeper of Ivancovich & Co., who had been in their employ for many years, and who continued to remain as their bookkeeper for several years thereafter, and who was a competent book-keeper, and entitled to full confidence for carefulness and accuracy. About the end of the year 1886 the book in which these accounts had been entered was stored away by the firm, and was not again examined until the latter part of 1890. In February, 1891, the firm made an examination of this book, and found that the account rendered…