McKenzie

Action to recover for loss by fire upon insurance policy.

“Briefly stated, the facts are as follows:

The plaintiff took possession of the property under his conveyance of September 22,1893, in the latter part of October. The mill did not run from the date of plaintiff’s purchase until it was burned on the eighth day of December, 1893, but there was a quantity of lumber on hand which had been previously sawed, and which was transferred to plaintiff, and plaintiff had men employed in shipping this lumber.

No application was at any time made by plaintiff, or on his behalf, to the defendant company for leave to have the insured buildings or works described in the policy shut down or remain idle and not in operation, and no consent thereto was made or given by the defendant, or indorsed on the policy.

The plaintiff did inform Mr. Shepard, the local agent at Fresno, that1 the mill had been shut down. This was shortly after the mill had been shut down. The mill in question was a steam sawmill for sawing logs into lumber, and for making trays, sweat-boxes, etc.

The testimony in reference to the watchman at the mill tends to show that plaintiff was not himself at the mill. He says, on…