THOMAS DRYSDALE and THOMAS SYME Senior v JAMES JOHNSTON (Court of Session)

st , Although bound as co-obligants with the principal debtor in the bond, the suspenders were in reality cautioners, and Ramsay, the agent of the charger, was employed to frame the necessary deed; but instead of executing a bond in which the characters of the respective obligants were stated, with a clause of relief in favour of the suspenders, he did, with the knowledge and approbation of the charger, frame the present bond.

d , In order to clear up the character of the suspenders, Ramsay, acting in the same capacity throughout, framed a separate obligation of relief by the principal debtor to them, which was of the same date with the bond, and formed part of the same transaction, being delivered unico contextu with the bond. No security was stipulated or required over certain heritable subjects in Tillicoultry, of which the suspenders respectively were proprietors. The obligation of relief to Syme (a duplicate of which was at the same time delivered to the other suspender) was in these terms:

d , The testing clauses of the bond and obligation of relief showed that both deeds were executed unico contextu, and were parts of the same transaction. Ramsay, who prepared them, had for many years been the confidential agent for the charger, to both of whom the whole transaction was at the time well known. The charges now complained of were given under his agency, as appeared from the marking on the service copies.

The charger, while he admitted that Ramsay had on different occasions acted as his agent, denied the averments of the suspenders, and stated,

d , The charger, shortly after Martinmas 1826, demanded payment of the bond, which demand he renewed, but unsuccessfully, at each term.