Lord Buckmaster:-

Two appeals are brought in this case. The one by the appellants, seeking to reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal of British Columbia awarding against them and in favour of the respondents the sum of 44,500 dollars as to 10,000 dollars for rent of a dry dock and as to 34,500 dollars as damages for breach of contract, the other by the respondents asking to increase the amount awarded to the sum of 85,000 dollars thereby restoring the judgment of the trial Judge, who decreed that sum in their favour.

The appellants in the principal appeal are contractors in a large way of business, and in May of 1914, they were engaged in the construction of a break-water in the harbour of Victoria, British Columbia, for the Dominion Government. In order to carry out this work it was determined to construct the foundation by concrete caissons, the dimensions of which according to the appellants' statement were to be 30 feet high, 80 feet long and 40 feet wide, the weight being 2,300 tons. To place these in position the appellants proposed to employ a floating dry-dock on which the caissons were to be built, two at a time the dry dock being then submerged sufficiently to allow t