Lord Wright:-

The action out of which this appeal arises, was brought by the respondents as respectively owners of property in the city of Edmonton in Alberta and their insurers; they claimed that the property had been destroyed or damaged by a fire due to an escape of gas from the gas main of the appellants for which the appellants are liable. The damages claimed amounted to $320,278,64 but all questions of amount were reserved. On the question of liability before Ford, J., the appellants succeeded, but his decision was reversed by a judgment of the Supreme Court of Alberta (Appellate Division) by a majority (Lunney and Mitchell, JJ. A. dissenting) who ordered judgment to be entered for damages to be assessed. From that judgment, the present appeal is brought. The appellants are a public Utility Company incorporated under the Dominion Companies Act: they distribute natural gas under a franchise granted to their predecessors-in-title the Northern Alberta Natural Gas Development Company Limited (hereinafter called the company) by the City of Edmonton (hereinafter called the City) in November 1915, and confirmed by statute (Alberta Statutes, 1916, c 29) The franchise was assigned to t