R. N. BANERJEE, J.

( 1 ) THIS is all over a horse. But I do not wonder horses have a record of being friends and helpers of men running back to century of centuries. Men rode before they wrote; they were horsemen before they were historians. Horses pranced and charged in Egyptian art. The Assyrians pained and carved equine portraits even before the Egyptians did and the acquaintance of the former with horses appears to have been derived from Aryan-Persians, a nation of horsemen

( 2 ) THE dog, the cattle and the sheep were tamed and treasured by men of ancient times. But horses, when tamed, lifted men to a new plane of life. They gave men many times their own speed, many more times their own strength for work and added enormously to the distances they dared to venture. The animal has been a partner to man in his battles and daily toils for existence and won for him laurels in wars and sports. Man began to value the animal as dear to his heart and worthy of his love and affection. An Arab poet, who might have immortalised himself by writing on feminine graces, wrote on the qualities of a mare dear to his heart :" Spare is her head and lean, her ears pricked close together, Her fetlock is a net, her forehead a lamp lighted Illumining the tribe; her neck curves like a palm branch, her withers sharp and clean. Upon her chest and throttle an amulet hangs of gold. Her forelegs are twin lances. Her hoofs fly forward faster ever than flies the whirlwind, her tail bones borne aloft; yet the hairs sweep the gravel. "

( 3 ) THE above poem finds almost an identical echo in Shakespeare's 'venus and Adonis. '

( 4 ) THE horse has done much for the man. But man has done much more for horses. Man by his arts--particularly scientific process of airing and training has "made" the modern horse, as surely as he has "made" certain fruits from sour and profitless original stocks. Whatever horse qualities have been needed, man has encouraged speed, power, bulk, smallness, colour, action and beauty. He would do still more. That is why horse-loving countries have bloodstock companies and stud farms trying, perhaps, to put inches to a mighty shire horse or to create the smallest of Shetland ponnies.

( 5 ) THE petitioner Sheikh Mohammad Omer describes himself as a great lover of horses and as one interested in the breeding and maintenance of pedigree horses. He has, as he says, earned considerable name and reputation as a race-horse owner and has also won several prizes awarded for horse-racing, including the first ever Dr. B. C. Roy Memorial Cup.

( 6 ) THE petitioner further says that while he was in Switzerland, in the year 1964, the British Bloodstock Agency Limited of Charing Cross Road. London, wrote to him the following letter :" I am glad to learn that you are in Europe and I take advantage of this situation to communicate to you that one of our clients is inter ested in obtaining a foal by your stallion "pieta" from their brood mare. Will you please contact me as soon as you are here in London to settle the matter. "this offer, the petitioner says, was accepted by him. He further says that the British Bloodstock Agency Limited was authorised by him to finalise the terms. The British Bloodstock Agency Limited, in their turn, communicated to the petitioner, on October 27, 1964, the terms on which the mare might be leased out to the petitioner : "one of their mares will be leased to you pending her producing two foals in India and return to England duly tested positively pregnant to PIETA. " The mare will be shipped to you and you will pay the freight charges to India. " The return freight charges to England will be paid by the Lessor. The mare will have to be properly insured by you on arrival in India and insurance premium will have to be borne by you, but in case of any claim, the insurance benefits will go to the lessor. "the petitioner arrived from Europe to Calcutta on November 7, 1964, by air without the mare accompanying him. Me, however,

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