Garman v. Potts

Citations

• 135 Pa. 506
• 19 A. 1071
• 1890 Pa. LEXIS 1212

Syllabus

<p>1. A mining lease provided that the’lessee should mine ore “ at the rate of fifteen hundred tons per annum, on an average, provided the iron ore can be advantageously mined.” In such case, the lessee was not obliged to continue mining if the expense of doing so was greater than the value of the ore at the mine mouth.</p> <p>(а) Said lease further provided that any excess of fifteen hundred tons of iron ore mined aud carried away in any one year, and paid for, should go as a credit on the iron ore to be mined in future years, and that settlements for ore mined and carried away should be made annually.</p> <p>(б) The lessee did not mine and carry away fifteen hundred tons of ore in any one year. For several years he paid annually to the lessor royalty upon fifteen hundred tons, taking from him receipts stipulating that the amounts paid in excess of the royalty on ore mined and carried away should be credited in future settlements:</p> <p>2. In an action on the lease for royalty upon ore subsequently carried away, these receipts were admissible to show that the lessee was entitled to credits against the royalty claimed, and it was not competent for the lessor to testify that they were explained to him “as simple receipts,” without any intimation “that they changed the lease.”</p>