The Cattlemarket Development
The Agreement. The Devil's Bargain: Always Read the Contract
Medieval and Renaissance legend and lore are full of cautionary tales concerning people who enter into pacts and contracts with the devil. 1Typically, the devil appears in a tempting disguise before his victim, purporting to offer all kinds of advantages the gullible human victim imagines he wants or needs. Such bargains are fraught with danger but it is noticeable that in such stories the reckless human victims generally read the contract before actually signing it and entering into a bargain with the Evil One. Doubtless, one of the social roles behind such stories is reinforce the idea that one should always, "Read a document before signing it". 2
Regrettably such exemplary caution seems to have been lacking in Bury St Edmunds when it comes to the far more material matter of the Cattle Market Development Scheme put forward by Centros Miller and Debenhams in Bury St Edmunds.
There have been two Cattle Market agreements to date and St Edmundsbury Borough Council has released extracts of the contract under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Other parts have been kept secret, apparently at the request of the developer. The document is just over 100 pages long but a great many clauses have been concealed.
From information supplied under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in a letter from St Edmundsbury Borough Council dated July 30th 2005 (Ref JG/CR) it appears that elected councillors did not actually get to see these crucial clauses either. Council leader John Griffiths was asked if he actually read the development agreement before endorsing it. From the answers supplied, it turns out none of the elected councillors in the Borough have actually read the Cattle Market Development Agreement:
Question
Did you actually read this agreement in its entirety before endorsing it?Answer:
A 43 page summary was presented to the Cattle Market Working Party on April 14th 2003 and Full Council on 15th April 2003. In addition, new members of the Council were provided with a copy of this summary as part of their induction process.In other words, "No".
No elected councillor actually read the development agreement before it was signed. Effectively, St Edmundsbury Council has committed itself and the people of the Borough to an £80 million development scheme with Centros Miller - without reading the contract first.
So who did read it?
Subsequent enquiries have revealed that certain other key officials in the administration of St Edmundsbury did not read the contract either. Indeed, it seems that no more than three officials actually know what the entire Cattle Market Agreement says.The Borough is awfully coy about revealing who these three Officials are but we have established the names of two and the identity of the third is under investigation. Details will follow.
Missing Clauses
In the extracts released to the public pages have been blacked out at the request of Centros Miller. An attempt to discover what these pages said obtained the following response:"Pages 61-70 of the Development Agreement cover the following topics
Insurance and Indemnity;
Letting and management;
Default by the developer;
Covenant by surety;
Independent expert;
Fitness of the property;
Restrictions on the civic building or adjoining property;
Entire agreement;
Misrepresentation and Council's statutory powers."
It is difficult to emphasise how crucial these clauses are in any major property dealing or development. And yet St Edmundsbury Borough Councillors do not know what these clauses say. All they have had is a 44 page summary of a lengthy contract.
A particularly interesting one is default by the developer. This might provide a right Centros Miller to pull out of the scheme at any point and seek pastures new without any loss to themselves - leaving St Edmundsbury to pick up the bill. Misrepresentation and statutory powers would be another interesting clause to examine - what has the Borough got itself into here?
Certainly, it appears the last people to know are the Borough's Councillors who haven't read the agreement they have endorse. Let us hope there is not a Clause saying they have sold their souls as well..
Notes
1. The witchcraft statute of 1604 made it unlawful to enter into compacts with the devil; the statute remained in force until 1736. See Thomas, Keith, Religion and the decline of Magic (1971). The theme was a common one in drama, for example, The Devil's Charter (1607) by Barnaby Barnes. The general rule today in law remains that if you sign a document you are liable even if you have not read it. (See L'Estrange v Graucob [1934] 2 KB 394.
2. There were exceptions. For example, the story how in 1596 a certain Michel Louis visited the Court of Lorraine and lost badly at cards. Reduced to despair he was tempted to give himself up to the devil in return for good money, but he was afraid of being supplied with counterfeit coin. While thinking this over a well-dressed man appeared before him and asked the cause of his distress, offered him a handful of money and said he would call back the next day. Michel returned to the tables and won back all he had lost. Later that night he called upon the devil who duly appeared. In return for three drops of Michel's blood collected in an acorn shell the devil supplied a pen and dictated a contract. This consisted of unknown words, taken down in two separate notes, one of which the devil retained. The devil then said "I undertake to serve you for seven years, after which you belong to me without reserve". The devil duly appeared night and day in various forms, inspiring him to things "varied, unknown and curious and always with a tendency to evil. When the seven years were up the devil persecuted him in the form of demons and wild animals. His condition was worsened by the fact he had no idea what the contract had said. Ultimately, on 20th October 1603 at the Chapel of Ignatius at Molsheim, he threw himself on the protection of the Catholic Church, renounced the devil and received the Holy Eucharist. On doing so he saw two goats of immense size standing with their fore feet in the air and each holding in its hoofs one of the contracts or compacts. Fortunately, the invocation of St Ignatius and a special mass proved able to vanquish the goats and anull the contract, the devil's copy being abandoned in the church where it was preserved for many years. (see Don Calmet, OSB, Traite sur Les Apparitions des Espirits, et sur les Vampires, Paris 1751 )
2. There were exceptions. For example, the story how in 1596 a certain Michel Louis visited the Court of Lorraine and lost badly at cards. Reduced to despair he was tempted to give himself up to the devil in return for good money, but he was afraid of being supplied with counterfeit coin. While thinking this over a well-dressed man appeared before him and asked the cause of his distress, offered him a handful of money and said he would call back the next day. Michel returned to the tables and won back all he had lost. Later that night he called upon the devil who duly appeared. In return for three drops of Michel's blood collected in an acorn shell the devil supplied a pen and dictated a contract. This consisted of unknown words, taken down in two separate notes, one of which the devil retained. The devil then said "I undertake to serve you for seven years, after which you belong to me without reserve". The devil duly appeared night and day in various forms, inspiring him to things "varied, unknown and curious and always with a tendency to evil. When the seven years were up the devil persecuted him in the form of demons and wild animals. His condition was worsened by the fact he had no idea what the contract had said. Ultimately, on 20th October 1603 at the Chapel of Ignatius at Molsheim, he threw himself on the protection of the Catholic Church, renounced the devil and received the Holy Eucharist. On doing so he saw two goats of immense size standing with their fore feet in the air and each holding in its hoofs one of the contracts or compacts. Fortunately, the invocation of St Ignatius and a special mass proved able to vanquish the goats and anull the contract, the devil's copy being abandoned in the church where it was preserved for many years. (see Don Calmet, OSB, Traite sur Les Apparitions des Espirits, et sur les Vampires, Paris 1751 )