The members of a syndicate that had acquired an oil farm-out agreement incorporated a private company ("Ponder") on June 15, 1951, and Ponder immediately took possession of the syndicate's assets. However, an agreement evidencing the transfer and the consideration therefor (the obligation of Ponder to issue shares to the syndicate members) was not executed until September 25, 1951, by which date the assets had significantly increased in value. Before finding that "the agreements of September 25 did no more than to evidence, in writing, agreements which already existed" (p. 1250), with the result that the taxpayer should not be regarded as having realized a taxable profit by virtue of receiving shares on September 25, 1951 with a value higher than the assets transferred by him to Ponder on June 15, 1951, Martland J. applied (at p. 1250) the principle in Howard v. Patent Ivory Manufacturing Co. (1888), 38 Ch. D. 156 at 163:
"'Where possession has been given upon the faith of an agreement, it is I think the duty of the Court, as far as it is possible to do so, to ascertain the terms of the agreement and to give effect to it.'"