Page:The Working and Management of an English Railway.djvu/315

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ON LAW RELATING TO RAILWAY COMPANIES.
277

In the case of the non-delivery of goods, a plaintiff is entitled to recover the value of the goods at the place of delivery, at the time at which they ought to have been delivered, so that, in the case of goods sent to a market, the plaintiff is entitled, not merely to the cost price, but to the market value; and in the case of delay in delivery, he is entitled to recover any difference between the market value at the time when the goods ought to have been delivered and at the time when they were actually delivered.

In other cases, special damages for delay may be recovered even when the article delayed has suffered no deterioration in value, as, for instance, when the company has accepted the goods with notice that their non-delivery by a specified date will defeat the object with which they are sent; but only such damages can be recovered as must be taken to have been within the contemplation of the parties to the contract of carriage when such contract was entered into, and as might reasonably be expected to result from a breach of such contract.

(B.)—As to the Law affecting the Conveyance of Passengers and their Luggage.

(1.) A railway company, having constituted itself a carrier of passengers, is bound to convey upon its railway all such passengers as may offer themselves for that purpose, without unreasonable delay, and without partiality, and if a railway company issues time-tables and advertises that a train will run at a particular time, this amounts to a contract on their part to run the train and convey all persons who offer themselves as