The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-18 00:00:00

QUEEN'S BENCH.-(THIS DAY.)

DOE V. ANGEL.

In this case the Court heard the whole of the arguments
to the close, and then said it would take time to consider
the intricate law points that had been raised.
WARD V. TIIE ISLACKWALL RAILWAY COMPANY.
In this case the cause of action was the Commercial Life
Insurance Company against the Blackwall Railway Com-
pany, for the recovery of 1,000/., under the following cir-
cumstances :—lt appeared that there was what is called a
dumb barge at Blackwall, and a plank in connexion with it,
over which persons passed in order to get to, land, or to the
railway. In the use of this plank, a person named Walter
Turner was passing over it, but it was placed so insecurely
that he fell from it, or it fell from under him, before
he could reach the dumb barge, and he was drowned.
his life was insured fur one thousand pounds, and the
Company with whom it was insured paid the money, and
sought to recover from the Blackwall Railway Company, on
the ground that the plank bad been placed there by them in
connexion with the dumb barge, for the purpose of convey-
ing passengers on to the rai:way. The case having been
tried in the Court of Exchequer, the jury found a verdict for
defendants upon the grounds that the declaration did not
set forth sufficiently distinct and clear that it was the Black-
wall Railway Company who had placed this plank there for
the purpose of conveying passengers on to the railway, and
that, therefore, it was owing to the neglect of the Company
that the party lost his life who was insured in the Com-
mercial Insurance Office, and also upon the ground that it
did not appear that the person who had been drowned was
crossing the plank off which he fell, for the purpose of travel-
ling by the railway _
. .

Counsel for the- plaintiffs applied for permission to amend
the declaration in respect to this point, as he said it was the
fact that the party who bad been drowned was crossing the
plank for the purpose of travelling by the Blackwall Railway.
Lord DENMAN, in giving judgment, said it did not appear
to have been satisfactorily proved that the London and
Blackwall Railway Company had placed the plank in ques-
tion in the position described, for the purpose of con-
veying passengers to their railway, and that, thei e-
fore, the dangerous state in which it was found
could not be attributable to their neglect. On
this ground the defendants could not be held liable for any
accident occurrirg by the defective mode of transmission from
the dumb barge to the railway. With regard to the applica-
tion for leave to amend the declaration, in order to show
that the party who was drowned intended to go by the rail-
way, and was crossing the plank for that purpose when he
lo,t his life b) the insecure state of the plank, he (Lord Din-
man) took it for granted that when counsel were bringing
cases on for trial care had been taken to draw up declara-
tions in a manner to make the case for their clients appear
in as favourable a view as possible—at least he gave counsel
credit for doing.so ; therefore he could not now give permis-
sion to amend the present declaration.
Air. Justice Wu wars said he concurred witkhis Learned