The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-01-27 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1852.

LIABILITY OF RAILWAY COMPANIES.—An important
decision was given at the County Court, St. Helen's, on
Wednesday last, in an action by which Mr. Nolan, a
farmer at Rainhill, sought to recover .£l2, the value of a
cow, killed by a railway train, from the London and
North-Western Railway Company. The line runs through
Mr. Nolan's farm, and the company had put up the usual
gates to enable the occupier to drive his cattle, &c., across
the rails. One of these having, however, been left open,
the cow, in attempting to pass while a train was in pro-
gress, was knocked down and killed. The point on which
the issue rested was,—whose duty was it to keep the gates
closed, the railway company, or the persons for whose
use they were erected. The Railway Act seemed to lay
the onus on the latter, for they imposed a penalty on par-
ties using the gates if they left them open. The Judge
thought that the company were not liable; but as the
gate was in good repair, had good fastenings, and no com-
plaint had been made to the company of its insufficiency,
he conceived that the requirements of the Act o' Parlia-
ment had been complied with. Judgment consequently
was given for the defendants.
COAL EXPORTS FROM THE MERSEY.—Mr. Hamilton
Laird, agent at Liverpool and Birkenhead for the Coed
Talon steam coal, has compiled tables showing the
monthly exports of coal from the Mersey to foreign
countries during the years 1850 and 1851. They give the
following results :—ln 1850, to the Baltic. 3 559 tons ; in
1851, 2.337 tons. To France, in 1850, 17.292 tons; in
1851, 16 666. To the Mediterranean, in 1850. 39.184
tons ; in 1851. 44,823. To the Black Sea, in 1850, 1,098
tons ; for 1851 no return under this head is given. To
the West Indies, in 1850, 12,642 tons; and in 1851,
15,957. To the East Indies and China, in 1850. 19.600
tons ; and in 1851, 28,617. To Spain and the Canaries,
in 1850, 6 152 tone ; and in 185], 5.459. To Portugal,
the Azores, and Madeira, in 1850, 6 822 tons; in 1851,
6 810. To North America, in 1850, 83 537 tons ; and in
1851, 73 198. To Soeth America, in 1850, 60,407 tons ;
nd in 1851. 38.197. To the Channel Islands, 654 tons
in 1850, and 869 in 1851. To Africa, 1.493 in 1850. and
6.971 in 1851. And to Australia, in 1850, 2.161 ; and in
1851. 4.001. The total number of tons was, in 1850,
254 601, and in 1851, 245,905; being a decrease last year
of 8,696 tons.

PUBLIC MEETINGS.

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between the Ath April and 17th October last. Mr. Wright
said the report denied any intention of defrauding the
committee, and also asserted that, as to the iron short-
entered, he had conveyed his intention to make also the
post-entries, by express instructions to his clerk to that
effect; and, that if he had not done so expressly, his clerk
ought to have inferred that intention from the general
practice of his (Mr. Wright's) office. But, Mr. Wright, at
the same time, added that the clerk referred to could not,
to the best of his recollection, confirm his (Mr. Wright's)
statements in these respects ; and this proved to be the
case, when this clerk subsequently attended before the
sub-committee. This discrepancy, such as it was, be-
tween the statements of Mr. Wright and his clerk, was a
painful feature in the investigation ; and the snore so, as
each perserved in his own assertions, in the presence of
the other party, and apparently with an equal conviction
of the correctness of his statement.

" On the whole, the sub-committee, on the evidence
before them, have come to the conclusion, that the omis-
sion to pay the dues in question amounted to very culpa-
ble negligence on Mr. Wright's part, and they believe
that no one, acquainted with the facts, more fully agrees
in the juis►ice of this censure than h.. himself does, or could
more sincerely deplore it.
" Under all the circumstances, therefore, of this case,
the sub-committee were of opinion that Mr. Wright
ought to be required to pay to the treasurer the sums of
£6O, and double the £2B 14s. 6d. short paid for dock
dues. and which sums have been paid accordingly.
"The sub-committee recommend that this report be
published, in the hope that it may operate as a check
upon the too common practice of evading payment of
dock-dues ; and which offence they are determined, in all
cases, to follow up by prosecution under the stringent
powers of the dock acts. The facilities for such evasion
are of very recent origin, being consequent, entirely, on
the late abolition of Customs' duties on many articles of
export ; and the sub-committee have under their anxious
consideration a plan which they trust will work, for the
future, an effectual remedy of this abuse.
" The sub-committee also recommend that the thanks
of the Dock Committee be presented to Messrs. Thorney-
croft and Co.. who, not content with the fact, evident from
the first, that they were themselves free from all shadow of
blame in this matter, in the most prompt and honourable
manner furnished the sub-committee will-I\f he fullest in-
formation as to all their transactions with Mr. Wright
and have assisted them in every way in promoting this
investigation, and that a copy of this report be immedi-
ately furnished to Messrs. Thorneycroft. and ,Co."
The report was adopted, and the public Business closed.