Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/303

* CAKRICKFERGUS. CARRIER. surrounded on three sides. The ballium or keep is 90 feet in height. From the suniiiiit a splendid view is obtained, extending, in a clear atmosphere, to the ilourne Mountains and the Scotch coast. The castle contains a barrack, bomb-proof magjizine. ordnance storerooms, and cannon of larire calibre command the entjance of the lough. A considerable portion of the town wall, completed in 1008, is still standing, L as well as one of the four entrance gates. On June 14, 16!)0, King William Til. landed here with his army. The rock on which the King stepped in landing is at the end of the quay, pro- jecting from it, and still forms the landing-place. In 1700 Commodore Thurot captured the castle, but, on the approach of troops from Belfast, was forced to abandon it. Paul Jones, in 1778, cap- tured the Drake war-sloop in the bay. but left the town unmolested. The parish church, found- ed in 1164, on the site of a pagan temple, is a fine old building, dedicated to Saint Nicholas. There is a literary and scientific society, with reading-room, library, and museum. There are several barrows or tumuli in the vicinity. Population, about 9000, about one-half of it be- longing to the urban district. Consult S. Jlac- .Skimin, History and Antiquities of Carrickfergus (Belfast, 1811). CARRICK-ON-STIIR, kar'rik-on-shiTor'. A town in the county of Tipperary, Ireland, 12 miles east of Clonrael, in the midst of fine scenery (ilap: Ireland, D 4). There is con- siderable woolen manufacture, and also linen and flax factories. It exports much agricultural produce. In the vicinity are good slate-quar- ries. Carrick-on-Suir became a place of note soon after the Xorman Conquest. There are re- mains of a castle built in 1309. CAR'RICK'S FORD. A ford over the Cheat River, in Tucker County, W. Va. Here, on July 13, 1801, a small Confederate force, retreating from Laurel Hill, was defeated by the vanguard of McClellan's army, under Gen. T. A. Morris. Among the killed was the Confederate leader. Gen. R. B. Gamett. CARRIER, Common. A carrier is a person who carries on the business of transporting goods or passengers, by land or water. A common carrier is one who performs that service only for hire and for all persons indifferently. The term is applicable to teamsters, truckmen, and the like, as well as to railroad and steamboat companies, and the owners and masters of vessels of all kinds engaged in the business of transportation. It does not, however, ordinarily include proprietors of shops who deliver goods to purchasers, nor hotel-keepers who maintain conveyances for the purpose of transporting their guests to and from their hotels. In consequence of the peculiar char- acter of the common carrier's occupation, the op- portunities which it affords for dishonest dealing with another's property, and its importance to the ' community, the common carrier of goods has been subjected by the common law to two stringent ob- ligations. In the first place, his serice is com- pulsory; i.e. he is compelled to carry for all who may apply to him, without discrimination; and, in the second place, he is liable for loss or injury to the goods intrusted to him irrespective of any negligence on his part. It is commonly, though inaccurately, stated that common carriers are responsible for any loss or damage during transportation from whatever cause '"except the act of God or of the public enemy." By the weight of authority, the act of God means only such inevitable accidents as oc- cur without the intervention of any human agency, although the decisions do not wholly agree in defining the plirase. The term public enenjy embraces any tic facto or de jure Govern- ment engaged in an act of war or public hostility against the Government of the common carrier. Pirates are also public enemies, but the term does not include robbers, bandits, rioters, or rebels against established governmental authority. In addition to these exemptions, the common carrier is not responsible for losses occurring by reason of acts done by public authority or the default of the shipper, or such as are due to the nature and character or inherent defects of the goods shipped, as, for example, losses by fermentation, evapo- ration, the ordinary decay of perishable articles, or the natural wear in the course of transjjorta- tion, provided the carrier exercises reasonable care to make such dangers or the losses resulting therefrom as small as practicable. Railway com- panies, steamboat-o^vners, and other carriers who allow express companies to carry parcels and packages on their cars, boats, or other vehicles, are liable as common carriers to the owners of the goods for loss or damage without regard to the contract between them and such express car- riers. Railwajs, steamers, etc., carrying passen- gers, although not liable for injury to passen- gers without the carriers' fault, are responsible for the baggage of such passengers intrusted to them as common carriers, and tlie responsibility continues until the delivery of the baggage to the owner, or to his order. See B.ggage. The extraordinary common-law liability of a carrier may now generally be qualified by special contract or acceptance, assented to by the ship- per. The carrier cannot, however, generally ex- empt himself from liability for negligence, though the English and some American courts hold to a dift'erent rule. The special contract is usually, though not necessarily, contained in the bill of lading, baggage-check, or passenger-ticket. The carrier's common - law liability has also been modified by statute in some jurisdictions, and on February 4, 1887, the Congress of the United States passed the "Interstate Commerce Act" (q.v.), which created the Interstate Commerce Commission and also provided for the regulation of commerce between the States c&rried on by carriers by rail or water. Carriers who undertake general business are bound to accept all freight that is offered, under liability of legal action if they refuse without just excuse; but any carrier may restrict his busi- ness to certain goods, in which case he is not bound to accept other classes of goods for car- riage. A carrier may require payment of freight in advance, and is entitled to a lien for his freight and for sums which he advances to other carriers in payment of freight. The responsi- bility of the carrier, as such, begins upon the delivery of the goods for inunediate transporta- tion. A delivery at the usual place of receiving freight, or to those employed by the company in the usual course of bvisiness. is sufficient. But where carriers have a warehouse at which they re- ceive goods that are not to be forwarded until further order or a later time, they arc in the meantime responsible only as warehousemen (see