Page:The Working and Management of an English Railway.djvu/306

268 (A.)— (1.) A common carrier, as a general rule, is bound by the common law to receive and carry, to those places which he holds himself out as carrying to, all goods offered to him for that purpose, from all persons alike upon the tender of payment for his hire; and if he refuses to do this, an action is maintainable against him. It must, however, be proved that he had the means of carrying the goods; that, in the case of goods of great value, he had the means of carrying them securely, and that they were offered to him at a reasonable time.

He is only liable to carry to such places as he holds himself out to be a common carrier to and from, and then only to carry such descriptions of goods as he professes to carry. As will be seen hereafter, there are certain articles of which railway companies are not, and decline to be, common carriers.

(2.) A carrier may refuse to take the custody of goods unless he is previously paid the price of their carriage. Railway companies, as a matter of practice, charge the carriage forward, if so desired, and collect it from the consignee, and in some cases they allow ledger accounts and collect their freight charges monthly; but, in so doing, they waive their rights in order to meet the convenience of their customers.

(3.) The responsibility of a carrier commences on the delivery of the goods to him and continues until he has delivered them or tendered them for delivery to the consignee. Many actions at law have turned upon the question of what constitutes "delivery" to a carrier, and