The Law of Carriers.

Progress, Volume IV, Issue 8, 1 June 1909, Page 263

The Law of Carriers.

(J. W. Macdonald ) The duties and liabilities of carriers enter so largely into the commercial life of the community that it is thought that a short article on such duties and liabilities would be of general interest. A person who holds himself out as a carrier of goods of all persons who think fit to employ him for hire is a common carrier of such goods as he publicly professes to carry, and whether he has to undertake to carry between fixed termini is not yet settled. A carter or furnitnrp remover who makes a bargain for each job is not a common carrier. A common carrier is bound not only to carrysafely but to carry for all comers, and every carrier who actually receives goods for carriage for hire without limiting his ability in respect to them is under the same obligation to carry safely as if he were a common carrier. A common carrier must carry all goods of the description which he professes to carry that are tendered to him for carriage without insisting upon unreasonable conditions provided he has accommodation for the goods and reasonable payment is offered and the goods are brought neither too late for the ionrnev nor too Ions: a time before the .-journey j s 0 begin. Unless he has nj-hsfr-rviaa pcr^nprl Tip TTIUS 4 " riol'vPr wi+hin 9 reisousble time, having regard to the circumstances of the case. At common law a common carrier was an insurer of the goods he carried and was liable for their loss without any negligence on his part except where the loss occurred through (a 1 ) an act of God (an overwhelming accident which could not have been prevented by any amount of foresight and pains and care reasonably to be expected from the carriers}, fb") an act of the King's enemies fc) through some inherent vice in goods carried. This heavy liability continues to the present except in so far as the statute law has modified it. And these exceptions are only available to exempt the carrier from liability if hp has provided a fit and safe carriage, or wTiptp fho transit is bv water a seaworthy and watertight boat. and has followed the usual route to the destination of the goods and endeavoured to deliver them according to the usual course or according to v is jiprppment. The goods come into the carriers' charge so that he becomes liable for them as a common carrier as soon as they are delivered for transit to him or to his authorised agent. A carrier's liability ends with actual delivery to the consignee or at his address if the earner is bound to deliver. A delivery bv the carrier to his sub-contractor or other carrier employed by him to complete the cariage if he booked through to the end does not determine the carrier's liability, and if the goods are to be fetched from the carrier's station or warehouse, his liability as a common carrier ceases after a reasonable time for the consignee to fetch them away. In svich a case the carrier is not bound bv any general rule to give the consignor notice of the consignee's failure to fetch or take up the goods unless the special circumstances of the case call for such notice, but only to do what is reasonable under the circumstances. A carrier may limit his liability for loss or damage by contract with the owner or sender of the goods subject to his obligation to carry goods of the kind he professed to carry without imposing unreasonable conditions; and conditions on public notices at the booking offices or placed on tickets and receipts, if brought to the notice of the owner or sender of the goods before he sent the goods, constituted a contract limiting the carrier's liability in the same manner as an express contract between the parties If the carrier gives the consignor a ticket or receipt which has conditions of carriage printed upon it and the consignor sends the goods knowing that the conditions are there, whether he troubles to read them or not, provided the carrier has done what is reasonably sufficient to give him notice of the conditions, he will be taken to have agreed to the conditions and they form a special contract modifying the carriers common law liabilities. If the consignor will not

agree to the conditions and the carrier is bound to carry the goods tendered but refuses to waive the conditions the consignor's remedy is to sue the carrier for refusing to carry. In order to mitigate the hardship imposed upon carriers bv the loss of small but valuable packages the value of the contents of which they might be ignorant, The Carriers' Act 1830 (Eng.) was passed which is in force in New Zealand also. This Act provides that no common carrier by land for hire shall be liable for loss of or injury to any gold or silver coin, or of gold or silver in a manufactured or unmanufactured state of any precious stones, jewellery, watches, clocks, trinkets, bills, banknotes, stamps, maps, writings, title deeds, paintings, engravings, pictures, plate, glass, china, silks, fur or lace contained in any parcel or package which shall be delivered to be carried for hire or to accompany the person of any passenger by a public conveyance where the value of the property exceeds £10, unless at the time of delivery for carriage the value and nature of the property shall have been declared by the sender or deliverer and the increased charge shall have been paid. The scale of increased charges for parcels containing any of the specified goods and of a value exceeding £10 must be notified by a notice in legible characters fixed in a conspicuous place in the carriers receiving house and the carrier must give a receipt for the payment of the increased charge when required to do so or he loses the benefit of the Act. The Act extends to injuries and losses occasioned by gross negligence of the carrier's servants but it does not protect him from liability to answer for loss of or injury to goods arising from their felonious acts or the felonious nets nf the servants of sub-contractors carrying for him. It does not annul or affect any special contract for the convevanee by goods, e.g., ticket or receipt. It provides, however that no public notice or declaration shall limit or affect the liability at common law of any such common carries in respect of any articles or goods to be earned bv them but their liability at common ]aw in respect of goods of which they are not entitled to the benefit of the Act shall continue

Inherent Vice. The carrier is not liable for any loss or damage to the goods which occurs owing to their inherent vice or to their deterioration from natural causes to which he has not contributed, but he will be liable if the loss is presumably due to the want of care in not remedying an obvious defect or taking reasonable steps to diminish the loss e.g . stopping leal? in a cask. The carrier is absolved from liability if the loss is presumably due to the negligence of the sender as if he sent a dog with an insecure collar or goods in a condition requiring special treatment without giving the carrier notice, or improperly packed The "Mercantile Law Act 1908," Sections 17 to 20. consolidating a similar provision in the "Mercantile Law Amendment Act 1880," which was passed to put an end to the system certain companies had adopted of limiting their liability bv notices upon their tickets and receipts or given to their customers which when brought home to the senders of goods constituted special contracts. Tt provides that every common earner for hire by land or by sea between any ports in New Zealand is liable for the loss of or iniuries done to any goods or animals in carriage notwithstanding notice to the contrary, but this is not to prevent the carrier from making such conditions for carrying as adjudged by the Court before which any question arises to be just and reasonable, and no special contract is binding unless signed by the person delivering the goods for carriage. The limit of liability is in respect of a horse £50, cattle £15, smaller cattle £2, unless the sender before delivering declares the value of the animals and pays such extra payment as is demanded. By further provisions of the Act this applies to all parts of the Dominion, including navigable lakes and inland navigable waters. The fxovernment Railways Act 1908 states the liability of the Minister of Railways as a common carrier. He has power to declare certain kinds of goods of a nature liable to injury or goods over and above a certain value to be special goods. All other goods shall be deemed to be ordinary goods, and he has power to determine what additional sum over and above the charges payable in respect of ordinary goods shall be payable in respect of special goods in proportion to the value thereof. He has power to make by-laws upon many subjects incident to the "working of the railways and in particular

that whilst regulations for the checking of luggage are enforced no liability shall be incurred by the Department in respect of luggage which has not been duly checked. Every person, before delivering any special goods at any railway station, shall give to the officer in charge of such a written statement declaring the value and nature of such special goods, for which a receipt shall be given, and without such statement and receipt no person can claim for any loss or damage to any special goods any greater sum than £10 for the contents of any parcel in which such special goods are placed, £15 for any horse, £8 for any one head of cattle, £2 for any dog, £15 for any one sheep not otherwise specified, and 3s. 6d. for any bird. In respect of all ordinary goods and to the value declared of all special goods but subject to the limitations of the Act, the minister is in the same position as the common carrier. "The Post and Telegraph Act 1908" has provisions regulating liability of the PostmasterGeneral in respect of packages conveyed through the post, the general character of which is to relieve him from all liability. Any person sending a package by parcels post shall be entitled to have the same registered and to obtain a receipt for the same. But such registration or receipt shall not confer on any person any right to compensation or impose any liability for its loss. The Postmaster-General, on proof of the loss of such a registered packet, may allow a sum not exceeding £2 as compensation. The Act specifically provides that no claim or demands shall arise by reason of any default, delay, or omission, or loss in relation to any postal packet poster or other package. The liability of shipping companies trading to New Zealand is regulated by the Shipping and Seamen Act 1908. It provides that if the owner of any ship transporting goods to or from New Zealand exercises due diligence to make the ship in all respects seaworthy and properly manned, equipped, and supplied, no liability shall arise in respect of faults, or errors in navigation, or management of the ship nor for losses arising from dangers of the sea, acts of God, or public enemies, or the inherent defects or use of the thing carried, insufficiency of package, or seizure under legal process, or for loss resulting from saving or attempting to save life or property at sea. The shipowner shall not be liable if the loss has not occurred through the actual fault, for any goods damaged by fire or for valuables taken on board ship which are not declared to in writing, and which are made away by robbery, nor for loss of life or personal injury or damage to goods on his own ship, or on another ship, the injury or damage being caused by the improper navigation of his own ship beyond £15 for each ton of the ship's tonnage, in respect of personal injuries, and £8 for each such ton in respect of damage to goods. As a precaution to the mercantile community against the practice of ship owners contracting themselves out of all liability on their bills of lading any of the following claims or agreements in bills of lading are null and void unless the court before which any question relating thereto is tried adjudges the sum to be just and reasonable, viz., providing for relief from liability for improper conditions of ship's hold, or negligence or fault in properly handling cargo, or lessening the obligation of the owner to exercise due diligence to properly man and equip the ship, make the holds fit and safe for cargo, and to make the ship seaworthy, or lessening the obligation to properly handle the cargo. The foregoing restrictions do not apply to the transportation of live animals. A person putting on board any ship any valuables or luggage, shall furnish a list and their value, and the declared value of them shall be the limit of the ship owner's liability; and if the value is not declared the owner is not liable to pay more than £50 for their loss and a special rate may be charged whether carried as cargo or passengers' luggage. The agents in New Zealand for any ship not legistered in New Zealand can be sued after the departure of such ship in respect of short delivery or pillage of cargo, but notice must be given of the claim within fourteen days after the delivery of the cargo in respect of which the claim is made. Such agents, however, by notice to the collector of Customs of 24 hours may decline to accept responsibility, in which case the master has to enter into a bond to cover any judgments and costs obtained against the ship for short delivery or pillage of cargo.