Offences and bye-laws.—Punishable offences against a railway company are created either directly by statute or, under a statutory power, by bye-laws of the company. The great body of offences connected with railways is composed of acts done against a company by some member of the public, there being only a small class of offences in respect of which the company may be the delinquent Of these latter may be mentioned two :—Consumption of smoke : a penalty of .£5 a day is incurred by a railway company for a locomotive using coal or other similar fuel emitting smoke which is not effectively constructed on the principle of con suming its own smoke ; for knowingly providing a special train to convey a party to a prize:fight, or stopping an ordinary train to accommodate a party for that purpose at any station not an ordinary station, a railway company is liable to a penalty of £500, half of which may be paid to the person at whose suit the summons was issued. Perhaps the offences and bye-laws more intimately con nected with the passenger traffic are the most generally interesting. Never theless a knowledge of certain others may be extreinely valuable—trespassing or obstructing, for example. No one may wilfully obstruct an officer or agent of a company in the execution of his duty upon the railway, or the station or prendses connected therewith ; nor may one wilfully trespass on a railway, station, or such premises, and refuse to quit upon the request of the company's officer or agent. Penalty £5. Some railways, for example the London and North-Western, have the special benefit of a statutory provision imposing a penalty of 40s. upon any one who trespasses in such a manner as to expose himself to risk of danger, even though he has received no special warning ; but this is subject to the condition that a warning against trespassing has been clearly exhibited. There is often a dispute as to what in fact constitutes a trespass. Cabmen have contended that they do not trespass by refusing to quit a company's rank, for they have claimed a right to stand thereon for hire. Their contention has failed, however, although on the other hand it has been held that thcre was no trespass where a van stood on an open space adjoining a railway station. The van owner claimed to have a right so to do, and the Court decided that in this particular case the claim was a bond fide one. But the cabmen's claim of right was held to be one which could not exist. An offender may be arrested without warrant by any officer or agent of the railway company, or by a duly appointed special constable, but must be taken before a magistrate as soon as possible. A penal trespass is also committed by any one who shall " be or pass upon any railway," except for the purpose of crossing at an authorised crossing, after having been once warned against so doing. Somewhat akin to trespass is the proximity to a railway of a dangerous tree. Any tree standing near to a railway which is in danger of falling thereon, so as to obstruct the traffic, can be removed by order of the magistrates upon the com plaint of the company ; but in such a case the magistrates should award com pensation to the owner of the tree.
Injuries to railway and passengers.—It is a felony for any person unlawfully and maliciously to put anything upon a railway ; or to take up anything belonging to a railway ; or turn, move, or divert any machinery belonging to a railway ; or show, hide, or remove a railway signal or light ;—with intent (a) to obstruct, upset, overthrow, injure, or destroy an engine, tender, carriage, or truck using the railway, or (b) to endanger the safety of any one travelling thereon. So also is it a felony if, with like intent, anything is thrown or caused to strike against an engine or other railway conveyance. And it is a misdemeanour to endanger, or assist to endanger, the life of any person in or upon a railway by means of an unlawful act or a wilful omission or neglect. Dangerous goods.—A sum of .£20 will be forfeited to the railway company by any one who knowingly sends by the railway any aquafortis, oil of vitriol, gunpowder, lucifer matches, or other dan gerous goods, without distinctly marking their nature on the outside of the packages, or otherwise giving notice in writing to the servant of the company with whom they were left. Offences by passengers.—The offences more particularly
relating to passengers on a railway are created by section 103 of the Railway Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, as partly repeated and amplified in section 5 of the Regulation of Railways. Act, 1889. The latter Act, and a subsequent re pealing Act, have so dealt with the former as to leave therein, with a separate existence, only the provision regarding not quitting carriages. Any person who knowingly and wilfully refuses or neglects, on arriving at the point to which he has paid his fare, to quit his carriage, incurs a forfeiture to the company of 40s. The Act of 1889 is now the authority in respect of the production of tickets, detention of passengers, and frauds by passengers. Of these matters then in their order. Production of ticket.—" Every passenger by a railway shall, on request by an officer or servant of a railway company, either produce, and if so requested deliver up a ticket, showing that his fare is paid, or pay his fare from the place whence he started, or give the officer or servant his name and address, and in case of default shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 40s." In this connection it should be noted that the courts have held that a season ticket holder is as much under an obligation to produce his ticket as is a passenger with an ordinary ticket. And it should also be noted that there are three alternatives before a passenger whose ticket is demanded under this section, either one of which he is entitled at his option to accept. And the net effect of the section would seem to be to afford an opportunity to an honest person, with sufficient means, who has no dishonest intent, but finds himself without the money wherewith to buy a ticket, to pursue his journey without prior payment. Provided he is actually in the carriage when the demand for his ticket is made, it will be sufficient if he gives his name and address. He can pay the fare on some subsequent occasion, and the company can sue him for it if he does not. The company have no power, strictly speaking, to eject him from the carriage provided he has given his name and address (Butler v. Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Ry. Co.); nor is it lawful for the company to detain him whilst they inquire whether the name and address he has given is a correct one (Knights v. L. C. and D. By. Co.). Fraud—an intent to avoid payment of the fare—must always exist in order to justify a railway company ejecting a pas senger from a carriage or detaining him pending inquiries ; so that a company runs some risk of liability for damages in a case wherein it has taken extreme measures, and it has turned out that the passenger was perfectly honest. Frauds by passengers entail, in each case, a fine of 40s. for a first offence ; and second or subsequent offence a fine of £20 or one month's hard labour. And a fraudulent passenger who has been so punished may also be required to pay his fare. There is a fraud so punishable " if any person travels or attempts to travel on a rail way without having previously paid his fare, and with intent to avoid payment thereof." Travelling with the return ticket of another person (Langdon v. Howells), and travelling in a carriage of a class superior to that paid for, with no intention of paying the excess (Gillingham v. Walker), are examples of fraud under this head. There is also a fraud, punishable as above, if any person " having paid his fare for a certain distance knowingly and wilfully proceeds by train beyond that distance without previously paying the additional fare for the additional distance and with intent to avoid payment thereof." And also if any person, " having failed to pay his fare, gives in reply to a request by an officer of a railway company a false name or address." railway company primarily derives its power to make bye-laws from sections 108 and 109 of the Act of 1845. so made must not be repugnant to the common law, or to the provisions of the special act of the com.