172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Therefore, if your barn takes fire through your carelessness 

 with the lantern, or that of your man with his pipe, and 

 thereby your neighbor's property is also consumed, you are 

 not bound to pay for it : the law seems to consider that you 

 have suffered enough for your conduct in the loss of your 

 own property (1 Bl. Com. 431 ; 37 Barb. 15 ; 35 N.Y. 210 ; 

 62 Penn. St. 353). . 



Still less would you be responsible if the fire originated 

 from causes beyond your control. If your barn is struck by 

 lightning, or your haystack ignites by spontaneous combus- 

 tion, without any fault on your part, and the flames spread 

 to the adjoining owner's property, it would be hard indeed 

 if you had not only to lose your own, but to pay for his also 

 (8 Johns. 422; 11 Q. B. 347). And I suppose, even if you 

 were careless in not promptly and energeticall}^ putting it 

 out when you could have done so, and it spreads beyond 

 your control, tliis would not render you liable, as perhaps 

 it might have done had you purposely set fire to your brush- 

 heap or stubble. 



As to railroad fires the law is somewhat different from that 

 relating to individuals. Formerly, and antecedently to any 

 statutes, railroad companies were not liable for fires caused 

 by their locomotives, without proof of some negligence, either 

 in the construction or mode of running the engine by which 

 the fire was caused, or otherwise (5 H. & N. 674 ; 18 Barb. 

 80 ; 30 Iowa, 420 ; 15 Conn. 124 ; 37 Me. 93) : but as the 

 liability to such fires was so great, and the amount of dam- 

 age so caused was very extensive, it became necessary to 

 enlarge their liability ; and now in this State, by Gen. Stat., 

 chap. 63, § 101, railroad corporations are liable for all dam- 

 ages to the buildmgs or personal property of land-owners 

 along their route, arising from fire communicated by their 

 locomotives, and without any proof of negligence or careless- 

 ness, either in the company or any of its employees. 



And this statute has a very liberal construction, extend- 

 ing not only to buildings immediately adjoining the railroad, 

 and which are fired directly by sparks -from the locomotives, 

 but also to buildings at a long distance from the road, and 

 which are set on fire by sparks flying through the air from 

 some building nearer by, which had first taken fire from the 

 engines (13 Met. 99; 98 Mass. 414 ; 103 Mass. 586). 



