"JUST AND reasonable" CONDITIONS. 139 



of conditions limiting the common law liability of the carrier 

 is subject to their being both adjudged "just and reason- 

 able," and embodied in a signed special contract ; and, also, 

 that the onus of showing them to be reasonable lies with the 

 company alleging them to be so. (a) In regard to the signature 

 of the contract, it is settled that the company cannot 

 repudiate a special contract on the ground of its not being 

 signed by the consignor ;(6) that an agent or servant signing 

 binds his principal, (c) whether the servant can read or 

 not,((Z) but that mere initials are not equivalent to signature 

 under the Act.(e) 



The value must be truly declared, otherwise the owner is 

 barred from recovering damages ;(/) and if it be declared of 

 less value than £50, the sender cannot recover a sum greater 

 than the declared value. Further, where a very valuable 

 horse was injured through the negligence of a railway com- 

 pany in their yard before the value was declared, it was held 

 to be an injury while " receiving," and that the owner of 

 it could not recover more than £50, even though it was the 

 practice to put horses into horse-boxes before declaring their 

 vahie or paying the fare.(^) 



111. Of "Just and Reasonable" Conditions. (70 — The 

 Court is always the judge of this matter, and the onus of 

 proving a condition reasonable lies upon the company. (i) 

 The justice and reasonableness of conditions are purely a 

 question of circumstances, and no definite rule can be laid 

 down.(y) In construing them the Court will give eftect 



(a) See also 3PManus v. L. tO Y. Ry. Co., Ex. Ch. 18f.9, 4 H. and X. 327, 

 349 ; Simons v. G. W. Ry. Co., 1857, 2 C.B., N.S. 620. 

 (h) liaxendale v. G. E. Ry. Co., 1869, L.R. 4 Q.B. 244. 

 (c) Baron Martin in Kirby v, G. W. Ry. Co., 18G8, 18 L.T., N.S. 658. 

 {d) Foreman v. G. W. Ry. Co., 1878, 38 L.T., N.S. 851. 

 (c) Peebles v. Cal. Ry. Co., 1875, 2 R. 346. 

 (/) M'Cance v. L. d: N.-W. Ry. Co., 18G1, 7 H. and N. 477. 

 Uj) Ilodgman v. W. Mid. Ry. Co., 1865, 6 B. and S. 560. 

 (h) See this fully treated in Macnamara, Art. 171. 

 (0 Harrison v. L. B. tt- S. C. Ry. Co., 1860, 2 B. and S. 122, 152. 

 0) Grc'jory v. N.-W. Ry. Co., 1864, 33 L.J., Ex. 155. 



