1904.] 



Railway Rates. 



5i5 



II. 



The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to the Secretary of 

 the Railway Clearing House, 

 Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, 



4, Whitehall Place, S.W., 



August 13th, 1904. 

 SIR, — I am directed by the President of the Board of Agri- 

 culture and Fisheries to advert to your letter of the 19th ult. 

 as to the conveyance of agricultural produce and requisites by 

 railway, and to say that he desires me to offer the following 

 further observations : — 



Aggregation of Mixed Consignments of Live Stock. 

 The information before Lord Onslow goes to show that local 

 officials have in the past held different views on the question 

 whether a truck load of cattle known to belong to different 

 owners but consigned by one person should be charged as a 

 single consignment, or whether the cattle belonging to each 

 owner should be charged separately. In view of Lord Onslow's 

 desire to encourage farmers to aggregate consignments, which 

 he believes is shared by the Railway Companies, he trusts that 

 all doubt on this point has now been removed, and that no extra 

 payment will be required for the carriage of any consignment of 

 cattle for the reason only that it is made up of animals owned 

 by different persons. 



Loss and Damage of Produce conveyed. 

 Lord Onslow is glad to learn that all the officers concerned 

 in dealing with claims have been fully acquainted with the 

 general policy of the Railway Companies in regard to compen- 

 sation. He feels, however, that having regard to the fact that 

 the work of deciding claims must often be complicated and 

 delicate, it would be desirable that there should be something in 

 the nature of an appeal from the decision of local officers to a 

 higher authority. He would, therefore, be glad to know what 

 opportunity exists for farmers to make such an appeal, and 

 whether a case may be carried either to the Association of 

 Railway Managers, or to the Central Claims Committee, or 

 to any other Association or Committee engaged in railway 

 management. 



