306 
VETERINARY JURISPRUDENCE. 
was taken thence a distance of about a quarter of a mile, to be at¬ 
tached to the passenger train. Generally it was the custom that 
boxes which were going to be attached to a train should be either 
drawn by a horse or pushed by hand, but in the present instance it 
was taken by an engine, and driven up to the train with great vio¬ 
lence. The colt went quietly into the box. There was another 
horse also, belonging to Mr. Branford, in the box, and his man, 
Kisbee, was also in the box with them. When the box was being 
shunted up to the train, it was taken at such a pace that the groom 
became alarmed, and called out to them to go more quietly. The 
pace was not moderated, and the box was sent with such force 
against the train, that the groom was thrown against the front of 
the box, his hat was smashed, and his head was hurt. The head of 
the horse w’as dashed with violence against the front of the 
box, and he was thrown down, his legs being doubled under him. 
The concussion was so great that the beam at the top of the box, 
which held the pillar that divided the horse-box into compart¬ 
ments, was thrown out of its horizontal position, and the upright 
pillar itself was smashed. The plaintiff complained of the negli¬ 
gence of the company’s servants, and said he should report them to 
head-quarters. On opening the box, the horse was found to be in¬ 
jured, and the box itself w^as in the condition which he had de¬ 
scribed. The injuries, however, were not seen to be so great as 
they afterwards proved to be. The box was put right, as well as it 
could be, and the horse was got upon its legs, and proceeded on its 
journey. When they arrived at Thrapston, the horse "was lame in 
one of its legs, and what was still more serious he dropped in his 
hind-quarters, and had great difficulty in getting up hill. The inju¬ 
ries MTre such as to induce Mr. Branford to believe that the horse’s 
spine was injured, and he called in another veterinary surgeon, whose 
opinion coincided with his own. The plaintiff wrote to the railway 
company the same night complaining of the negligence of their 
servants, and, at the same time, offering very fair and reasonable 
terms. He requested them to send their own veterinary surgeon, 
or any one else they thought proper, to examine the colt. He told 
them he had no wish to go to law, and if the company would give 
him the price he paid for the horse, and pay him some slight com¬ 
pensation, for his expenses, he would not take any proceedings. 
The answer he received from the company was that the injuries to 
the horse arose from its own plunging, and were not caused by any 
negligence on the part of the company’s servants. This was an 
idle excuse, and one that was always made by railway servants, 
who, of course, according to their own showing, always did their 
duty. The plain did not want to go to law with the company, 
and kept the hora and did all he could to cure it. Nothing could 
be done with it, nd it gradually got worse, and was obliged to be 
killed in February last. To satisfy himself the plaintiff made a 
examination, and a portion of the back was also?sent 
in to Professor Spooner, of the Royal Veterinary College, who 
would give evidence as to the cause of death. 
