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.Llangorse Welcome

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[No title]

MANSIONS OF BRECON AND -RADNOR.I

I MARCH COMPETITION.I

[ I* = HEROES OF WALES.I

I TO -, KILLED IN ACTION.…

ACTION FAILS I

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ACTION FAILS AT BRECON COUNTY COURT. I THE DERAILED TRUCK CASE. I An action which lia.s occupied the attention of His Honour Judge Bryn Roberts, at the Brecon County Court for three days was concluded at the hearing on Saturday. The case was part heard in November and January, and a large number of witnesses were exam- ined. Plaintiff were the Great Western Railway Com- pany. and the defendants the Kreeonshire Coal and Lime Company. The claim against the defendant com- pany was in respect to damage caused to the perman- ent way, amounting to £63 3s 2d owing to a truck. which it was alleged was defective in springs, becoming de- railed. (instructed b3- )fr Page, London) Mr I). C. Hartley (instructed by Mr Page, London) was for plaintiffs.and Mr Ieagre (instructed by Messrs. Kenshole and Prosser, Aberdare) for defendants. The plaintiff company's claim was in respect to dam- age caused to the permanent-way on the Ileanar railway, owing to, as they alleged, a breach of contract by the defendants in tendering for haulage a truck which was defective, and by reason of which the, truck was de- railed and injured the permanent-way. Under the re- gulations, existing between truck-owners and the railway company, it was laid down that the owners or lessees, as the case, might he, should krep their waggons in good working order before being tendered to the com- pany for transit. On the 3rd April, 1916, the truck in question was tendered by defendants to plaintiffs for haulage from a colliery from Lianover to Cardiff, and was put into a train which consisted of 49 trucks, this, particular truck being the 27th truck from the engine. When arriving at Pantyresk Crossing it was noticed by a ganger that the truck was off the line. He imme- diately called the attention of the guard, and the train was pulled up. Upcn examination it was found that this truck had the two trailing wheels off the road. A little way back pieces of the spring off the truck were di'coH'red lying on the *ide of the road. The "sleepers" were marked and a lot of the "chairs" were broken. Further search found other broken pieces of the sprin, t Plaintiff- brought evidence with the object of proving that the spring was defective, and that owing to this the truck became derailed and caused the damage. Mr Wm. O'Connor. M.E., Bargocd Colliery Co., who was one of the witnesses called by defendants, was in the box when the case was adjourned, and now con- tinued his evidence, which was of a highly technical character. He .said that in his opinion all the pieces of the spring were perfect when the truck left en its fast journey—about nve or six miles from the scene of the accident. He detailed experiments ami tests he had mad? on a full-sized waggon similar to the one in question. As a result, he gave it as his opinion that the breaking of the spring was the result and not the cause of the derailment. Nine-tenths of such derail- ments, he said, were due to waggons Ivecoming leek- j buffered oil a seNem- curve. lie had never heard of a case where derailment was due to a broken spring, Other evidence wa., given, and both Mr Meagre and Mr Bartley addressed His Honour at. some length. Mr Hartley laid emphasis on the fact that the line had been open since 1912 for this particular traffic. Seven or eight trains passed either way daily. That meant that I during five years from 191217 there had been 25,000 trains over the line, and if each train had only 20 trucks, 500,000 trucks had passed over the line in five years. It was a most extraordinary co-incident, he said, if the cause of the derailment of this truck were the curves, or gradients, or manipulation of the train that only one truck out of 500,000 had ever been derailed. He argued that the spring was broken before there was any derail- ment. His Honour said the question he had to decide was whether the damage done to the line was caused by the derailment of the truck, due to its defective .springs, or whether the fracture of the springs were the conse- quence or the cause of the derailment. The onu." was clearly upon plaintiffs to prove that it was due to de- fective springs. The conclusion he came to was that it was .impo""ihk to say with anything ap- preaching satisfactory certainty what caused the derailment. That was the impression he rather bad before the evidence heard that I day. It was suggested that some of the springs had been broken for a, long time—a theory which was render- ed somewhat improbable since the waggon had engaged the scrutiny of examiners during the period, and none of them seemed to have discovered its defect or want of uniformity. If one of the leavss of the springs had been completely broken (as it was alleged), it could have been discovered with the naked eye, and the wagon would have been stopped going out. It was im- possible to say with satisfactory certainty how the ac- cident occurred. That being so, he gave judgment for defendants, because the burden of proof was upon plain- tiffs. Mr Meagre: Then you give judgment for defendants 1 with costs, your Honour: His Honour: Yes. Mr Hartley May we have a stay of execution? Mr Meagre It is only a matter of costs. Our solici- tors will willingly give the undertaking. Nfr Hartley: It is only a question of how long we shall have to wait for the judge's notes? His Honour: I grant a stay for 28 days.

RHEUMATISM ,KIDNEY TROUBLE.

[Paper Waster and Paper Money.I

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Crickhowell and War Savings.

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-----NEWBRIDGE SAVINGS. -.--.-I

THE LAND SYSTEM. I

-NETTING __THE WYE._I

GOOD FRIDAY, 1918, I

THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION.I

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