§ SIR SEYMOUR KINGI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the decision of the House of Lords in the case of "Cobb v. the Great Western Railway Company "; and whether it is proposed to take any step to legislate in further protection of railway passengers?
§ MR. BRYCEYes, Sir; my attention has been called to the case, which appears to me to have been decided on the special facts of the case as the House of Lords took them upon the statement of the plaintiff. The effect of the decision would appear to be that when it is alleged that a Railway Company has obstructed or failed to assist in the taking into custody of a person charged with an offence against a passenger the proper course is not by a civil action, but by criminal proceedings. The case does not appear to show that the ordinary law is insufficient to deal with robbery in trains, and I do not, therefore, as at present advised, propose to introduce any amending legislation.