Important to Railway Travellers.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 61, 11 August 1885, Page 2

Important to Railway Travellers.

• Two troopers of the Wyndham contin-gent-of the Southland Hussars have been betore thb Invercargill Police Cpnrt charged wito a breach of the Railway Eeg'ulations. vis!, travelling in' a firstclass carriage with second-class tickets. The facts were not denied, but both defendants averred that they entered the flrst-clas3 carriage solely because they coutd not find room m a second. They had refused to pay the difference of fare when demanded by the guard on the ground that they did not want to travel first-class and would go into a second as accomodation could be found. In point of fact they did change carriages at Morton Mains and had no intention . of defrauding the revenue. The. Bench, Messrs Todd, and Perkins, considered the offence proved. It was defendants' duty to have put the onus of providing them with the travelling accompdation they required upon the railway authorities, and not to have, taken the matter m their own. hands. Haying of their own accord travelled m the wrong class and refused to pay the difference m fare, they ■ had Undoubtedly committed the offence charged. The Bench, however, thought a lfght penalty would meet the case, just enough to show that the law must be obeyed by travellers. A fine of five shillings each, with costs, eight shillings, was inflicted. . ■■ ■ ■ ■ • .- '