A Pugilistic Tramcar Passenger: The Company’s Responsibility: At the Birmingham County Court, today, before His Honour Judge Whitcborne: an interesting action was tried which raised the question of the liability of tramway and omnibus proprietors for admitting drunken passengers into their vehicles. Plaintiff was William Hitchman of Hicks Street, builder, and the defendants were the City of Birmingham Tramway Company. Plaintiff claimed £25 damages for being assaulted in one of the company’s trams on the 1st September last by a fellow-passenger who wss drunk. Mr. Cochrane appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Milward (instructed by Messrs, Pinsent, and Co.) for the defendants. The plaintiff stated that on the 1st September last he was returning to Moseley by a late tram, into which he got at Station Street. There was only one other passenger, and they sat opposite each other close to the door. They had only gone about 100 to 150 yards when four men got in, stumbled over the plaintiff’s feet, and walked the far end of the car, where they sat down and began quarrelling. Noticing him looking them, one of the men, whose name was afterwards found to be Bartlett, shouted “What the – are you looking at?” Plaintiff made no reply. One of the men then held up a bottle and invited him to drink. He shook his head, and then Bartlett staggered down the car and struck him violently in the face with a basin wrapped in a cloth which was carrying. He asked the conductor to stop the car and got on the footboard to call a policeman. Barelet kicked him off the footboard on to the street and kicked him again when he lay in the gutter. There were no policemen about, so they got on to the car, which had waited, and went on to Camp Hill Station where they found Police Constable Benton, and he charged Bartlett with the assault … (continues) … (company not liable for an assault outside of the tram).
Transcribed in whole or part from scanned originals: Presented with or without modified text and punctuation. For absolute accuracy refer to the original newspapers. Source: The British Newspaper Archive.