The Temple.
My dear Dorothy,—I am sorry that you should have had so much trouble about your luggage; it must be very annoying to be deprived of one’s things, quite apart from all consideration of their value, and I can quite appreciate the amount of trouble and inconvenience, to say nothing of expense, which you have been put to by the loss of your portmanteau.
I am happy to say, however, that I can give you a certain amount of comfort. The Company are clearly liable and will have to compensate you for its loss.
If you leave your luggage at a railway station, on the platform or in a waiting-room, telling a porter to keep an eye on it, and your luggage is lost or stolen, the Company will not be liable for its loss, because it is not part of a porter’s duties to act as a quasi-policeman or detective, and moreover the Company provide a place where such luggage can be left with safety, viz., the cloak-room. But your case is quite different, you gave your portmanteau into the Company’s charge at Brighton, to deliver to you in London, and the Company became responsible for its safe delivery to you the moment it was given into their possession.
I will give a categorical reply to your queries.
1. If the box is lost, you can claim compensation for the value of the box and its contents.
2. If the box is not lost and is restored to you, you can still claim compensation for the expense you have incurred in buying new clothes, etc.
3. In either case you can claim damages for the trouble and annoyance caused by the Company’s detaining your portmanteau for nearly three months.
4. As the matter arose between Brighton and London, you could enter the action at either place; you will, of course, enter it in London.
5. If Gerald can give any information, he will have to appear as witness, in which case he will get his expenses as a witness, but he cannot claim compensation because he happens to be away at work in the country, and it may be inconvenient for him to come up to town.