The plaintiff was an invitee, as opposed to a mere licensee. The duty of a railway company to its passengers was long ago stated in Readhead v. Midland Ry. Co. (1869) L.R. 4 Q.B. 379, 38 L.J.Q.B. 169, as follows: The contract made by a general carrier of passengers for hire with a passenger is to take care (including in that the use of skill and foresight) to carry the passenger safely; and is not a warranty that the carriage in which he travels shall be in all respects perfect for its purposes; that is to say, free from all defects likely to cause peril although these defects were such that no skill, care or foresight could have detected their existence.
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