THE SENTENCE ON DRIVER C.A.UDLE.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE 'SPECTATOR."]
Sin,—Whatever may be the decision of the Home Secretary in the case of Driver Caudle, and while many of us would be glad to see a free pardon granted, should it not be recognized that the decision of Mr. Justice Avory was per- fectly just ? The legal responsibility on the part of the drivers of all private and public vehicles for acts which cause death and injury should be the same on the road and on the rails. I will give a parallel case to illustrate this. Supposing the driver of a motor-omnibus were to drive past the uplifted arm of a constable, instead of past a signal at danger, and as a result crash into another motor-omnibus and kill and injure some passengers, would a jury or judge let him off any more lightly, or as lightly, as in the Aisgill case? Would they or the public accept as valid the excuse that his motor was running badly or that he did not see the constable's arm because he was looking at his pressure-gauges or was worried by bad petrol? I think not. And would the ordinary motor driver be exonerated if he caused an accident in a similar way ? As recently as Saturday last a motor driver named Ryde was given a sentence at Ipswich exactly similar to that given in Candle's case, namely, two months in the second division, for killing one boy and injuring another at a junc- tion of two roads. His defence was that his motor ekidded, and that be could not avert the accident. Will he also be released because his act was entirely unintentional and there was no moral obliquity ?
Driver Caudle no doubt had worries to distract him—bad coal and alleged inefficiency in his automatic lubrication. But he ran past three signals at danger instead of one prohibiting constable's arm. For neglecting to obey these warnings and thereby causing deaths and injuries he has been convicted and sentenced. Having had a good deal of practical experience on the footplate in past years, I sympathize very much with Caudle, and I can personally testify to the high character and constant vigilance and care of the average locomotive driver, and I know what bad coal with an extra heavy train on a severe gradient may mean. But the safety of the public must come first, and while we are delighted to know that the Midland Railway Company are prepared to find suitable employment for Driver Candle after his release, surely his sentence must be admitted to have been just, both from the point of view of
law and of public safety.—I am, Sir, &c., MONTAGU. 62 Pall Mall, S. W.
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