Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Bashinsky, Case & Co.

Under the first count of the complaint, the plaintiffs assumed the burden of showing that the defendant negligently failed to promptly transmit and deliver plaintiffs’ cablegram as it undertook to do. There is nothing in the evidence that, tends to establish such negligence, unless it can be said that defendant’s use of the British Post Office telegraph service, for transmission of the message from London to Manchester over the British line, was negligence per se, under the circumstances shown.

By the express terms of the contract, defendant was authorized “to forward this message over the…