INNKEEPERS, Law relating to. By the common law of England innkeepers are under certain peculiar obligations, the most important of which are the duty of supplying accommodation to such travellers as may desire it, and their responsibility for the safety of the goods belonging to persons staying in their inns. An inn is a place “instituted for passengers and wayfaring men,” and in a recent case, in which the proprietor of a restaurant was prosecuted for refusing refreshment on demand, it was held that a tavern, or shop for the retail of spirits across the counter, is not within the definition, and that a person resident in the neighbourhood of the inn is not a traveller. An innkeeper may be indicted for refusing accommodation to a traveller, who may also of course have a remedy by civil action. To render an innkeeper liable for loss of goods at common law, the following are stated by Chitty {Law of Contracts) to be necessary conditions :—(1) that the inn be a “common” inn; (2) that the guest be a traveller or passenger; (3) that the goods or chattels must be in the inn, or at all events under the protection of the innkeeper as such; (4) that there be default on the part of the innkeeper, which is, however, implied in all cases not arising from the negligence of the guest, the act of God, or of the queen’s enemies. An innkeeper receiving goods in any other capacity, e.g., as a warehouseman or generally as bailee, or allowing the guest exclusive possession of a room for special purposes, is not liable for loss. Nor is the innkeeper liable for loss of goods by the theft of the guest’s servant or companion, or by the negligence of the guest himself. A recent Act, 26 & 27 Vict. c. 4, limits the liability of the innkeeper by the following provisions :—No ...