The main and important point for consideration is whether the suit is barred under Article 30 or Article 31 of the Indian Limitation Act. The plaintiff’s suit was for recovery of the price of certain goods, namely, bales of cotton cloth which had been lost by the defendants who are common carriers during the course of the transit of the articles from Rajapalayam to Guntur. It is common ground that the goods in question were handed over to the South Indian Railway Company on 7th September, 1944, at Rajapalayam for despatch to Guntur. It is also proved beyond doubt that these goods reached the Tondiarpet Marshalling Yard in the Madras City on the midnight of 17th September, 1944, and that some time later the goods were lost. On enquiries made by the Railway Company, it was found that a gang of thieves had opened the wagon in the Yard and carried away the packages. Since the goods were not delivered at the destination to the plaintiff, who was the consignee of these goods, in proper time, the suit was for recovery of a sum of money, being the price of the goods as the damages for nondelivery of the goods. Exs. P-4 to P-22 are letters between the parties, by which the question