New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-01-20

made by the Chicago and Galena Railroad Com
pauy (of IA miles of new road which they con.
template building from Chicago East to the State
line of Indiansl to the Michigal Central Railroad
Company, from which it is evident that the mat
ter is not understood.
1t may be proper to state the precise facts IN
the case.
TIE Michigan Central Railroad Company IS a
Corporation with power to build Road from De
troit 10 New-Butfalo in the State OF Michigan,
and thence to the southern boundary line OF that
The Michigan Southern Railroad Company is a
Corporation with powert to build Road from Non
roe TO Coldwater and Constantine with the ughtto
diverge southerly Of those points to the southern
boundary line Of the State, which 1t intends to
strike in the vicinity Of Mottville and Bristol O.
the south side Of the St. Josephs River.
The Northern Indiana Railroad Company is an
Indiana Corporation with power 10 build Road
from the point where the Michigan Southern Road
shall cross the State line to Laporte and Michigan
City. This Company and the Michigan Southern
Company have entered into q mutual contract
whereby in effect they are constituted one Com
pany for all purposes Of operation and manage
ment and division of profits, thus giving to the
Michigan Southern Road an entire and contin-
uous line from Lake Erie TO Lake Michigan at
Michigan City.
The Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad Company
is a Corporation, existing under the laws OF In
diana with power to build a Road through the
State of Indiana by way of Laporte and Michi-
gan City, and thence to the State line Of Illinois
in the direction OF Chicago
This Road is. by law divided into two general
divisiOns-the Eastern division consisting OF that
part of the line asst of Laporte and the West
ern division comprising all that part West Of La
porte. The Western division is placed under
contract Of Board of Commissioners with tau
powers by law, to make perpetual leases OF the
whole or any part OF 1t.
Under this organization and authority the Com
missioners have leased to the Michigan Central
Company branch Of their Road reaching north
erly from Michigan City in the direction of New
Buffalo and the Central Company by virtue OF
this lease have built and are operating their Road
fom New Buffalo TO Michigan City.
Under the same organization and authority the
Commissioners have leased TO the Michigan
Southern and Northern Indiana Company the
whole remainder of the said Western division
that is the Road from Laporte to Michigan City
and thence West to the State line OF Illinois In
the direction of Chicago. By this lease it will oe
seen that the line of the Michigan Southern Road
is perfected from Lake Erie to the State line OF
Illinois at point IA miles easterly OF Chicago
while the line Of the Michigan Central Road ter
inmates at Michigan City, 81 miles east OF the
State line of Illinois, and 81 miles easterly OF
Chicago.
In Illinois there is q general Railroad law, sim
liar to that existing in New-YOrk) under which
voluntary associations may become incorporated
for the construction of Railroads. Under that
general law, the friends of the Michigan Southern
Road have organized Company which has COM
piled with all the forms required to constitute
them Corporation and they have thus become
Incorporated by the name OF the Northern Indiana
and Chicago Railroad Company. This Corpora
ton is formed for the purpose Of extending the
Railroad from the terminus of the Northern In
diana Road or Western division of the Buffalo
and Mississippi Railroad at the State line OF Hit
Dos, to Chicago. 1t will thus be seen that the
Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Compa-
MES have secured an entire and unbroken line of
Road, under a common management from Lake
Erie TO Chicago while the rights of the Michigan
Central Company extend only to Michigan City.
The Chicago and Galena Company is Corpora
tion in Illinois, with power to build road from
the torn Of GdIeHa in the county of Daviess 10
such point at tie torn Of Chicago as shall be de-
termined" &c. By a subsequent section of the
Charter the Company is authorised to construct
and use such other " later al routes as may be
deemed advantageous sc.
1t claims the right to extend its Road from
Chicago to the easterly State line of Hi
nois, underths provision in its Charter au-
thorising it to construct "lateral routes -
Their power to build this Road, which is a
direct extension Of their main line under the
right to construct "laterdl route is controverted
yers in that State who say if they have the pow.
er to extend Heir man line fourteen miles beyond
the two termini of the Road Chicago aud Galena
fixed in their Charter, that they might upon the
same reasoning extend it hundreds of miles In any
direction in the State of lllinOis-that they might
run down to the Ohio River in the direction Of
Mobile and thus constitute themselves part Of the
Mobile and Chicago Road, or take possession Of
and construct any other important line of Road in
the State which they may desire to occupy. 1t
ho opff tBn cffO of
their legal rigbtto build this miles forit has been
shown above, that under the general law they can
associate and thus secure the right to build It,
The Michigan Southern Company have been IN
willing that the Western end Of their line of $50
miles should be built under any such doubtful
powers as are conferred by the Galena Charter
They have therefore perfected their organizato
under the General Law as above stated, and have
declined 10 take the lease" Of this Galena
Branch which has now been made to the Cen
tral Company.
The Lease uAich the Galeaa and Chicago Com.
pany has made 10 the Michigan Central Company
as simply a lease of this disputed right 10 6Uiid
Road o. extend thar Road under their Charter IL
males from Chicago to The East line Of the STATE Of
HliROts-nOthtng more nor less. How important
this may be to the contracting parties, or to any
body else, may be estimate from the fact that the
Michigan Southern Road had long before secured
the same right, in an unquestioRabe form, as
above stated by an incorporation underline Gener-
al Lsw-and that any body who desires to have a
third Railroad over this fourteen miles can secure
perfect rghtto build one by procuring associates
and funds
The important fact remains, that the Michigan
Southern Railroad Lane from Lake Ere to Chs.
cage is perfect and uabr0ken, whether this Galena
and Chicago Branch ltscetiously so called is
built or not; while if it is built and operated BY
the Central Railroad Company, it will still be 81
miles from its eastern terminus 10 the connection
with the Central Road at Michigan City and this
81 miles is part Of the Michigan Southern and
Northern Indiana Roads, and is now being built
by them.
For aught that we can see branch of miles
of the Galena Road, to begin at Galena and run
west, would be just as valuable to the Central
Company as the same length of branch beginning