The true Democrat., 1855-07-10
A COPY.
A COPY. ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE, : Little Rock. July Sd. 1S55.(

{ Little Rock, July Sd, 1855}
 SIR Your letter of the 2Oth ult., requesting my opinion upon the constructsjn of Sec 1st of an act of the General Assembly, approved 18th January 1855, entitled an act to aid in the construction of the eastern branch of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad," has been received, but the answer deferred till now on account of ill health.
 The act referred to recites that the road has been surveyed by the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad Company, by the authority of the act approved January 11th, 1858, and that the survey had been approved by the board of directory of said company and the line or route so surveyed was adopted and declared to be the line or route for the branch of the said Cairo & Fulton Railroad to the Mississippi river, except such slight Uariatlons as the actual location cf the worh n'aA ln tile Jtdgnaent of the chief en- gt11eer, require.
 In pursuance of the provisions of said act, said company have caused map to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State of the State ot Arkansas, as appears of record in said othce on which map is endorsed certificate of Ly- man D. Stickney, secretary of said company, under his hand and seal, bearing date February 7th, 1855, to the effect that said map, profile
 
 las located and proposed to be built. It also appears, from letter shown me on file in your office, from James M. Williamson, the President of said company, addressed to your excelency, on the 2d day of April, 1855, that said company had accepted and did then accept the grant of lands aforesaid in accord ance with the provisions of the aforesaid act, approved January 18th, 1855. The cOrnpany hav avipcr aoo,,taJ q, xro and ratified the survey as presented to the legisla- ture, and adopted by the act aforesaid, are bound by said survey, except such variations as may be made by the chief engineer by virtue of the exception aforesaid. The exception it will be perceived, does not apply to any variation ln the location of the lie as adopted but only n the location of the Work. How far the engineer in the exercise of a sound discretion would have a right to vary the location, depends on cr- cumstances. If no obstruction is met with ln the location of the work upon the line adopted as aforesaid on account of the impracticabllty of the route for want of suitable ground upon which to locate the work, he would have no right to make any variation. But if in the To- cation of the work, slight variations are foundto be necessary, which would be of benefit and ad- vantage to the road, he would certainly have the right to make such variations.
 How far, he would have a right, under the act, to vary from, or change the location, must be left to his sound discretion, and confined to the actual location of the work No rule can be laid down, as conceive, specifying any par tcular distance by which he would be limited Ill varying from the route adopted. The fitness of the ground for the location of the work must govern.
 lf for instance, he should find it impractlca- ble, to follow the survey across any river, stream bayou, overflow, or other obstruction, in the o' cation of the work, he would have right to vary from the survey to any reasonable distance, where such obstruction did not exist, provided he could find suitable ground for the construc-- tion of the road, and which would be ot benen' and advantage to it.
 Very respectfully, Your ob't servant,
 P. JORDAN, Atty Gen| To his Excellency,
 E. N. CONWAY, Gove,nor, etc.