The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-07-09

your Hor ORE, and even his Honor Justice Read,
will see that IL has bearing on the present case
Judge Packer whoee fame is now co-extensive
with the commonwealth, had made road from
Easton up the Lehieh Valley, end when the road
had been built as far as the town of White Haven,
then Mr.. Gibbons aud Mr.. Wharton, fol the IehIgh
Coal and Navigation Company, contested the right
to go further. Two acts OF Assembly came up for
discUssi The first act authorized them TO con-
struct a railway at a point on the Beaver Meadow
Road at or near Penn Haven, TO a point at or near
White Haven. This was the case argued before
yom Honors and 1t was remarkable from
the fact that when IL commenced all the Judges
seemed 10 be against us, and when IL concluded the
opinion unanimous in our favor, or nearly
unanimous, one of the bench, believe, Judge Ag-
new, Temarkng that while he did not entirely co.
incide with the views Of his brethren yet he would
not dissent The other act was supplementary TO
this; authorizing the Company to construct line
of railroad from any point In the valley of the Le-
county of Carbon, to another point upon the Lee
high and Susquehanna road, in Luzerne county,
and the learned Ohef Justice, in illustrating his
opinion in that case, used the language in dues-
ton. Unusually in illustrating a case the illus
ration is applicable to other subjects than the one
in hand. The Saviour of mankind never used a
parable which was equally applicable TO all views
Of the subject, but had generally In view one ap-
plcation, as in the case of the unjust Judge.
In deciding the case the Chief Justice said UThe
bill and afdavits profess the corporate purpose to
reach the Wyoming coal field, and their charter
requires them to connect with the Lehigb and Sus-
quehanna Railroad, and by connection, under
stand, such union of the two roads, at some
point, as hall enable cars to pass from one road
to the other, for business purposes Such a con-
necton with the LehiRh and Susquehanna road
their WORK but make no account of the fact that
they have not yet selected the point of connection,
nor disclosed II IN the bill and afTdayits."
The mind of the Chief Justice was there not upon
business connections or running connections, you
will see by thls circumstance. On the very day
we were arguing the case on the very day the
Yves decided and the Ohiet Justice delivered his
opinion, and after that day the cars were running
over both roads We came n % on them on Monday
last, taking the cars at Bethlehem, which were not
changed till they broug ght us here. There was
permanent come ction at that time. There was not
tha hat fho mia dad
TO form running connection at all, Hostility
was the word. Your honor can testify in regard
TO that road, and the roads connected with it, that
nave been running several years, Il think 1t is
twelve years sin ce first took up the cudges for
Judge Packer against the Lehigh Coal and Navi-
CATION Company,) that there not the least idea
OF these roads forming running connection.
Why, the hostility was so great that at times it
I almost comm unicated itself 10 the counsel vtcari
ously, as my friend, Judge Black, would say, and
in all of he discussions of the case the acrimony
was very great Hostility was indeed hardly the
word. There was no such thing as connection at
all The mind Of the Chief Justice was upon the
point W he her The power to complete the road had
been exhausted when the road came to a certain
point or whether we could extend the road when
we got to that point to the coal fields of Luzerne
county. II was different question altogether,
and therefore 1 propose to lay it out of view
entirely.
MIR. Gibbons-In that case each corporation de-
MED the right of the other to make the change.
Mr.. Porter-I think may say that each of these
companies denied everything that the other ever
Mr.. Gibbons-That was the point argued before
O full bench.
Mr.. Porter-That point was discussed before
full bench, when we got the case narrowed down
to point which could be argued. The fact was,
however, that on the day of that argument and
long sfterward there was permanent running
connection between the roads, and they intended
10 have no running connection at all How, then,
can The question there be called similar to thisl
VIII just bring this question TO the mind of the
Chief Justice and of the Court Suppose in the yery
heat of that argument as we were laboring with
might and main, strainng every nerve TO win the
case, The Lehieh Navigation Company had changed
liz mai q
in their grade when we had reached the bridge,
and thus dug what they hoped would be the grave
at White Haven. Would that have changed the
decison2 They had perfect right to make their
road of any gauge desired. They could have
changed 1T in single night, but how could that
have affected the RESULT
l come back to what 1 deem the great point in
this case, the meaning of the word connection"
! 1t is very singular circumstance, an event of
very rare occurrence, that so many parties can
have a case of SO much magnitude turning upon
! the meaning of a single word. There is nothing
like it except the case before Judge Marshall, be-
| tween Mccullough and the State of Maryland
| where he discusses the meaning of the word "ne-
! cessary" He runs that discussion over several
tabsolulely necessary" The discussion is proba-
! bly, one OF the finest criticisms ever attempted.
! But here are these large interests turning upon
the word connect 1t is of the very highest conse-
quence that we should get at the meaning Of this
| word and the proper construction of the proviso
that contains the phrase. What is it that is TO
| Lecl! The phrase Is not connecting rails. 1t is
not connecting tracks. 1t is not connecting
! gauges. railroad Is something more tnan tnlS.
| 1t is railroad which is to be connected with
another railroad. 1t is something more than con-
! meeting rails or connecting gauges II is connect
| ing roads
! Now just let me throw consideration first to
the right OF this and then to the left of it, The
sideIalion throw out to the right rs, that where
railroad gauges not the same, can run from
one road to the other. II there are two roads OF
different gauges, being gauge of feet
| Sh inches and the other gauge Of feet IL
| inches, the cars can pass from one road to the
other without a passenger knowing 1t. Your
w w m 81 IN nv
\ how this was done. 1t was explained before your
\ eyes sChildTen's toys,' did hear Mr. Cuyler say
Were they2 Ah, they were more than "children's
| toYs'' they were the conceptions OF q very acute
mind, very we'll presented, and you saw the thing
! demonstrated before your eyes. No man doubts
that, where the difference between connecting
roads be only an inch or an inch and half in
gauge, the cars may pass to and from the different
roads, but who will say that in the progress ion OF
science, the time will not come when the ingenuity
OF man may not pass cars from road of tour feet
eight and a half inches in gauge TO one with d
gauge OF six feet! In England, where the gauges
are very different you find that the cars halted
and hoisted up for few minutes. The cars are
held up by lackscrews or other appliances, while
the old trucks are run out and new trucks of dit
ferent gauge are run in. Then the cars move on
without any change, and with scarcely anybody
in the cars knowing any hing about IL at all This
obyiauon of the difficulty in the difference OF
gauge can be done by means of new truck or by
easlng the tread of the wheels. The fact is in.
contestible that cars may run from road to the
| other where the gauges are different, and are
| attempting here by moral reasoning TO find out
| whether difference in gauge ought to make any
difference in the legal Interpretation of this term.
| But, may 1t please your HonoTs, throw another
consideration out TO the left OF this, and that is that
| the gauges may be the same exactly and the cars
cannot run from one TO the other, the gauge being
the same and the rails united. You may cause one
of the roads to enter the other at such gle that
the cars cannot enter upon the other at ALL but will
/ pY1na fn n Haah sta an