, 1870-05-05
THE RAnRoAp ARTICLE.

The Constitutional Convention have
adopted the following provision relative to
Railways: ..,,
asEc 4 The General Assembly shsn, ,fru1n time to
ti,ue" mass laws establishing reasonable maximum
rates 81 charges foT the transpol tat0n OF pAsse1
eers and freight On tne dMeIenI taisoaas In tns
aitiss md may provide for forfeiture Of their
property and franchises Railways heretofore con-
isis stste, arc hereby declared public highways,
and shall he free to all persons for the Transports
lion OF persons and properly thereon, under such
regulations as may be prescribed BY law"
This section, and the debate which pre-
coded it, bear all the marks Of q piece of
raw buncombe. It declares, first, that the
General Assembly ahall do certain thing.
II the General Assembly does not do it,
there Is no power to compel them; and;
hence, nothing is done. It declares that
they shall pass Law which the last General
Assembly did pass, and which WIS vetoed
by the Governor, as Law impairing the
obligation of contracts, and, therefore, in
conflict with the Constitution Of the United
States: 1t seeks to bring on u strife, first,
between the people and the Legislature, on
the question of what is reasonable
charge; second, between the State and the
railway companies; and, third, between
the State and the United States
and all to give phantom popu-
larity to members of the convention:
The only rni1wgys upon which it can
operate are thoseto be hereafter construct
cd. And here we encounter the paradox Of
a public body voting, on one day, the most
extraordinary powers Of taxntion to en-
courage tho building of new railways, and,
on the next, voting q provision into the con-
stitution to xiii them before they are born
This is clearly in the interest of the old
railways against the now ones. -. !.
As regards q forfeiture Of franchises, THO
courts Of the State and Of the Unltesa
States, will protsct the railroads from such
forfeiturs upon any new terms not imposed
when the franchise was granted Under
tho right Of eminent domain, the property
of railroad may be taken, by jndicial1 !
process, for any public purpose,
or different use. by prorarly compromising
tho owners. But no mere Legislative en-
actment OF State Constitution can lawfully
authorize it to be takon without compet-
saion. To attempt it would raise con-
fict with tho Constitution Of the United
States, which would be as fatal to o State
Constitution Us to State statute
Nor can q Constitutional Convention
mike railway public highway in any
other sonse than it is already. Whatever is
now the exclusive property Of corpora
ton can become the common property OF
the whole people, only by taking
pzirnto property for public use, "
which involves something more than
clause in tho constitution It
requires compensation. Railroads arc nj
ready public highways in the limited sense
that the lind over which thoir track is laid
has been taken for limited public use,
IL, to enable the public to travel and send
f1eight over it in such conEeyances and
drawn by such engines as may be furnished
by the company chartered to run the road,
and upon payment Of such reasonable rates
as it may charge.
We do not suppose the convention meant
to give the whole people Of the State per-
petual 't free pass " over the rai1roads-the
right TO ride without paying any fare at all.
This clause has no more terrors for my e1-
isting RAILWAY than the other It can opeE-
ate only on the new ones and is, to TINT ex-
tent. a discouragenent to their construction.