The Portland daily press., 1870-10-07

The work of giving effect to The lease Oh tiie
Kennebec and Portland to the Maine Central
Railroad goes on cortemporaneously with the
legal proceedings designed to stop IT. THOSE
who favor ami those who oppose the scheme
proceed in perfect disregard of each other
these in the courts and those in the machine
shops and along the line Of the road. Con-
solicitation was defeated in the Legislature last
winter by the efforts of men who thought they
saw an embryo Camden and Amboy in the
powerful resultant corporation. These men
imagined that provincial Jim Fisks and Jay
Goulds and VandeIbiltsI would speedily en-
ulate n this narrower sphere the magniti- |
cence, the recklessness, and finally the wick |
edness of their great metropolitan originals |
They saw our State Legislature brought down
to the wretched level o! that at Albany-or
that at Harrisburg, owned by the Pennsylva-
mia Central road. They dreaded to see the
State government become mere collateral
branch Of the railroad business. They antici-
pate the swift coming of the day when the
great money power of the new corporation
would be sufficient to procure from corrupt
ed Legislature release from all those condl-
tons and restrictions which, as they supposed,
the railroad kings suffered to be temporarily
imposed, simply as method of facilitating the
passage of the consolidation bill
Whether these men were right or wrong,
whether they were absurdy timid or wisely
cautious, we do not undertake TO decide; but
there were enough of them to prevent the
passage Of bill permitting consolidation.
However, last May, the Directors of the two
enamored companies, afterwards sustained by
the stockholders, effected virtual consolida-
ton Of the roads by a lease of the Kennebec
road to the Maine Central. Notwithstanding
the public meetings held here and the COM
mittecs appointed and the arguments written,
and Notwithstanding the various legal pro-
ceedings since instituted, the work of making
the two roads one goes on. Preparation is
made to change the gauge of the Maine Cen
trail from Bangor to Kendall's Mills; the roll
ing stock is made to conform to the narrow
gauge; the road from DanviIle to Cumber-
land is to be built, and the business of the two
roads is to be managed by single board of
officers. '
There is some confusion in the public mind
in regard to the legal proceedings now pend
ing which we propose to clear up in few
words. The first attempt to put stop to
the changes in progress was made by John
Ware, a former President of the Maine Cen
trail, who peti,ioned for an injunction to re-
strain the company from changing the gauge.
The petitioner, being mortgage bond-hoder
<of a roa oil hot fIo Il;
rifles would deprecate in consequence of the
proposed change. The hearing before Chief
Justice Appleton had reference TO the ques-
ton of fact alone. The decision being that
the value Of the security would not be i'm
paired the injunction was denied So the
first attempt was failure.
Next bill in equity was brought by Ma
than Cummings and others, the design of
which was to cause the lease to be annued
on the ground Of its illegality. The bill is still
pending and no proceedings thereon have yet
been had. Finally, complaint, signed by
the prominent opponents Of consolidation in
this city, was addressed to the Attorney Cen
eral, Hon. Thomas 3. Reed, ON the reception
of which that officer in compliance with the
provisions of the statutes, filed with the SUI
preme Court, an information in the nature of
. writ of quo aoarrant. The railroad compa-
mics are called upon by this process to show
by aohat authority they have done the acts
complained of. What the exact course of
proceedings will be, or what remedies will be
applied in case the corporations arc found
culpable, we are not able TO state, as the quo
acarrant is an unusual remedy in Maine, but
one expressly provided by Statute.
The legal point on which all the proceed
ings hang is this: The Revised Statutes, chap.
81, Sec 81, provides that no railroad corpora
ton shall lease its road without the consent of
the Legislature. The question now is wheth-
er such consent has ever been given TO the
Portland and Kennebec road The members
of that corporation contend that it has. They
declare that the Portland and Kennebec COM
pany succeeds to all the rights of the old Ken
nebec andlP company which was Civ
en- express permission to lease its road by the
special act of April LIST, 1S56,-the same act
which gave authority for the consolidation of
the roads that made rip The Maine Central.
1t is upon this apparently simple legal ques-
ton that the fate of consolidation now seems
tOhang.