Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-03-10
Taxation OF Railroads.
RUTLAND, March z, 1870.

AsOlhAND, AAAdICu AOtO.
Editor Rutland Herald The ques-
tons which naturally arise in the discus
sion of the subject of taxing railroad
property in the town of Rutland, are:
1. What railroad property, if any, is
taxable
2. Ii any OF it is taxable, is it expedient
for the town, at the present time, to tax
its
When the subject WAS brought before
our town meeting, it was new to me,
although had the impression that there
were difficulties in the way of putting
railroad property in the list; but as Mr..
Dorr said he had given the subject con-
siderable attention, I supposed that he
had sufficiently investigated it to be able
to speak authoritatively upon it and,
therefore, accepted what he said upon
the subject as being law, and only OPP
posed the resolution of MIR. Billings on
the ground of expediency but on in
vestigation, find the learned gentleman
was in error, and that there are difficulties
in the way of taxing railroad property
under our present laws, which he failed
to comprehend. a
Part I'd of See. 6 of Chapter SO of the
General Statutes of this State, provides
that "all real and personal estate granted,
seauestered or used for public, pious or
charitable uses, shall be exempt from tax
alton and shall not be set in the list.
The Supreme Court of Massachusetts,
in the case of the Inhabitants of Worces-
ter ys. The Western Railroad Corporation,
"a Met 564) decided that the defendant
corporation "were not liable to be taxed
for the land over which they were author
lied to lay out their road, ncr for build
;nga ag4 structures thereon erected by
them, ii sl4oh buildings and structures
were reasonably inoiaeaa &c the support
of the road, or to its proper aaa enagen-
lent use for the carriage OF passengers
and property, such as houses for the re-
ceptioa of passengers, engine houses, car
houses, and .sepots for the reception and
delivery of merchandise carried on the
road :" for the reason that this va prop
ePty appropriated to public use. -I
The charters OF the Western Railroad
Corporation and the Rutland and Bur-
lingtou Railroad Company, / should
Judge, from the above case reported,
are very similar, both providing that the
State, after certain time and upon GER
tain terms, may purchase the railroad,
and all the franchise, property, rights
and privileges of the cooperation; and
therefore the same reasoning will apply
to both charters.
CHIEF Justice Shaw, who delivered the
opin!na Of the court, after commenting
at length upo.. tie provisions of the char
ter OF the Western Railroad Corporation,
says:
From this view of thesvarious proyi-
sions of the law, by which the rights and
duties of the Western Railroad Corpora
ton are regulated, it is manifest that the
establishment of that great thoroughfare
il regarded as a puDliG work, established
by public authority, intended for the pub
lie use and benefit, the use of which is
secured to the whole community, and con-
stitutes thsrefoFa; like canal, turnpike
or highway, public easement, The only
principle on which the Legislature could
have authorized the taking of private
property for its construction, without the
owners consent, is that it was for the pub
lie use Such has been held to be the
character of a turnpike corporation,
although there the capital is advanced by
the shareholders, and the Income goes to
their benefit. 1t is true that the real and
personal property necessary to the estab-
lishment and management of the railroad
is vested in the corporation, but II Is In
trust for the public. The company have
not the general power of disposal incident
to the absolute right of property; they
arc obliged to uae it in particular man.
ner aud for the accomplishment of Il well
defined public object; they are required
to render frequent accounts of their man
agement of this property to the agents of
the public, and they are bound ultimately
to surrender it to the public at price
and upon terms established. Treating
the railroad then as public easement,
the works erected by the corporation as
public works intended for public use, we
consider it we'll established that, to some
extent at least, the works necessarily in
cident to such public easement are public
works, and as such exempted from taxa
ton. Such we believe has been the uni
form practice in regard to bridges, turn
pixies and highways, and their incidents;
and also in regard to other public build
ings and structures of Q ike kind, as
state-houses, forts and arsenaia. court
houses, jails, churches. town-houses,
school-houses, and generally to houses ap-
propriated specislly to public uses"
The same question has been decided by
our own court in the case of Vermont
Central Railroad Company VS.. the Town
of Burlington (2S Vt. R. 1873. In this
case the opinion of Chief Justice Shaw in
Inhabitants of Worcester vs. Western Rail
road Corporation is referred to and
quoted with appreciation. Isham, j., who
delivered the opinion of the court says:
sIn relation to charters of this charac-
tar (Vt. Cent. charter) and the roads con-
structed under them we have had occa-
sion heretofore to observe that though the
capital and the income belong to individ-
sals themselves and are used for private
gain, yet the construction of this road is
regarded as a public work, established
not only by public authority but for pub
lie use and benefit. The title of the
property is vested in the corporation but
for public use. The property SO far at
least as they are authorized to take it by
proceedings IN inoituna, and the fran
chise granted to them can be used in no |