The Rock Island daily Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1872-1873, 1873-05-15
JUDGE PLEASANTS'S DECI-
SION ON THE ROCK IS
LAND FERRY CASE.
He holds the Charter to be
Constitutional.
AND THE POWER OF THE CITY
ABSOLUTE TO CONTROL THE
PLACE OF LANDING.
The Injunction Dissolved and the Bill
Dismissed at the Cost Of the Ferry
Company.
Concluded from second page. J

the Terry company or the municipality
By whomsoever determined, it is on a
public place loithiR TIE limits of the City,
and therefore subject to the jurisdiction OF
the City to its full extent-to all the power
which it may rightfully exercise over pub
lie places within its limits except so far as
it may have been exempted by some law
or contract.
Furthermore, it is on the public landing
! from nayigable river which Is a great
natural channel OF commerce between the
States All boats and vessels lawfully en-
| gagged in that commerce have equal right
| of access to it and to secure that equality
and the common safety and convenience
! its use must be subject TO some regula-
/ ton.
| That such regulation is in its nature the
exercise of police power-that this power
belongs to the State and may be delegated
to a municipal corporation, and that the
particular authority in question would be
! included in u general grant OF power to
regulate the police ola city are understood
! to be conceded
/ 1t was delegated by the original Charter
of Feb. II, lS49-a public Act, by which
the City was empowered ITO regulate the
police Of the city Art Y. 39), to pro
vide for regulating all public grounds
| belonging to the city II l6l, to i'm
prove and preserve the navigation of the
/ Mississippi River within the limits Of the
city an, to erect, repair and regulate
public wharves and docks and to ''regu-
/ late the erection and repair of private
wharves' Il ISL And still more spec
| ifcally by the Amended Charter of Feb.
| l6 1857, which provided for the appoint
ment, among the regular City officers of
/ Harbor Masters Art ii, /. and pre-
scribed their duty Art. III, Z 49, and
gave TO the Council power, by Ordinance,
among other things TO preserve the har-
" Dor, leyee and public landing
and to regulate and prescribe by such
ordinance, or through the Harbor Master
OF other authorized officer, such a location
of every steamboat or other craft, or
vessel or float, and such changes of sta
." ton in and use of the harbor or land
' ing as may be necessary to promote
order therein, and the safety and equal
- convenience, as near as may he. Of all
- such boats, vessels, crafts and floats.
Art. ", z /, p. a.
The authority thus given, if it applies
to the boats of the complainantS as il
certainly does to all others is decisive Of
the question between them and the city.
They claim however, that by > Of the
Act of Jan. IS, 1857 the Legislature
granted to them the right, irrevOcable 50
long as they hold the franchise to select
and determine the point of landing, with
out regard to the will of the city, and that
, therefore the ordinance does not apply t1
their boats. The Section is as follows:
Sec =. That the said John W. Spen-
Ger, Thomas j. Robinson and james
Grant, their heirs, associates and as
, signs, shall have the sole and exclusive
right for and during the period of time
mentioned and referred to in the frs
section hereof-that is to say, until the
5 10Th day of February A D. 1861 and fol
the term Of ten years next thereafter
to keep and use a ferry or ferries acros
the Mississippi River between the cite
of Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport
Iowa and to land their bouts beEOHqiay
to said ferry at any point or points on tn
"pHblic landing at sad city Of Rock Isl
i " and and to change their landing frgH
e % place to place toitAin the limits et sal
!. ' City as necessity or tie public eonUeRte7c
= may require, provided that one Of sal
landing places shall be kept betwee
Buffalo and Madison Streets in said cit,
IS of Rock Island.
Y The point for landing selected by CON
/ plainants is in fact between Buffalo an
Madison streets, and the language italici7
ed is relied on as the ground of their elail
+ Of absolute right to hold it.
e COnceding that it was competent for III
5 Legislature to grant them this absolut
. right, as material part of the franchise
have they by this Section done it
} The COmplainants do not claim proper
Y ty in the soil at the place, but merely
right of landing there The Act does nj
4 itself fix the place The substance
- the grant, evidently, is the ferry right b
+ t,ree7t the Cities named. That necessaril
included the right to a landing at tie Gil
:, Of Rock Island and, If net restricted, {
i any point on the levee within the City lin
" its But would it be seriously contende
that the unrestricted right thus implie
would be independent of the police pow,
Of the City to designate and fix the plat
IS from time to time as public convenient
IS might require A right clearly implied
just as good as if expressly given Ever
other vessel lawfully employed in con
II merce with the City by this river has pr
r cisely the right here expressed-tO land
+ aHy point and to change from place
placG-subject only to the police powt
GUt subject certaiaiy to that A ferry BOZ
e however, being operated under a franchi,
r and having some exclusive privileg,
d might have been subjected to other cond
tons and restricted to a particular poil
for landing-so that it could Law
e fully land at no other, ar
,e the exercise of the tranchi,
= would be suspended if that landing shou
become impracticable The Legislature
a this case did not impose such restrietiC
but placed the ferry company's boats upC
p an exact equality IN this respect with q
lie others. And that in my judgment is d
whole force and effect of this language
Il merely expressed what would have bee
implied from grant of the ferry rigl
III without restriction as TO the place of lam
lg ing-that is it expressly exempts the gran
W ee from restriction to particular place an
secures the right to a landing at some poi
Il on the levee in the city SO long as al
= should be practicable. And, as in 9TH
~ like cases, the grantee may in the first il
&c stance select the place, subject to the pc,
q er OF the City to change it for police pu
poses.
~ The only other possible constru
~ ton would make it an entire r
0. nunciation of the police power
the State-and this is case requi
10 ing as much as any other the reseryatic
of that power, and not only over the Ian
ing of the boats of the ferry company b
v to a greater or Less. extent over the who
1t of the public landing place. For it gran
n to the company the right to land at poin
without limit except by the city boundari
y and to change without other limit ais
And if this be an absolute grant it certain
c subjects to the will of the company Il
" convenience Of every other vessel desiril
N to use that landing place An intention
u the part of the Legislature tomake gra
y so extraordinary is not to be imputed e
III cept upon a clear expression Of it. S
in it no advantage to the ferry compan
e. but great possible injury to others, b
IN sides it is inconsistent with the policy
n the Legislature. as expressed by the reese
~ walton in the original grant, and made a
p plicable to all the extensions of it, of Il
to right to alter, amend or repeal the emit