Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-03-16
LII. GOLFERS STREET CAR BILL.


before the legislature to repeal that
part of a law under which the
street railroad company p~retends
to claim the right to charge ten
cents for a single fare. The origi.
nal charter was granted to VIM. R.
Moore, I. NJ. Hill, S. B. Beaumont,
R. Hough, VIM. N. Harrington,
Frank Taft, G.P. Ware, S. R. Wood,
Fielding Hurst, P. E. Bland, Jos.
Bruce, Abner Taylor, Thomas R.
Smith, H. B. Wells, Joseph w.
Esytra, VIM. c. Bryan, W. P. Hep
burn and Frank Brooks, as incor-
porators of the Memphis City
Railway Company" to have sue
cession for thirty years, with a
capital stock of three hundred
thousand dollars, which may be in
creased to five hundred thousand.
This was passed June Z, 1865, in
the palmy days Of Radicalism. Sec
ton Z reads as follows:
Section 7. Be it further enacted, That
said railroad shall be constructed on the
most approved plsH for the construction
Of city railroads, and shall be run as
often as the convenience of passengers
may require, and shall be subject to
such reasonable rules and regulations in
respect thereto az the eomnoR council
of the city Of Memphis may, from time
TO time, BY ordinance prescribe, and to
the payment to the city OF such license
annually for each car run thereon as
they may by ordinance prescribe; and
the persons and their assigos are hereby
authorized to charge at the rate Of five
cents for the conveyance Of passengers
for the whole or any part Of the route
from the depot 10 the teimlnus of said
railroad.
The next section provides that the
rails shall be laid in such manner
as shall not ob:truct carriage travel,
and said company shall keep the
surface of such roads inside the
rails and for two feet outside on
each side thereof in good order and
repair" Section 9 repealed the act
of February, 1860, Incorporating
the Peoples Passenger Railroad
Company Of the city of Memphis"
In February, 1866, a contract was
entered into between the Mem
phis City Railway Company and
the city of Memphis giving the
company the right of way, ETC., and
the road was built and began to
run that year, or soon after. We
now come to an important point
in the history Of this corporation.
In the acts Of 1867, beginning
on page 1872, chapter 81, will be
found can act to incorporate the
cambridge railroad and for other
purposes" The casual reader of
statutory law would not expect to
find anything in that act for the
benefit of the Memphis City Rail
way Company, but the last section
is as follows:
Sec. %. That the Memphis City Rail-
road Company, chartered Janusry 7,
1865, is hereby authorized to exercise
and enjoy all the rights, privileges and
franchises granted TO any other street
railroad company in their charter for
the city Of Memphis or Shelby county.
This was worked in and through
by a vast amount Of lobbying, fol
those were days when the lobby was
a power in the Tennessee legisla.
ture. That night a grand banquet
was spread to the members of tho
general assembly and there was 9
sound Of revelry and rejoicing. A
Shelby county member stated after
ward that the company spent fyC
thousand dollars to get this meas
urs through. Under this LITTLE
innocent looking section it wa
sought to revive SO much of thu
act of 1860 Incorporating the PEG
pies Passenger Railroad Compan,
as authorised that company t
charge ten cents for a single fare
although the entire act was entirely
repealed nearly two years before
The previous section, which was no
introduced to accomplish a con
cealed purpose, says, in SO man,
words, that it revives' so mucl
Of an act passed in February
1860, as established the Jasper
and Pikeyille turnpike. But sec.
tion 20, above quoted, seeks by
general implication to avail itself o.
the benefits of another charter moi
named in this act which had been
long before repealed. We do not
1870.