The comet., 1880-01-17

sively that the rights and powers con
ferred upon acorporation by Its charte
are contracts between the State Whose
Legislature granted the charter, ant
the corporation accepting it; that GER
tain rights were conferred upon every
corporation operating railroad In thii
State by its charter; and that the eff
feet of this legislation Is TO divest then
of those rights. To accomplish this
submit a few legal and judicial author
tiles, and contrast them with the pro
visions of the bill under consideration
and those of the various railroad char
ters in the State. The authorities IN
support of the principle here main,
tained are numerous, but i have
sought in vain tor single decision IN
any of the books holding u contrary
view of the subject. .,.
Judge Cooley, in his work ON Con
stitutional Legislation, in discussing
acts of incorporation generally, on
page 30, third edition, says: "Those
charters of corporations, however,
which are granted, not as IA part of the
government, but for the private benefit
or purposes of the eorporators, stand
on a different footing, and are
held to be contracts between the
legislature and the corporators,
having for their consideration the lia-
bilities and duties which the corpora
tors assume by accepting them; ana
the grant of the franchise can no more
be resumed by the Legislature, or its
benefits diminished or impaired, with
out the consent of the grantees, than
any other grant of property or valua-
BILE thing, uI1IcSs tile right 10 do so as re
seyged m tile charter itseJ.n Judge Coo
ley is generally accepted as good au-
thority, and this would seem to be
conclusive; but the following decisions
of our Supreme Courts are cited in
support of this doctrine:
The High Court of Errors and APP
peals of this State, in the case of Payne
v. Baldwin, Chief Justice Sharkey de-
livering the opinion Of the court, de-
cided that bank charter is contract
within the meaning of the term as
used in the Constitution. The Court
says: "Legislation which impairs
chartered rights is not only at war
with the Constitution of the United
States, but is repugnant to similar
provision of our State Constitution,
and on that account would be inopera-
| tlVc." >. ~ NJ, 6i9
In the ease of the New Orleans,
Jackson and Great Northern Railroad
Company V. Harris, the Court makes
use of the following language: GA
charter is a contract within the mean
ing of the Constitution of the United
States, between the State granting the
charter and the corporation Itself, the
obligation of which it is not within
the power of the Legislature to inn
pair" c., 537. at must be conce-
ded," says the Court, "that the Legis.
Iature has no Constitutional power,
unless reserved in the grant, to change
or alter, without consent, an act of in
corporation, and thereby to cast upon
them additional obligations, or take
from them rights guaranteed by their
charter" h., 53S.
1t was held by our present Supreme
Court, in the case of the Mobile and
Ohio Railroad Company V. Mosely,
that exemption from taxation con-
tained in the charter of corporation
organized under it is inviolable. Mr..
Justice Chalmers, in delivering the
opinion of the Court says: "That such
exemption from taxation contained in
the charter of a corporation organized
under it is irrepealable and inviolab'e,
is too well settled to need elucidation
or citation of authority. No oprinciple
has been more repeatedly or more vio-
lently assailed; none have more sue
cessfully withstOod the shock of every
assault" 80 NJ, 130.
A single case from the Supreme
Court of the United States will, L
think, settle the question without the |
necessity of citing additional authori-
ty. In the case of the Chicago, Bur-
EnYtoIA and Quincy Roilroad Cnmpa-
ny V. Iowa-one of the famous Gran
ger cases--the Court, quoting from the
charter of the corporation, and hold
ing that the company was, to certain
extent, protected by contract, says:
" For it is now too late to contend that
the charter of a corporation is not a
contract within the meaning of that
clause of the Constitution of the
United States which prohibits State
from passing any law impairing the
obligation of contract. Whatever
is granted is secured, subject only to
the limitations and restrictions in the
charter, or in the laws or constitutions
which govern it," 4Otto, 155.
1t will not be contended that the
power to regulate its own fare and
freights is not one of the most valua-
bic and important rights exercised by
a railroad corportion; and to prove
that this power is vested in the rail-
road companies of this State | need
only refer to their charters.
Section -, of the charter of the Mo
bile and Ohio Railroad Comany de-
clares that the company shall have
the right to 'fiX, regulate and receive
the toll and charges to be received for
of persons and property
on their road or way authorized to be
or any part thereof
Acts 1913, p. 81.
Section 10 of the charter of the Mis- ,
sissippi Central Railroad Company
the President and Directors t
to "adopt and establish such a tariff ,
of charges for the transportation of ,
persons and property as they may l
think proper, and the same to altar |
and change at pleasure" Acts 1852, i
p. II. 9
Section 10 of the charter of the ',
and Meridian Railroad 1
invests the Company |
with "the power of eXacting v
and demanding such tolls for the y
OF property or persons
ls they may reqdi g." Acts 1916, D. $
I36. d
Similar provisions are found in the O
charters of the other railroad compa- 9
lies in this State. y
Having shown that charter is
contract, and that by their charters n
he railroad corporations in this State a
ire invested with the power to regu-
ate their own rates of fare and freights, -
only remains to shoY that the effect
# this bill is to divest them of that o
,ower, and thereby impair one of the s.
most vital obligations in the contract. n
Section of the bill declares that no = I,
ompany operating railroad in this u
State shall be authorized to receive t.
more than one dollar per bale for each |;
ale of cotton transported one hundred r,
niles or less one dollar and fifty cents -
lr each bale transported one hundred
nd fifty miles or less, &C.; ald scc:ion b
imposes heavy penalties fr viola =,
ions of the preceding section. With
ut reference to Section 6, which is,
biuk puUullV obupvipuS Ia tba Con- l a.