The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-05-07
Judge Hilrs Decision Reviewed.
MERIprAN. April 2sth. lsS4

days issue Of your paper find speei
telegram from Aberdeen 10 the Mobi
Register announcing the fact that Jud,
Hin had rendered decision in the i
junction cases of the Illinois Central an
Mobile and Ohio railroads against Il
= Railroad Commissioners, holding thl
the act creating the Railroad Commi
sion was unconstitutional and void, upo
two grounds: LIST, That the charters Q
these roads gave them the right to e
and regulate their own rates of transpol
as tation, that the charters are contract,
!. and that the State could not violate o
y impair the contracts BY creating an,
! comforting power on q Commission to d
: and regulate rates; and I'd, That the &C
I attempted to regulate interstate com
: merce, the regulation Of which belongeC
: exclusively to Congress.
Judge Hills high judicial position
! his legal ability, his incorruptible and
/ conservative character, are well calcu
lated to give great weight to any decis.
ion he might render. And / should be
slow to disagree with him if l did not
feel fortified by the opinions of many of
the highest judicial tribunals in the
land, and by the declarations of some of
the ablest legal text-writers,
/ cannot concur in the opinion that
because the twelfth section of the char
ter of the Mobile and Ohio railroad con-
fers the power on its directors to fix,
from time to time, rates for the trans
portation of freights and passengers,
that the State of Mississippi thereby
forever parted with its power to control.
| Charters are contracts undoubtedly.
And the directors have the power, un.
douhtedly, under the charter, to fix
rates; but they do not, / maintain, pos
seSs the erclustUe power. The Legislature
never intended 10 confer the eUclHsiue
power to fix rates, and hold, could not,
if it had so intended. The Legislature
of the State of Mississippi was then, and
is now, powerless to make any such con-
tract. La reaching his conclusion, |
presume the learned Judge invoked the |
spirit of the celebrated Dartmouth |
College case. That decision is about |
the beginning of the law of vested
rights by legislative grants in this coun-
est respect, although one of the judges
of the court that rendered the de-
cision had the courage TO dissent. / ex-
press the opinion, however, that no de-
cision is so often misapplied as the one
in that old and famous case. The case
was decided in 1919. The college char
ter was granted by the British Crown in
1863. About the year 1916 the Legis- I
lature of New Hampshire passed several I
acts materially changing the organiza- {
tion and management of the College I
the number of trustees and !
charging and transferring powers and
control. The Supreme Court of the !
United States held that, notwithstand J
ng we had ceased to be subjects of !
Great Britain and had established new
md different government, the charter .
granted by the British Crown was not !
dissolved by the RevolutiQn--that the q
lcts of New Hampshire altering the r
,harter was impairing a contract, and +
unconstitutional and void. But, the 4
,ourt said, Dartmouth College was a q
'riUate, not a public institution. Here
$ its language: n
"Under its charter, Dartmouth Col 4
ege was private, not public corpora
ion. That a corporation established for
purposes of general charity, or for edu- :,
alton generally, does not per Sc make it !,
public corpora ion, liable to the control !
+ the Legislature" =, y
This was contest for the control of a E,
,riUate institution. Its management and !;
perations did not effect the public to :,
he extent of making it public corpor- Z
tion. It did not appear that its man
cement under the old charter was in 4,
urious to the morals, health, lives or :,
property of that State. The College =,
vas not an educational monopoly. It y
vas not the creature of the State. 1t !;
ad never exercised the right of emf !.
ent domain and condemned private -
to its use. The acts of the -
lew Hampshire Legislature were not "
assed for the purpose of enforcing rea- VI
enable charges and preventing unjust
at the College.
But who at this day will maintain A
hat railroads are private corporations?
hat they are carriers for hire, engaged
a public employment, efecting the A
ublic interest, has been SO often, and
DO well settled, to now admit of doubt
r cavil. g
| have said that the Legislature of =
be State of Mississippi could not, if it y
'ould, confer upon a railroad corpora q q
on the exclusive power to regulate its y y
ates Of transportation. Let as see: 1 Ie
The object and end of all government a
to provide for, protect and promote Si e
ne happiness and prosperity of the peo- 70 70
le composing the government. Differ ~ ~
ut forms exist, but all are established Ve
,r the same purpose and work for w
le same results. The powers of our OF
ascend from the people. ~
hey do not descend. The source of II
1wer is the people. Kings rule by
wine right, and dispense power. Their m
eople are subjects. Our people are tn
yyereigns. Ours is a government of io
gency. The people create the agents Ju
i'd delegate their powers. legislatures co
e created by the people to make laws So
If the protection Of the people--laws in
prevent wrong, injury and oppression, er
I'd to promote the general prosperity oy
his is the full scope of legislative au- Nj
lority. A Legislature may make a M
,ntraet for the public-the State-but ye
Ie same rules must prevail, as in private tn
must be mutually and 70
SIC
A Legislature can accept but one con- re
public benefit. Amy er
her consideration would be fraud, per in
nal bribery, and subversive of the gov in
nment, and would not be binding de
pom the principal-the people. Every tle
diyidual or corporation who accepts M
7 charter, power or franchise from ex
Ie State, does so, knowing that the ex- CO
else of the power or use of the fran M
lise mist be for the benefit of the gen. an
al public-otherwise the consideration in
Is failed and the contract is broken. an
be consideration must be paid to the ac
1blic, or the law will denounce the con- ha
act as nudum pGctam. As long as the co
public benefits paid, 60
Ie contract is binding. As long as the an
rectors of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad ra
( their rates at reasonable and undis- re-
iminating figures, the contract with
le State, allowing them to fix rates, M
ould be valid and binding, and the an
abroad Commission will never inter ali
re. The Commissioners would have an
} power to interfere. co
But it seems Judge Hill holds the FRI
pinion that the grant of this power to or
( its own rates, is absolute and exclu- Sir
We, notwithstanding the exercise of it in
: the directors may be, or may become,
Ighly injurious to the people of the
ate. Governments being instituted to
rotect persons and property cannot
art with or delegate powers necessary
that end. Let US consult some au- nj
lorities: th
stOne Of the highest attributes and du- pr
es of Legislature is to regulate pub in
c matters with all public bodies, no q
IS than the community, from time to 1t
me, in the manner Which the public treE- II
ire may demand. 1t can neither devoive hs
lese duties permanently on other pub 80
c bodies, nor permanently suspend or VI
bandon them itself, without being d.