The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1886-01-20
leqscLuDED

cree tnls appeAl wa. thEeus
The argument in support Of the decree
1 below IS:
/. Tha' the statute under which the CON.
missOners are 70 act impairs he obligation
Of the charter contract OF the Mobile and
Ohio Railroad Company.
! 2. hat it's, so tar as that company i,
/ concerned, a regulation Of commerce among
/ the States;
1 3 Thai i denies the company the equa
| protection Of the laws and deprives II Of
Z its property wi h0ut due process of law:
/ 4. Thai il eonfers both legislative and ia
/ dicial powers on the commission, aud il
thus repuguant 10 the Constitution Of Mis-
/ sissippi; and
! O. That il is void on its face by reason O.
It's Inconsistencies and uncertainties
These several positions will be consider
/ ed in heir order.
L. Tho provisions Of the charter on which
tae claim OF contract rests 81 found in secs
! l. 7, and H. as follows:
SECTION l. And the said company i.
/ hereby authorized and empowered
/ to transport, take, aud carry properly aud
persons upon said railroad or way by tn,
/ power and force of steam, of animals, or Of
any other mechanical or other power, OF
any combination OF them which the compa
ny may choose t. apply
/ SEC. [. That the directors shall have full
/ power TO make and prescribe such bylaws
rules, and regulations as they shall deem
/ ueedful and proper touching the DISPOSE
| ton and management of the stock properly
estate, and effects Of said company, not con
tIary 10 this charter or the laws of this State
or of the United States; the transfer Of
shares. the duties and conduct of their off
/ GERS and servants, touching the election of
4 aud meeting Of The dil ectors; aad all mat
/ ters whatsoever which may appertain tc
/ the concerns Of said company.
| SEC II. That it shall be lawful for the
company hereby incorporated from tine to
/ time to FIX, regulate, and receive the toll
/ and charges by them TO be received for trans
/ portation OF persons or property on their
railroad. or way atoiesaid, hereby author
lied TO be constructed, erected, built, or
used, or upon any part thereof
/ From this II is claimed that the State
| granted to The company, for the full tera
of its corporate existence, that is to say
forever, the right OF managing its own al
fairs aud regulating its charges for the
transportation OF persons and property Tree
of al legis alive control.
| 1t IS now settled in this court that State
has power TO limit the amount of charges
by railroad companies for the Transports
ton of persons and property within its own
! juris LECTION, unless constrained by some
contract in the charter, or unless what is
done amounts to a regulation of foreign OF
inter state commerce. Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company V. Maryland, Il Wall
456; Chicago, burlington and Quincy Rail
road Company " Io1oa, "a U. 5. l55; Peik V
| Chicago and Northeastern RditlUdy Company
| 1t. 1874 WiHond and ~. Peter RAILROAD
! 4 - RJ,La ii m
nOiS, los U. 5. 53l. This power OF 1eGula-
ton is power of government, continuing
in it's nature, and if it can b. bargainec
away at all it can only be by words of pos.
tive gran, or something which is in Law
equivalent. Ifthere is reasonable doubt, il
must be resolved in favor of the existence
of the power. In the words of Chief Jus
tice Marshall, in PROVIDENCE BANR
V. BILLINGS. A Pet. $50, it was held tha
the incorporation of a bank without
any special provision for taxator
did not imply a contract on the
part of the State net to tax at all. Ii
CHARLES RIVER BRIDGE v WARES
BRIDGE, IL Pet. 9, the court said this .ulC
of construction was not confined to the tax
ing power, and accordingly it held that tn,
charter of a toll'bridge company did no
imply contract not 10 allow the building
VI duOluGE uTlukt III the lHllHeul1le NlclulIN
which would materially interfere with III
revenues. In delivering the opinion of tn,
court, Chief Justice Taney used this Ian
guage, Up. 54Sl: This act of incorporation
is in the usual form, and the privileges sucl
as are commonly given to corporations o
that kind. 1t conters on them the ord ma
ry faculties of a corporation for the pur
pose of building the bridge, and establishe.
certain rates of Toll which the company arr
authorized to take; this is the whole grant
There is no exclusive privilege given t,
them over the waters of Charles Rive,
above or below the bridge; no right to cree
another bridge themselves nor TO preven
other persons from erecting one; no en-
gag,ment from the Stale thai another shall
not be erected; and no undertaking not L
sanction competition, nor to max improve
uents that may diminish its income" Ii
MINoTT v. P. W. 4 b. L. Il. Co., known a.
the DELAWARE RAILROAD TAX CASE, Il
Wall, 206, it was held that provision
in the charter that the railroad
conf any 'shou d pay annually iato tn.
treasury of the State a tax ofone-ouarter OF
one per cent. on its capital stock of foul
hundred thousand dollars without any
words indicating the intent of the egisla.
ture that no further or different tax should
be subsequently levied, was not sulbeienl
to show a contract binding the State not tC
make such levy, the court remarking that
THE surrender when claimed, must be shown
by clear and unambiguous language VIII ch
will admit of no reasonable construction
consistent with the reservation of the
J power So, in Bailey 4. Mdguire, y Wall
2l5, il was held that clause in charter
which subjected corporation ito taxation
at the rate assessed by the State on
other real or personal property of like
value, did not relieve the company from
taxation for other than State purposes
And here the court said "Silenee on such
a subject, that is to say, taxation for Other
/ purpo.es "caHnot he construed as a
waiver of the right of the State in
/ this regard. There must be something
said which is broad enough to show
1 clearly that the legislature intended
to relieve the corporation from a part OF the
[ burdens borne by other real or personal
property. In Feytiljsiag Company v. HID,
Park, % I. 5. 600, it appeared hat com
pany had been incorporated with authority
to es ablish and maintain, for fifty years
chemical and other works at the plac,
designated for the purpose Of
manufacturing and converting dead ami
mails and other animal matter into an agri
cultural fertilizer, or into other chemica
products, by means Of chemical or othel
proces :" bu. this court held that tht
State was not thereby prevented from eaus
ing the works to be abated IN case they
should, within the time of the charter
become a public nuisance because of tn,
I growth of population in the neighborhood
and among the reasons assigned was tn,
absence from the charter of any express