The Portland daily press., 1890-10-31
PENosscoT COUNTY s. ). COURT.
BEFORE J JUDGE HASKELL.

BANGOR. October 30.
State of Maine. by information Of the At.
Corp Grafton. This was an information In
the nature OF a quo tcdrrdnt0 proceeding
brought by tie Attorney General, seeking
Town Bridge Corporation had reverted, un-
der the terms of its charter, to the state.
The Old Town Bridge Corporation was
chartered in 1927 for the purpose of erecting,
maintaining aud keeping In repair bridge
over the PenObscot river TAT or near the VII
connect Marsh Island (the site of Old Town
villagr) with the town of Milford. In 1929,
before the bridge authorized by the charter
of 1927 had been constructed, the legislature.
by an additional act, provided, among other
things, that the legislature should not have
the right to revise and change the tolls g.
tablishtd by the original charter for the pc
ROD OF forty years, and that at the expira
ton OF that time the bridge should revert to
1882, ext anding from Old Town to Webster's
Island IAN island In the river between the
two towDs) and thence to the main land on
the Milford side, and was opened for travel
In that year. Under the terms of the act If
1929 the Limitation Of forty years would have
expired in 1872 From 1882 to 1886 the bridge
was maintained as erected. In the great
freshet upon the PenobscOt river of 1896 thr
eastern, or Milford, span of the bIidge was
SdAttru away LILO itktnldtufty Ill tDdt year,
granted to fra Wadleigb and others charter
to erect new bridge over the Penobscot
river, lat the Old Town falls In the town of
Old Town, to connect the town of Old Town
with the town of Milford" In that act it
was further provided that If the old corpora
ton should elect to build, under its own
charter, a bridge Eat the Old Town falls"
according to the terms of the charter to the
new corporat0rs, the latter charter should
become void, and, by subsequent act, In the
that muQh of the oh rtQr of
1929 as provided that at the expiration of
fOity years the bridge should revert to the
state, should be repealed, so that the charter
to the old corporation would become perpet-
build bridge ''at the Old Town falls" ac-
cOrdiDg to tho charter of the new company.
The old bridge, which Is some distance be-
low where 1t Is now claimed it should have
been built, was rebuilt, but no new bridge
was ever constructed.
The Attorney General claimed that, by the
terms and limitations of the original char
ters of the defendant corporation, and the
failure Of that company to erect bridge ''at
the Old Town falls" under the act of 1896
the bridge had reverted to the state.
The defence contended, first that the in
formation upon which the proceeding was
based. was not official, and properly prose-
cnted, and second, that even If the informa.
sion was properly presented, as matter of
law no legal judgment could be entered and
further contended that the rebuilding Of the
old bridge in 1886 was, in fact. compliance
with the requirements of the act Of that
year In that the bridge was 'at the falls
within the meaning Of the act.
The question submitted to the jury was
whether the bridge had reverted to the state
under the act Of 1929 by reason OF the de-
PENDANTS failure to build bridge across the
Old ToWn provided s By d the 0 sct Of of is4s
The jury, after elaboration of between
four and five hours, found that the bridge
was forfeited to the state. The case goes
forward to the Law Court to determine what
judgement shall be entered
j. r. Gould-0rville ID. Baker.
Wilson &s Woodard