The Jersey City news., 1892-03-15
Is THE BILL VALID?
If That Reading Deal Measure is
Special 1t is Unconstitutional.
Special to the JERSEY ctr Ne,rs.

TRENTON, March IA, 1S92.-It was dis
covered today that there is probably d
grave constitutional omission in the pro-
ceedings of the Legislature IN passing the
bill on the last day of the session legaliz-
ing the recent combination of the Read
ing Railroad.
Information received in this city to-
night is to the effect that counsel for the
Pennsylvania Railroad, at q meeting of
head officials In Philadelphia. stated that
tine bill is clearly unconstitutional in that
notice of the introduction of the bill had
not been published in any legal news
paper, and that the bill is clearly of the
class of special bills, the passage of which
are prohibited,
1t is expected that Governor Albeit will
sign the bill tomorrow. making it a law,
and will leave it for the Courts to decide
whether it is public or a private actin
other words, special or general one.
WHY IT WAS PASSED.
The Reading deal appears to have been
made in ignorance of an act approved
May 2. 1885. which specifically forbade
any such combinations. The law of 1885
provides that no company corporated un-
der the General Railroad law of 1873. or
under any other law or charter enacted or
granted by the New Jersey Legislature,
shall have power to lease it's road or
franchises or any part thereof to any for
eign corporation, or to any resident of any
other State, or to unite, consolidate or
emerge its stock, property franchises or
road, or any part thereof, with those of
any foreign corporation or resident OF any
other State until the consent of the Legis-
lature of this State shall have been first
been obtained thereto"
The law in section further requires
that if any corporation desire to make
n laac ar af nnh
dation or merger it shall submit draft
of the proposed lease, or of the detailed
scheme of union. etc., to the Legislature
of New Jersey for its consideration, nd
no such lease, ETC., shall be of any effect
till the same shall have been approved by
an act of the Legislature passed for that
purpose.
THE NEW ACT.
Section of the act passed last week,
designed to overcome the distractions of
this law, euacts that an "act respecting
the leasing of railroads, approved May Q,
1855, shall not apply to such railroad cor
poration as shall. within forty-eight hours
after the passage or approval of this act,
file in the office of the Secretary of State
q COPY of the lease referred to in said act
of May 2. 1885. and such corporation so
fling may thereafter enter into any fur
such further or other lease be filed in the
office of the Secretary of State within
thirty days from the execution thereof
and be approved by the Governor"
The act also makes it "lawful for the
lessees in such lease to use, operate ana
enjoy said railroads or other public works
of this State and to execute all the fran
chises and enjoy all the privileges and
immunities connected Herewith as fully
to all intentS and purposes as the same
shall be granted. assigned and transferred
or intended to be, by said lease"
The view which the p. Il. r. lawyers
urge is that the new measure is obviously
of special application, referring only to a
single case. and therefore is a private
bill. The Constitution requires that pri-
yate bills shall be advertised in a legal
newspaper before the opening of the ses-
sion. OF course, this was not done in this