The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-03-10
THE NEW COAL BILL.
Full Text of the Measure and What
the Attorney General Says
of IL.
snecia1 to the Jersey citu Ne,cs.


TRENTON. March 10, 1S93.-Attorney
General Stockton was asked last evening
if he had seen the new coal combination
bill and what he thought of it.
Eyes, have seen Assembly Bill NO.
44S ''he replied" which was introduced
by Mr.. Daily of Middlesex. 1t repeals the
act of 1885 which forbids any railroad
corporation to lease its road or franchises
to any foreign corporation OF
to unite, consolidate or merge its road /,
pr operty or franchises with those OF
foreign corporation until the consent OF
the Legislature OF the State thereto shall
have been obtained. The act sought to
be repealed by Mr.. Daly,s bill is the one
on which the Chancellor decided that the
coal combination was illegal. Ii is the
Act Of 1885, entitled "A n Act respecting
the leasing of railroads.
'The Chancellor held that the act was
constitutional, and in his opinion he
said: 'The law of 1885 Is constitutional
ana applicable to the lease now ques-
toned, and it follows that the lease was
made not only without legal sanction,
but in defiance OF an expressly prohlbit-
ory statute
44s. The act might have been
entitled: An act to legalize the
Reading coal combination, and to author
ize monopolies in the necessaries of life.
Assembly Bill AS conceals the fact that
it repeats the act of 1885 by making 1T a
supplement- to the general railroad law,
authorizing the leasing of roads to for
eign corporations and repeating all acts
inconsistent with its provisions"
This is the full text of the bill:-
1. Be it enacted by the Senate and General
Assembly of the State of New Jersey That sec
~. kskr kr.lk A L.
railroad companies Incorporated under the laws
of this and adjoining States to merge and con-
solidate their corporate franchises and other
property, approved March twenty fifth, one
Thousand eight hundred and eighty-one, and
which reads as follows namely
/. BE it enacted by the Senate and General
Assembly of the State of New Jersey That it
shall be lawful for any railroad company or
corporation organized under the laws of this
State to merge and consolidate their capi tai
stock, franchises and property with those of any
whenever the said railroads so to be consolidated
shall or may form connecting or continuous line
or lines of railroads; provided, that no railroad
company claiming contract with the State on
the subject of taxation sha avail itself of the
provisions of this act, unless said contract is sur
rendered.
Be and the same hereby Is amended so as to
read as follows, that is to say:
l. Be 1t enacted by the Senate and General
Assembly of the State OF New Jersey, That it
shall be lawful for any, railroad company or cor
to merge and consolidate their capital stock,
franchises and property with those Of any rail-
road company or companies of this or
any adjoining State whenever the said rail-
roads so to be consolidated shall or may form a
connecting or continuous line lines of rail
road provided that no railroad company
claiming a contract with the State on the sub
iect of taxation shall avail itself of the provis-
ions of this ACT unless said contract is surren-
dered.
2. And be it enacted, That all acts and parts
of acts inconsistent with or repugnant to the
said act as hereby amended be and the same are
hereby repealed, and that this act shall take
effect Immediately.
Every effort was made to conceal the
bill and its purport. 1t was the last bill
introduced Wednesday night. and was
sent up to the Clerks desk In the hurry
and hustle of adjournment. MIR. DAILY.
who introduced the bill. and who il
owned by Miles Ross, refused all in
formation upon the subject, and gruffiy
told all enquirers to go and read the bill.
At the afternoon session, on motion OF
Mr. Thompson, the bill was referred back
to the Committee on Municipal Corpora
tions. Il is said that the bill was intro
duced to be passed, and already the Penn
sylvania Railroad is working against tine
measure.