The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-25
MUNICIPAL VS.. PERSONAL RIGHTS
smithfield. Sept. %, 1891.

smithfeld, Sept. %, 1894.
To the Editor Of The Herald. =
Dear Sir-Please to answer the fol-
| lowing question and oblige a great
many of your subscribers.
Yours truly, A SUBSCRIBER.
Has Smithfield city. according to its
charter, the constitutional right to levy
a tax of ~ mills upon the dollar, upon
all real and personal property within
it's corporation, for irrigation purposes?
The majority of the citizens of Smith
field city corporation have primary
rights to the use of water flowing from
Summit and Birch creeks, natural
| streams flowing through the city. A
great many of them have held their
rights previous to the charter being
granted, and then other citizens have
been paying the city for some years past
$3.50 and $500 a year for each city lot
they own, for the use of water from
what is known as the Logan and
SnlithfielG canal, which said city was
taxed by the city council, upon all real
and personal property, at the rate of
1 per cent to purchase said water from
said canal company, to supply said lots
which had no primary rights; and there
are others who own lots and farming
land within the corporation who have
and use their water rights from the
Logan and Richmond canal and have
to pay their assessments upon said
canal yearly, because they have no
primary rights to Summit and Birch
creeks.
The city council has this season made
an ordinance and published that there
will be assessed and collected upon all
the real and personal property within
Smithf1eld corporation a. tax levy as
follows: Four mills upon the dollar
ia
dollar for irrigation purposes, for the
year 1894.
The people have made the bitches
and keep them in repair and cleaned
out, without having any recompense
from any source.
Municipal bodies have no powers but
those conferred upon them in their re-
snec+ive charters. Smithfield city coun-
ell is given control of the water and
water courses leading to and within
the city, subject to the proviso that
such control shall not be exercised to
the injury of any rights already .ac-
quired by actual settlers thereon and
''in no case shall they interfere with
the natural rights Of others heretofore
acquired in relation to water" Prior
water rights are sacred in the eyes CT
the law, and municipal corporations
cannot abrogate or impair those rights
Smithfield city council, under its char
ter. may annually assess and collect
tax from individuals in proportion to
the amount of water owned and used
by each, and expend said tax in con-
trolling, regulating and supplying said
city with water for domestic. irrigat-
ing and manufacturing purposes; Pro-
V:ded, that nothing herein contained
shall be construed as to interfere with
the water rights accrued by priority OF
appropriation" Compiled Laws, vol.
1, D. 373, 374.)
From careful reading of these char
ter provisions. it does not appear to
US that the Smithfield city council is
authorized to assess tax upon all the
real and personal property of the in
habitants for irrigation purposes, but
may assess and collect a tax from indi-
viduals in proportion to the benefits
they receive or the amount of water
used by each, and that this must be
subject to the general and specific laws
in relation to prior water rights
with this levy of which we are not in
formed. We should scarcely suppose
that the city authorities would proceed
in the way mentioned without obtain
ing competent legal advice as to their
lawful powers. Still, city officers have
been known to exceed their chartered
authority, and from the representa-
tons made in the foregoing letter il
certainly appears that the Smithield
officials have done SO in this instance
We advise our friends in Smithfield
to make sure they are right; then go
ahead and test the validity of the or
dinance if an attempt is made to en-
force it. To arrogate powers not ex-
pressly granted to governments is
Republicanism; to resist usurpation
and hold to the rights of communities
and individuals, is Democracy. Let US
have democratic government locally
as well as nationally.