The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-08-04

of certain railroads in North Carolina
Col. John w Iinsdale, counsel for the
State, said:
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the
Corporation Commission:
/ appear before You, representing the
State of North Carolina, for the purpose
of aiding i'll the performance of the
duty imposed upon you by the act of the
last Legislature entitled an act to au-
thoriZe the Railroad Commission. the
North Carolina Corporation Commission,
or such board as shall succeed to their
duties to assess property which has
escaped taxation.
If there be any such property, j do
not doubt but that the owners thereof,
upon being satisfied of its existence aud
their duty, will cheerfully acquiesce in
Your action My desire is that the rail
road companies shall be required to bear
only their just proportion of the burden
of taxation under which the people are
struggling. | maintain:
/. THE NORTH CAROLINA COR
PORATION COMMISSION HAS THE
POWER TO ASSESS FOR TAXA-
TION ROLLING STOCK WHICH
HAS ESCAPED TAXATION, AS.
WE'LL AS OTHER RAILROAD
PROPERTIES.
Chapter CTS, Laws of 1899, page STA,
expressly authorizes it. 1t provides that
lit shall be the duty of the Board of
Railroad Commissioners, the North
Carolina Corporation Commission, or
such board as shall succeed to their
duties to value and assess such proper
ty as has escaped taxation for five years
prior to the current year at the time
when they value and assess other rail
road property for taxation This act
was ratified March Sth, 1899.
The Railroad Commission was abolish
ed by chapter 506, Public Laws of 1899,
page 55S, ratified March 9th, 1899.
The Corporation Commission was es-
tablished by chapter 164, Public Laws
of 1899, page 291, ratified March 9th,
1892 and by section 2, it was empowered
and directed, among other things, which
had been previously committed to the
Railroad Commission, Ito perform all
the duties and exercise all the powers
imposed or conferred by chapter 800,
Public Laws of 1891, page 30, ratified
March 9th. 1891, and the acts amenda-
tory thereto
The question arises what are the acts
amendatory thereto? | insist that any
statute extending the duties and powers
of the Railroad Commissioners was such
an act
On the 9th day of March, 1891, the
General Assembly by chapter $50, Pub
lie Laws of 1891, pages 305, 80 known
as the Machinery Act, constituted the
Railroad Commission, a board of APP
praisers for railroad and other trans
portation companies, and extended their
duties to embrace everything to be done
in connection with the assessment of all
kinds of railroad properties, including
rolling stock. Substantially the same
provision has been incorporated in each
OF. the Machinery acts since that date.
On February IA. 1893, an act was
ratified by the Legislature, entitled An
act to amend the act constituting the
Railroad Commission as a board of APP.
praisers for railroads, ratified the ninth
day of March. one thousand, eight hun
bred and ninety-one, in respect to the
manner of assessing property, and Civ
ing the Commission authority to assess
steamboat property"
Section % Of the Machinery act Of
mission shall have like powers tas the
Board of County Commissioners to list
unlisted railroad property. This act con-
tains, i'll section 120, clause repeating
All acts and parts of acts inconsistent
with the provisions of this act.
These acts, relating to the duties of
the Railroad Commissioners, being in
pari materia. must be construed to-
Il. e. IL, = -.
larging the duties of the Railroad Com
missoners was amendatory Of the act
which created them and defined their du-
ties. 1t was not necessary that the acts
should be entitled ''amendatory" if, in
fact they were 50. This proposition is
settled by State VS.. Jordan. 30 >. e.
Rep. 139, 141, where it was held that
the act of March 3 1889, which estab-
lished the Western District Criminal
court, and which made no reference to
the act Of 1895, chapter TO establishing
criminal courts in certain counties, was
nevertheless amendatory thereof, being
in pari materia. Therefore, each of the
Machinery acts, in so far as they relat-
ed 10 the duties of such commission,
was amendatory Of chapter go, of the
Public Laws of 1891. The tile of chap
ter III, of the Laws of 1893, which en-
larges their duties and extends them to
the assessment of railroad property, IS
entitled an act to amend the act constr
tuting the Railroad Commission. Thus
showing that the legislative construction
was, that the act although amendatory
Of the part OF the Machinery act Of
1891, which relates to the assessment
for taxation of railroad properties by
the Railroad Commissioners, was
amendatory of the act constituting the
Railroad Commission and prescribing
their duties.
Therefore, the act establishing the
Corporation Commission and defining
its duties. laws of 1899, chapter 164, in
comforting upon the Corporation Com
mission all the powers conferred upon
the Railroad Commission by chapter
800. of the Laws Of 1891, and the acts
ameDdatory thereto, expressly commits
to the Corporation Commission the
right and duty to assess railroad prop
critics for taxation. In order to main
tain this proposition it is not necessary
to contend that the Railroad Commits
sion is still in existence for the purpose
of assessing railroad property. The
Commission was expressly abolished for