Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-09-26
THE CITY CANNOT BUY
Charter Does Not Admit Purchase
ofStest Railway Property
A KNOTTY POINT RAISED.
Council Of 1858 Had No Power to Make
Such an Agreement.
THE CITY ATTORNEYS OPINION
Term. OF old Ordinance PROVIDING
City Must Acquire RaiIrosds and
Appurtenances IL Franchise d NOT
Renewed Declared Void.
THE CITY ATTORNEYS OPINION
Terms of Old Ordinance Providing
CITY Must Acquire Railroads and
Renewed Declared Void.

IAN the city Duy tne pTopeTty Va tho
Richmond Railway and Electric Company
when the franchises to the different parts
Of that company's system lapse and thu
Council refuses TO renew them. or other
wise disposes of them?
An ordinance passed by the City Couns
Gil December II. 1856. provides that II the
Council refuses for any reason to renew
the franchise Of the company owning the
Main-street line, then the city shall ac-
quire tho line with all Its appurtenances
and real estate by purchase. The situa-
ton. as viewed I'm the light OF this or.i-
nance. has hitherto been accepted, but
the point now raised Is that the city char
ter confers no such powers upon the cor
poration. and that it would not be COM
potent for the city to acquire the property
in such a manner.
THE CITY ATTORNEYS OPINION.
City-Attorney Pollard has called the at
tention Of the Committee on Streets to
the limitations Of the city in this regard.
in an opinion which he has written pur-
suant to a resolution adopted by that
committee, concerning the rights Of the
city in the matter Of street railways gen.
orally. and the lapslng franchises of the
Richmond Railway and Electric Com
pany in particular.
Mr.. Pollard flied his opinion with the
City Engineer yesterday. The text of Il
will not be given out for publication until
the committee meets but Mr.. Pollard.
who was seen at his residence last night,
stated that he had called the attention OF
the committee to the fact that the City
Charter contains no clause that would
permit the city to buy or deal in railroad
property of any sort.
The charter. he said, might be amend
ed by the next Legislature and he re-
commended that tnis question should be
referred 10 the special Committee on
Charter Amendments, which is already
considering several other matters.
This suggestion, however has not met
with very much favor, for IL is believed
by some that the inability OF the city to
buy railroad property will prove a strong
factor i'm the city's favor when the
disposition OF the franchises Of the Rich
mond Railway and Electric Company ~
to be considered.
COUNCIL HAD No POWER.
The Council that passed the ordinance
i'm 1865, II Is said had no power 10 enter
into such an agreement with the railway
company, and the Provision alluded TO
above is therefore OF no effect.
This provision reads as follows: ''But
If the City Council shall refuse 10 con-
tinue TO the said company or corporation
the privileges held by them during the
-
they were held during that period, or IL
the City Council and the said company or
corporation cannot agree upon the term
on which the said company or corpora
ton may continue TO run their cars In the
streets OF the city, the City Council shall
have the right TO take. and shall take,
the railway and fixtures thereto, lying
within the city and the lots and buildings
thereon, and appurtenances owned by
said company or corporation, and used
and held as a part OF It's capital. and tho
cars OF the said company or corporation
used upon its railways IN the city, and
the price 10 be paid therefor shall be fixed
by the arbitrators, one OF whom shall be
appointed by the city and the other by
tho said company or corporation"
ACTION ON THE PETITIONS.
The petition OF the Boyd-Newton syn
dictate for a forty-year franchise to the
whole system of the Richmond Railway
and Electric Company, together with the
application OF the Richmond Traction
Company for the Man-street franchise.
will be considered by the Street Com
mittee in special session, next week. The
regular meeting OF the committee will be
held on Thursday, but the question will
not be brought up then, and the members
have decided that the special meeting
shall not be held until after the regular
meeting. BY that time also. II is thought.
that the petition OF the Richmond Con-
duit Company will be submitted. Tho
opinion Of the City Attorney as 10 the
rights of the city Will be presented and
read, together with the action OF the SUBJ
committee appointed to make arrange
ments with the Richmond Railway and
Electric Company, so that the franchise
to the ends Of the line may expire at tho
same time as the main line.
Ii seems to be the opinion OF n ma
jority OF the members OF the committee
that the representatives of the petition-
ers will be heard, but that unless argu-
ments develop some fact not at present
before the committee, the whole matter
will be laid over, and no action will DO
taken for the present.
The disposition. indeed, seems T. be to
take no action at all on the Boyd-Newton
petition or any other phase OF street-rail-
way work. until the matter comes up in
the regular course.