The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-09-06
DELAY AGAIN.
Newark's Water Hearing
Goes Over for Two Weeks
at City's Request.
TO FILE AMENDMENTS
East Jersey Company is Like
ly to Oppose Them
Substance of
Them.
[specfal 70 ..rhe Iersev citx News.r1

Especial to 1.-THE Jersey City News."1
NEWARK, Cept- 6, 19O0-Another post
ponement of the hearings in the suit
brought by the city against the East
jersey Water Company to compel
| specific performance of the contract be-
| tween the parties. was made yesterday.
1t was agreed to postpone further hear
| ings until September 49, In all prob
ability they will not be continued even
then, because the purpose of the delay is
| to allow the city to file amendments to
the bill. and these. in all probability, will
be opposed by the East Jersey Com
pany Until Vice Chancellor Reed has
| passed on the legality of the amend
ments, no hearings will be held. The
amendments will be necessary to Justify
certain new evidence that the city has
obtained. City Counsel Price has no
doubt that the requisite permission will
| be granted.
/ Herbert w. Knight, as special master
| in Chancery, before whom Vice-ChanceI-
| lor Red directed testimony to be taken,
was ready at IL o'clock yesterday to pro-
ceed with the case. At that time both
parties were represented. The entire
corps of lawyers retained by the city were
l
panys representative in the present case.
| and ]. j. McDevitt, of Paterson, one of
the company's regular lawyers. With
| them was Clemens Herschel, chief engi-
neer of the East Jersey Water Company.
/ The city's lawyers were headed by City
| Counsel Price, with whom were Herbert
Boggs. Cortlandt Parker, Sr., former
Judge Francis Child and Chandler w.
D IT, csI-t
| department, and Commissioners Ballard.
Baumann and Garrison were also present.
When the lawyers were called to order
| City Counsel Price said that he desired
continuance of the case for two weeks.
This continuance he stated, sis asked
for because certain matters and facts
have developed in the suit which cause the
counsel for the city to be of the opinion
that the bill of complaint in this cause
Eshould be amended
MIR. Coult agreed to the continuance.
q have been favored with an adjourn
ment by the other side" he said, 3to suit
my convenience, and do not wish 10 OPP
pose an adjournment when asked for by
them, no matter what the purpose is
Special Master knight then declared the
hearings adjourned as agreed to by the
lawyers.
The application for the adjournment on
behalf of the city was made, said City
Counsel Price afterwards, in accordance
with a decision arrived at in a conference
of the lawyers yesterday. The decision
was unanimous on the part of the city's
lawyers.
There are a number of things. the City
Counsel explained which have come to
light since the suit was started, and since
July %, the date of the last hearing,
| which, if introduced in the case, will. it
is thought, strengthen the city's case.
The position of the city, he said, is
| unique. Much information it desired has
been a closed book. The city knew it
existed, but could not get at it, as the
matters it wanted were in the possession
of the East Jersey Company.
In an ordinary suit to compel specific
performance of a contract, the action
cannot be brought until after the time
has expired in which the terms of the
contract are to be carried out. In the
present suit, however, the cSraet be-
tween the city and the company require
the city to begin suit before the time
limit has expired for the specific per-
formance of the contract. The company
has until September "a to put the water
shed into the condition required by the
contract, but the city. under another pro-
vision, must bring suit before that date,
or be forever debarred from doing so.
Suit was instituted before September "a,
but on the basis of such information as
was begun City Counsel Price stated that
| ;nhf
sary to the bill as various points of evil
dence were developed Those amend
ments could be made as their necessity
became apparent.
Examinations made by the experts and
the lawyers have brought out matters
that We're not included in the original
petition and to provide for the admis-
sion of this new evidence the amend
ments have become necessary.
| One of the specific amendments will re-
late to the diversion rights that the COM
pany owns. The original bill calls on the
company specifically to turn over all the
muniments of title to water rights in the
watershed, but it has been discovered by
the citys lawyers that there are num-
bers of diversion rights that the company
has not obtained. If the company does
uOt own tneI1i, II cannot TURN Lnem over.
The company had claimed that it owned
. them all. The city will now amend the
bill so as to ask that the company be re-
quired to obtain all diversion rights.
Besides this, there are four or five other
points in the case which will have to be
placed in the amended bill. These will be
considered at conference of the city's
lawyers to be held tomorrow, after
which the amendments will be formu-
lated.
!; If the East Jersey Company will agree
to make answer to the amendments at
once. the case may be continued on the
/. date set, but it is presumed the company
will vigorously oppose them and perhaps
take exception to the amendments, alto
| gether. If such be the course followed,
it may be a month before the hearings
. will again be held.