The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-01-22
||IISE Or AARB0R AREAS.
.rvr COURT HOLDS AMENDA-
~nrY ACT OF 1890 IS VOID.
x..ets Made with Land Commits
,s,saer Under Act of 1897 Are Held
~ = strict Construction-Act of
,aoo Declared Unconstitutional.

..s., Dispatch to the observation-disclosures.
STyMPIA, Jan. I-The supreme court
(, ~ state has filed an opinion In the
w n the state on relation OF w. r.
sos;.,hle against the board Of state land
lI...sroissioners which viii be Of interest to
s 1880. Of harbor areas. The facts In the
~ are recited in the opinion, which fol-
49, herewith In full 1t was written by
,'xsa Reayis, and concurred in by the
Eisf Justice and associates:
nm the list of November, 1898, the re-
,.sor obtained. a lease under section % OK
~ at Of March 16, 1897 Claws 1897, p.
~. from the state. OF the right to erect
shsrves, docks and other structures, as
rmrovided in the section. in a. designated
porfior, OF the harbor area in front Of the
NJ, al Seattle, Among other provisions
4 The section 1t was declared that :.
AFTER the expiration of one year, II
M parties who have leased any Of the
"a areas do not commence to build
*nsrves. docks or make such other i'm
srrnvements as provided in this act the
rson,fnission may cancel the lease and re-
eise the same under the provisions OF
'a sss inf the section. as amended In 1899
n 49, 1899. D. 225), contained the follow
NJ provision, in lieu Of the requirement
The %if lessee of any part Of such harbor
.,ea may, at his or its option, improve
IA same in such manner, subject to the
s, as Of the board, and to such ex-
isnt az such iso lessee shall elect; ,,. .. .u.
ne rents Of his lease. adjusted, in accord
snce with the amended section. BY the
secfion, as amended. the rental fixed and
reserved to the state is in such a sum as
M board shall fix. not exceeding l per
eentum OF the value of strip Of the
shore or tide lands, exclusive OF all i'm
movements thereon, adjoining the portion
Il the harbcr area embraced In such lease
d equal value.
sTSe respondent advised the relator to
return his lease with a remittance cover
IN the rentals then accrued, with which
re1uirement the relator Immediately COM
occurred until November, 1882, when the
relator was notified by the respondent
mi his lease was held for cancellation
for failure to make improvements under
he act Of 1891, and that hearing vas sp.
Tor the hearing the relator appeared be-
fire the commission and objected to the
notice OF hearing, on the ground that II
dd not comply with the rules Of the board
81 land commissioners, and protested that
Inc power, authority and Jurisdiction Of
Ire board to inquire into the performance
Of the stipulations under the lease and
forfeit the same for failure to improve
u und oV the amendment Of section s.. ap. ..
proved March IA, 1899. The board assum-
INK to proceed at the hearing, the relator
prays for prohibition against Its contem-
plated action.
Realtors Argument.
Counsel for relator maintains that sec
ton So of the act of 1897, supra. as amend
ed In the act of 1899. was intended to be
retroactive by the legislature, and that
existing leases under the law of 1897, such
as relators, should be conformed to the
PROVISIONS of the amendment; that. as 1t
b specially declared that the reduced rem
fn1 under the amended section Is appli-
cable to existing leases, the intention of
ibe legislature was to relieve tenants as
well of the obligation to improve as to re-
duce the rent. 1t is further insisted that
the legislative intent was, also, to give
such effect to the amendment as to make
an leases uniform under the law of 1899
There is much force in the contention of
counsel for relator that the legislature in