The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-05-27
Chancellor Magic to Deter
mine Row Cost Of Plank
Road Bridges Shall
Be Divided.
0 REMOVE PRESENT DEADLOCK
Purchase of Bridges and
Maintenance of Highway
Keep Essex and Hud-
son at War.

00-4 r@b ~ S~@
Chancellor Magic has received from
Lawyer Num- counsel for the Essex
County Board of Freeholders, the petition
of that body requesting the Court to re-
move t'ne deadlock over the Newark Plank
Road matter by determining tae amount
to be paid by Hudson and Essex counties
for the purchase of the bridges over the
Paasaic and Hackensack rivers and the
maintenance of the highway The Cham
cellor mas set June 10 to hear the argu-
ments of counsel for all parties con-
ceIned
The petition sets out in the beginning
that the Newark Plank Road Company
was organized under the terms of an act
approved February "a, 1919 In 1892. 1t
says, the company laid down rails for a
street railway along the road which
crossed the Passaic, which constitutes
the boundary line between the counties
of Essex and Hudson. and the Hacken-
sack. which lies wholly in Hudson.
Some time afterwards the Plank Road
Company became the property of the
Consolidated Traction Company by pur-
chase of all the stock, but the Plank
Road Company preserved its corporate
organization and still claims for certain
purposes to have a corporate existence.
Continuing, the petition says that by the
terms of a certain indenture dated March
25, 1888, the Consolidated Traction Com
pany leased for the term of sss years all
its property, including the shares of
stock of the Plank Road Company owned
by it to the North Jersey Street Railway
Company, which now operates trolley cars
on the tracks built by the Plank Road
Company.
by judgment Of the Court of Errors
and Appeals delivered on March A. 1901,
it was held that the charter of the Plank
Road Company had expired on February
"a, 1891, and that the corporate existence
of the company terminated on that date
except that the company should be con-
tinued a body corporate for the purpose
of prosecuting and defending suits by or
against it and for enabling it to settle
and close its affairs to dispose of and
convey Its property and divide its capt.
tai
An act was passed in 1901, says the
petition, providing that any plank road
company whose charter had expired
might continue its existence if it made a
certificate and filed 1t with the Secretary
of State The Plank Road Company COM
piled with these provisions.
Then in the same year another act was
passed providing that it should be the
duty of the Freeholders of any county in
which any bridge owned by the plank
road company was located to acquire the
the same by purchase or condemnati ton
and take possession of such bridge or
bridges and maintain and operate them
for the public use.
A year later supplement to the above
act was passed by the Legislature, which
provided that whenever the road and
bridges of any plank road company con-
stitute a continuous highway in two or
more counties of this State, It shall be the
duty Of the Board of Chosen Freeholders
of sucn counties TO acquire, maintain and
operate such road and bridge or bridges
al joint expense, and the same boards
may by agreement divide the expense be-
tween themselves as they may deem just
If no such agreement shall be made it
shall be lawful, says the act, for the
Boards of Freeholders to apply by petit
tion to the Court OF Chancery TO hear the
parties in a summary way and the Court
shall apportion and determine the part or
proportion Of said expense to be borne by
each county.
After citing these facts. the petitioners
go on 10 say that they have applied to
the HUDSON County Freeholders to the
North Jersey Street Railway Co. and
Plank Road Company with view to
making an agreement contemplated by
the act. but no reply has been received
from the parties named. and Essex coun-
fy has therefore been unable to make an
agreement with respect to acquiring the
road.
The petition closes by stating that n
provisional agreement was made on May
q, 1901, between the Boards of Freehol-
ders Of Essex and Hudson counties and
the Newark Plank Road Co. for the tenn
porary maintenance of the road and thu
bridges and that agreement will expire
in May 1902, and that your petitioner Is
apprehensive that steps may be taken
which VIII interrupt public traffic over
the highway and bridges by the travelling
public owners Of trucks and vehicles who
for business purposes. Your petitioners
therefore pray that this honorable
Court will proceed to hear the parties in
summary way. and upon such notice as
the Court may prescribe, appsrtion and
determine the part or proportion of the
expense of acquiring. maintaining and
operating such road and bridges which
shall be borne and paid by each Of the
said counties and by the Newark Plank
Road and North Jersey Street Railway
CO."