Arizona republican., 1903-11-29
BENNETT nAHDAhUS CASE
The Hearing ofthe Petition Begun Be-
 fore Judge Kent Yesterday.

The petition of H J. Bennett for compel the territorial board of equali- zation to hold special session and put the property of the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix railroad on the assessment roll came up before Judge Kent yesterday afternoon. On the motion of Attorney General Wells representing the defendants Mir. T. ]. Norton Of Los Angeles, general solicitor Norton of Los Angeles. general soii for the Santa Fe lines in southern California and Arizona was made one of the counsel for the defense. The petitioner was represented by Bissell Thomas.
 There was good deal of preliminary skirnishing in the course of which d demurrer to the petition was over ruled. By a stipulation the defense was given ten days to file such papers as might be desired and the hearing of the case was begun on it's merits.
 There were three reasons Mir. Thomas said why the property of the railroad company should De listed for taxation. In the first place he said the legislature which passed the eX- emption law of 1891 in the absence of any constitutional restrictions on the subject had no power to pass such q law. Then again he contended that the law was .n contraVention of two clauses Of the Harrison act containing a list of subjects upon which the legislature of the territory might legis- late. Still further. he said that if the law had originally been valid and if it had not run contrary to the organic law, it had been repealed in the re- vision Of the statutes of 1901.
 The numerous authorities advanced by MT. Thomas in support of his several contentious had to do with eases in which municipalities and cities were concerned. He therefore argued that the relation between a territory and the general government was pre- cisely the same as that of a county or a municipality toward the state in which # lies.
 The passing of that law exempting tle railroad from taxation, he said, was special legislation and was therefore made impossible hy the Harrison act. Replying to this MT. Norcon said that the Legislature was general and that if it were held not te- be all Iegis- lation might be said to be special. Here was an exemption law of which all corporations or persons might aval | themselves. There were surrounding conditions which of course made the law inapplic1bIc 70 those who did not want to build Tailrcads but then there are hundreds of laws which, though oi the most general character. are not ap- piled to certain persons but they would
 be applied to them if those persons brought themselves within the condi- | tions.
 | MT. Norton's position was fortified ! by numerous authorities. many of the cases having arisen in the territories. | Regarding the fast contention of Mr. 1 Thomas, MT. Norton said that the law
 was of character which made it ire pealable. It was of the nature Of a contract between the people of the ter | ritory ard those who chose to avail
 themselves Of the law.
 This question was the one in which the court was especially interested and concluded all the authorities bearnG upon this point were submitted to him. 1 / The court announced that there
 rould be no determination of the case until after his return from Globe where
 he will shortly go to hold court. It will therefore be about two weeks beforA
 the matter is taken up again.
 !
 l It's all very well to be regarded as a