The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-08-23
JERSEYS water
FOR THIS STATE
Text Of Vice Chancellor
Bergen's Decision Uphold
ing the Act Prohibiting
Diversion of New Jerseys.
Waters to Other States.

As el0ASA ~ - - " sUA0
Waters to Other States.
PUBLIC HAS COMMON RIGHTS
STATE MAY GRANT OR RESTRICT
THE APPROPRIATION AND
SHOULD GUARD ITS RIPARIAN
RIGHTS.
TRENTON, August %, 19o5.-The
decision filed yesterday by Vice Chancel-
lor Bergen enjoining the Hudson County
Water Company from diverting the
waters of the Passaic river at Little
Falls for supplying the needs Of Staten
Island was decisive victory for the
State.
The suit was begun by Attorney Gen
eral McCarter. under the Bachelor act
| of last winter, which was signed by
Governor Stokes after much delay and a
considerable amount of argument as to
its constitutionality. The vice chan
cellor dismisses the constitutional ques-
ton raised by the defendants as being
entirely without weight, and holds that
the State may rest its claims upon the
broad principles of public policy and the
protection of its subjects in their com
mon rights and without regard to the
statute under discussion.
| The defendant, the Hudson County
Water Company, which was represented
by former Justice Gilbert Collins, in
sisted that the relief sought by the infor-
nation of the Attorney General was con-
find solely to the question of the con-
stitutionality of the act Vice Chan
cellor Bergen holds, in his opinion, that
if the pleadings should be so narrow as
to present only This one question they
may be amended to meet the real under
| lying question of the States rights which
was argued by counsel and which is de-
cided in his opinion. The decision is
equally emphatic in deciding against the
claims Of the water companies that the
act is void because it impairs the obliga-
tion of contract, takes property without
compensation, violates the interstate
commerce act or denies to citizens Of
other States the protection of the laws
Of New jersey.
After reciting the facts connected with
the contract by which the East Jersey
Water Company agreed with the New
York and New Jersey Water Company
to furnish water for Bayonne and
Staten Island, the vice chancellor says:
"It is admitted that the Passaic river
is the most important of the available
sources of water supply for the people
of New Jersey, necessity for the use
of which is constantly increasing; that
the present available supply of water
in the Passaic river is largely in ex-
cess of the present consumption by New
Jersey inhabitants, as now supplied. and
that the defendant had incurred large
expense in laying mains and doing other
necessary work to enable it to take the
water to New York state previous to
| the adoption of the statute now under
consideration.
After reciting the act which was
signed by Governor Stokes May II last
to prevent the diversion of the potable
waters of the state, Vice Chancellor
i Bergen continues
THE information is fled by the at
torney general and seeks to restrain the
defendant from taking waters. diverted
from the Passaic river. into the state
of New York for use therein. This the
defendant admits it intends to do, in
violation of the terms of the act alleg-
ing that the act is void, because (a) it
impairs the obligation of contracts in
force when the act was passed; (bl it
takes property without compensation;
1 (el it provides for an interference with
commerce between the states; (d) it Ge-