The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1906-07-12
Injunction to be Set Aside.

A rescript of great interest and i'm
portance to citizens of Skowhegan was
received at the Office of the Clerk Of
Courts on last Monday night from the
Law Court now in session at Portland.
1t will be remembered that shortly after
the March town meeting, at which it
voted to purchase the Hotel Heselton
property owned by R. w. Brown for the
purpose of erecting on it the new Town
Hall, the selectmen we're prohibited
from carrying out this vote by tenn
porary Injunction granted Lewis Ander-
son and others against them. under a
clause found in chapter "a of the Pri-
vate and Special Laws of 1851 under
which the present town of Skowhegan
was incorporated. The matter WAS car
ried to the Law Court where it wss ar
gued at the Bangor term in June, and
the following opinion in the case was
handed down by Justice Albert r.
Spear:
Lewis Anderson ct ais in Equity vs.
r. Francis Parker eft ais, Selectmen.
Rescript, Spear,
This is a bill in equity to test the le-
gality of vote passed by the town of
>kowhegan at the annual March meet
ing of 1906, authorizing the purchase by
the Selectmen of lot owned by Richard
w. Blown of said town, on the north
side OF the Kennebec River in said
Skowhegan for the purpose of erecting
municipal building at some future
time, and to restrain the Selectmen
from carrying into effect contract
made with said Brown, made in accor-
dance with said vote for the purchase of
said lot.
The present town of Skowhegan was
incorporated in 1861. by the private and
special laws of 1851, chap. "a, by the
union of the old towns of okowhegan
and Bloomfield, the former comprising
what is now the north side of the river,
the latter the south side, including the
island
The act of 1851 provided whenever
the new town of SkowhegaD shall vote
to build a town house, it shall be locat
ed on Skowhegan Island unless major
| ity of each town, as now CONSTITUTE
ed, shall otherwise decide -
The phrase las now constituted" was
intended to apply not to the inhabitants,
but to the geographical limits of the
two old towns
In 1868, five years after the passage of
the above act, the two old towns in
town meeting legally called. acting sep
arately in accordance with the act, yot
ed as follows:
"Noted by those that constituted the
town of Bloomfield at the time the town
was united with tie town of Skowhegan.
that we consent to have Town Hall in
place other than Skowhegan Island
Voted by those constituting the town
Of Skowhegan at the time it was united
to Bloomfield, that we consent to lave
Town Hall in place other than Show
hogan Island
Held, under the warrant calling the
town meeting of 1866 and the above
votes in pursuance thereof, that the
town meeting of 1886 and the votes tax
en- in pursuance of the warrants issued
thereto: were legal; that the statute of
1861 under which they acted then be-
came dead letter, and that the old
towns are forever barred from having
location of any future Town Hall to be
erected in the town of Skowhegan; that
the town of >kowhegan as constituted
in August. 1908, when their special
meeting was held, had then aud has
now full authority to act in matter of
location and erecting Town House or
Town Hall under any special or gen.
eral statute then or now existing, with
entire in dependence of chap "a of the
Private and Special Laws of 1861.
The entry must be: Bill dismissed
with costs Case remanded to the court
below for decree In accordance with
this opinion.
1t is expected that the decree setting
aside the injunction granted by Justice
Savage under this ruling of the Law
Court, will be received by the first of
next week, and we learn that it is the
intention of the selectmen to carry ont
their deal with Mr. Brown as soon as
this decree is in their hands.