Martin v. O'Brien
Mississippi Supreme Court
IN error from the Chancery Court of Hancock county. Hon. William M. Hancock, Chancellor. There is no common right to erect a toll bridge, or wharf, or ferry, on a public navigable stream, or on the sea-shore: 3 Paige, 313; 3 Kent, 427; or even a free bridge or wharf in the limits of an exclusive grant. 1 Johns. Oh.
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IN error from the Chancery Court of Hancock county. Hon. William M. Hancock, Chancellor. There is no common right to erect a toll bridge, or wharf, or ferry, on a public navigable stream, or on the sea-shore: 3 Paige, 313; 3 Kent, 427; or even a free bridge or wharf in the limits of an exclusive grant. 1 Johns. Oh. R. 611; 4 lb. 173 ; 5 lb. 100. It is a franchise which the government alone can grant, either directly by the legislature, or by or through agencies appointed and authorized by the government. By this means it is in the power of the government to grant the franchise on the terms…
1Opinion of the Court
HáNDX, J.,
delivered the opinion of the court.
This was a bill filed by the appellant in the Chancery Court of Hancock county, enjoining the appellees from the erection and establishment of a wharf upon the sea-coast, at the town of Shields-borough, in this State, alleged to be an infringement of an exclusive privilege granted to the appellant. The appellant’s right is set forth in the bill substantially as follows:—
That by various acts of the legislature, the town of Shields-borough was incorporated, and by the Act of 1848, its limits were enlarged to the extent of about five miles along the…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Proprietors of the Charles River Bridge v. Proprietors of the Warren BridgeSupreme Court of the United States · 1837
- People ex rel. Attorney General v. Utica InsuranceNew York Supreme Court · 1818
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- Petition of BeggianiMississippi Supreme Court · 1988
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