Opinion of the Justices

To the House of Representatives:

The undersigned have received a copy of a resolution passed by your honorable body, requiring our opinions on the right of the state to purchase the property described in the resolution as "the Concord Railroad." That property is no exception to the rule that private property may be taken for public use on payment of its value to its owners, and the property in question cannot be purchased or taken by the state for less than its value without the owner's consent. As this answer seems to be for practical purposes a compliance with the requisition of the house,…