Coosaw Mining Co. v. South Carolina
Citations
- 144 U.S. 550
- 12 S. Ct. 689
- 36 L. Ed. 537
- 1892 U.S. LEXIS 2099
Syllabus
<p>The statute of the State of South Carolina, passed March 28, 1876, (acts of 1875-6, p. 198,) is capable of being construed either,when taken by itself, as conferring upon the Coosaw Mining Company the exclusive right of digging, mining and removing phosphate rocks for an unlimited period, so long as it should comply with the terms of the statute, or, when taken in connection with the act of March 1, 1870, 14 Gen. Stats. So. Car. 381, as conferring such a right only for “the full term of 21 years” named in the latter act; and as the interpretation should be adopted which is most favorable to the State, it is Held, that such exclusive right expired on the termination of the 21 years named in the act of 1870.</p> <p>Only that which is granted in clear and explicit terms passes by a legislative grant of property, franchises or privileges in which the government or the public has an interest.</p> <p>A court of equity has jurisdiction over a bill filed by a State to prevent illegal interference with it® control of the digging, mining and removing phosphate rock and phosphate deposits in the bed of a navigable river within its territories.</p>
How courts have described this case
Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.
- noting that the preamble may “aid in the construction of the enacting clause, when any ambiguity exists.”
- identifying a statute’s preamble as useful “when ascertaining the meaning of a statute which is susceptible of different constructions”
- express provisions in the body of an act cannot be controlled by the preamble and the preamble may be referred to when ascertaining the meaning of a statute where the statute is susceptible of different constructions
- express provisions in the body of an act cannot be controlled by the preamble and the preamble may be referred to when ascertaining the meaning of a statute where the statute is susceptible of different constructions
- “While express provisions in the body of an act cannot be controlled or restrained by the ... preamble, [it] may be referred to when ascertaining the meaning of a [provision] which is susceptible of different constructions.”
- concurring opinion of Judge Frank
Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).
Judges: Harlan
Read full opinion on CourtListenerSourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).
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