Fort Worth Street Railway Co. v. Rosedale Street Railway Co.

Citations

• 68 Tex. 169
• 4 S.W. 534
• 1887 Tex. LEXIS 659

Syllabus

<p>1. City Ordinance—Street Railway.—The city of Fort Worth, by ordinance of July 14, 1874, authorized the Fort Worth Street Railway Company to build a street railway on one of several designated streets, and. by the same ordinance reserved the right to determine when the requirements of traffic would necessitate a road over either of the others; and if the company, on being notified on which of the streets a new railway was desired, did riot comply with the notice in twelve months, then the right to “those streets” was forfeited. The ordinance was accepted by the company and a road built on one of the streets. Held, that the passage of ordinances thereafter, giving again to the company the right to construct a street railway over two of the streets designated in the first ordinance, and requiring their completion within ninety days, was a, sufficient notice, under the requirements of the first ordinance, that the city desired the new road built, and a failure to build thereafter within the time after notice required by the first ordinance worked a forfeiture of the right to build on any of the streets designated in the first ordinance.</p> <p>2. Corporation .—A company incorporated under general statutory law acquires thereby no right other than a corporate existence, and no powers aside from those which the law declares the corporation may exercise, except such as are necessary and proper to the carrying on the business contemplated and authorized by the charter.</p> <p>3. Street Railways.—The charter of a street railway incorporated under general law can confer, in and of itself, no right to use any street, no matter what may be its provisions; such right to use must be acquired from the municipal government.</p> <p>4. Same.—A city has the right to designate what particular portion of its ' street shall be occupied by the track of an incorporated street railway company. The grant of a right to use a street for a railway track will not preclude the city from grant