Saltsburg Gas Co. v. Bor. of Saltsburg

Citations

• 138 Pa. 250
• 20 A. 844
• 1890 Pa. LEXIS 1265

Syllabus

<p>(а) The extent of the right of a borough to be supplied by the plaintiff company with natural gas for lighting its streets, free of charge, depended upon the construction of the words, “ street lamps,” in a borough ordinance the requirements of which had been accepted by the plaintiff.</p> <p>(б) The clear preponderance of the evidence supported the averment of the defendant’s answer, that, in the popular understanding and in that of persons familiar with the appliances used to light streets with natural gas, the word lamp, had the same meaning as burner, light, or torch:</p> <p>1. The meaning of the words used being thus settled, it was error to award an injunction on a bill in equity filed by the plaintiff to restrain the borough from using the gas in open street lamps, on the ground that its use in such lamps was wasteful, extravagant and unauthorized.</p> <p>2. Moreover, the basis of the complaint being that the borough was using more gas than it was entitled to, and the relief asked being for permission to cut off from the borough the use of 'the gas to which it was entitled, the case was clearly not one for an injunction: Grubb’s App., 90 Pa. 228.</p>