Seabolt v. Commissioners of Northumberland County

Citations

• 187 Pa. 318
• 41 A. 22
• 1898 Pa. LEXIS 810

Syllabus

<p>Constitutional law — Local and special legislation — Legislative authority —Classification—Province of legislature and courts.</p> <p>.Legislation is not necessarily unconstitutional because it is special or local. On the contrary, legislative.authority inherently includes power to pass laws for special or local needs.</p> <p>Legislation for a class distinguished from a general subject is not special, but general, and classification is a legislative question, subject to judicial revision only so far as to see that it is founded on real distinctions in the subjects classified, and not on artificial or irrelevant ones used for the purpose of evading the constitutional prohibition. If the distinctions are genuine the courts cannot declare the classification void, though they may not consider it to be on a sound basis. The test is not wisdom, but good faith in the classification.</p> <p>Constitutional law — Classification—Local and special legislation — Bridges —Act of May 6, 1897.</p> <p>The legislature may, for the purpose of authorizing counties to rebuild bridges, make a separate class of such as are over a river or stream forming the boundary lines between counties; or of such as have been destroyed by ice, flood or otherwise, or abandoned by the owner and rebuilt on another site; but such as are on the line of a public highway, or deemed necessary for the use of the traveling public, or are owned and maintained by corporations or private persons, or built by public subscriptions, or used exclusively for vehicles and foot purposes, can hardly be called distinctions.</p> <p>The Act of May 6, 1897, P. L. 46, is not local or special legislation within the meaning of article 3, section 7, of the constitution of Pennsylvania which provides that “ the general assembly shall not pass any local or special law .... relating to ferries or bridges.”</p> <p>Constitutional law — Title of statute — Bridges—Act of May 6, 1897.</p> <p>The Act of May 6, 1897, P. L. 46, entitled