Seattle & Lake Washington Waterway Co. v. Seattle Dock Co.

Citations

• 35 Wash. 503
• 77 P. 845
• 1904 Wash. LEXIS 477

Syllabus

<p>Statutes — Title—Sufficiency—Excavation of Waterways and Provision for Liens. Tbe title to Laws 1893, p. 241 (Bal. Code, § 4080), the main purpose of wbicb is to provide for tbe excavation of public waterways by private contract, which is specified in the title, is broad enough to include a provision for liens for tbe work performed, as that is merely incidental to the main subject and a means of accomplishing tbe main purpose, and tbe act is not objectionable as embracing more than one subject, although tbe title also embraces tbe subject of such liens and tbe granting of rights-of-way across tbe lands, and might have been included in three separate acts.</p> <p>Tide Lands — Statutes—Construction of Act foe Excavation of Waterways — Liens—Constitutional Law — Vested Rights. Bal Code, §§ 4080 et seq., providing for tbe excavation of public waterways by private contract, does not confer power upon tbe land commissioner to encumber private property with liens for filling in such property against tbe owner’s will, but the same intends to give such liens only where tbe state was tbe owner of tbe tide lands when tbe contract was entered into.</p> <p>Same — Statutes—Title—Sufficiency—Powers of Land Commissioner. If such act gave such power, it would not be necessary to refer thereto in tbe title, as tbe title need not be a complete index to tbe act.</p> <p>Same — Constitutional Law — Due Process of Law — State Contract fob Excavation of Tide Lands — Rights of Subsequent Purchasers. Tbe act of 1893, authorizing tbe excavation of public waterways by private contract, and providing for liens upon the filled in tide lands belonging to tbe state, and wbicb tbe state afterwards sells, does not violate tbe state and federal constitutions, in that, by tbe foreclosure of such liens, it deprives tbe subsequent purchasers from tbe state of their property without due process of law, since tbe state could make any contract with reference to filling up its tide lands, and subsequent