St. Louis, Jacksonville & Chicago R. R. v. Trustees of Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind

Citations

• 43 Ill. 303

Syllabus

<p>1. Statute—construed—grant. Although the language of a statute may be sufficiently comprehensive to embrace any property owned by the State, still it will not be construed to include property used by the State for a specific purpose. In such a case it cannot be inferred, that such was the intention of the legislature, and all statutes must be construed according to the intention of the body enacting them.</p> <p>2. Where the general assembly in granting a railroad charter, authorized the company to enter upon, take possession of, and use all and singular any lands, streams and materials of every kind for the location of the road, depots, etc., for the construction of the road; and it contained a provision, that “all such lands, materials and privileges belonging to the State, are hereby granted to said corporation for said purposes;”—Held, that the grant does not include the ground connected with, and used by the State for the education of the blind, although adjoining the road, and convenient for its use.</p> <p>3. Where the general assembly has made such a grant, and subsequently, by another act, grants the company a portion of the right of way to an old and abandoned railroad belonging to the State, which is upon the line of the road of the company, it will be inferred, that such subsequent grant is a legislative construction of the prior grant, from which it appears, the general assembly did not understand, that the former grant enfbraced property belonging to the State, not used by the State, although convenient to the construction of the road, much less to embrace property appropriated to other purposes, and in the actual use of the State.</p>