35 Miss. 189 | Miss. | 1858
delivered the opinion of the court.
The facts, so far as a statement of them is necessary to present the point for decision, are briefly as follows: The plaintiff obtained a license from the Board of Police of Madison county, authorizing him to retail vinous and spiritous liquors in the town of Canton, for the period of twelve months from the 1st day of January, 1857. The corporate authorities of the said town, during the months of February and March, following, passed sundry ordinances on the subject of retailing, and these ordinances interfering with the plaintiff’s rights, under his license obtained from the Board of Police, he applied to, and obtained from the said corporation, a license, authorizing him to retail vinous and spiritous liquors in said town, during the balance of the year, for which he paid the above sum of five hundred dollars. This statement, while it omits all aggravating circumstances, is, nevertheless, sufficient to present the point for decision, which is, whether the corporate authorities were, under the terms of the charter, authorized to grant the license above named to the plaintiff. It is said that the power “ to tax or entirely suppress all petty groceries,” conferred by the charter, implies the further power to license groceries. We disagree with counsel in this position.
The word, “ license,” is used in this section of the charter in regard to other subjects, but is dropped when this subject is touched, and the word is again resumed in relation to other subjects ; and hence, we must conclude that the power to license, was intended by the charter to be confined to the several subjects, and to those only, which are specifically named.
It is a well-settled rule, in regard to acts of incorporation, that they must be strictly construed, and especially municipal corporations, for the reason, that as they are invested with a portion of the authority which properly appertains to the sovereign power of the State, they must be confined to those powers which are clearly granted, as it is only by such grants that the government proper can surrender its just authority. Nor, as a general rule, can any evil ever arise from such construction, since the inhabitants of the
Whether, therefore, the ease is confined to the point upon which we have considered it, or is extended to the whole record, the plaintiff is clearly entitled to recover. His license, granted by the Board of Police, conferred upon him the right to enjoy the privilege therein granted, without interruption from any source, for the period of one year. The Legislature having no authority to interfere with this right, it is almost unnecessary to say that a subordinate tribunal, deriving its power from the Legislature, could not do what the Legislature itself would not venture to do. The maxim is almost too familiar to be quoted, that the power derived can never be greater than the source from which it is derived.
Judgment reversed, venire de novo awarded, and cause remanded.