43 Barb. 54 | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | 1864
By the Court,
The question of the carelessness and negligence of the plaintiffs, and their reasonable diligence to avert the injury, arose upon the evidence, in the process of the trial. It was distinctly presented by the judge to the jury, without exception, and as they found it in favor of the plaintiffs, the verdict upon the point can not be disturbed. So, also, a question was raised in regard to the locus in quo; the defendant insisting that the building destroyed was not within the city of Brooklyn. It was situated on what is called the south middle pier of the Atlantic dock, about the center of the basin, and. on the end of the
The first section of the act under which this action is brought declares, that “ when any building or other real or personal property shall be destroyed or injured in consequence of any mob or riot, the city or county in which such property was situated shall be liable to an action by and in behalf of the party whose property was thus destroyed or injured, for the damages sustained by reason thereof.” This section recognizes the duty and obligation of the state to secure and protect the property of the citizen from injury and destruction by lawless and riotous bodies of men, and in the event of its failure or inability to furnish such security and protection, from any causes other than the carelessness and negligence of the owners of such property, it imposes upon the
The principal question raised upon the appeal in this action is upon the force and validity of the act referred to, and the constitutional power of the legislature to pass the law. If any rule of legislative authority may be regarded as settled and established in the courts of this state, it is that which declares that the power of the legislature is supreme in all respects, and unlimited in all matters pertaining to legitimate legislation, except when it is limited and restrained by the fundamental law. After the numerous decisions by the courts, asserting the existence of this authority, to the extent stated, we may safely decline the attempt to reexamine and re-state it; for it is apparent that the subject is in a manner exhausted, and his must be a fertile mind, indeed, who can add to the force of the arguments already rendered, or shed any additional light upon the subject. (Providence Bank v. Billings, 4 Peters, 561. MoCullough v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 428. The People v. Mayor of Brooklyn, 4 Comst. 419. Brewster v. City of Syracuse, 19 New York Rep. 116. The Town of Guilford v. Supervisors of Chenango, 3 Kern. 143.) In this last case we find the authority asserted in these words: “Taxation is indisputably a legislative power. The constitution of this state will be searched in vain for any clause which contains any restriction or limitation on the taxing power of the legislature. Provisions there are, regulating the manner in which bills appropriating the public moneys for local or private purposes, or bills imposing taxes, shall be passed.” After referring to these provisions by their article and section, the opinion proceeds: “These, it will be seen, are not limitations of the absolute power of the legislature over the public moneys, or of the
The judgment should be affirmed.
Brawn, Lott, Scrugham and T. B. Barnard, Justices.]