The v question, for determination is, whether the Highway department may condemn for highway, purposes a strip .of land, through-certaip. property in the City of.'Sumter which is used .as an- orphanage for white children. ■■ -, -v
■.'.-fj:nder-,aswill--dated October. 15,;-1915, the’late John K. Crossw’ell left, a--portion of his. estate to’ certain named- trustees'.for the establishment of an institution'in Sumter County, to,\bC known a-s the-John K. Crosswell Home, for the care of White orphan children, preference being given > to > those frota ’ Sümter County.'”; Some years later the trustees purchased a’ tract -of lahd in the City of Sumter upon which suitable’ 'buildings for-the. care ■ of orphan children have been erected. -It is contemplated that from time to time the orphanage'will, be enlarged and other buildings placed.upon the'property.-; ’ .: . ' ”• s
This action -was brought by the trustees of said institution forthe purpose of enjoining the State Highway Department ánd"the''• City of Sumter from-condemning a 90-foot strip thfoúgh said property for a proposed relocation''of U. S. Route T5. They alleged that said property had-been dedicated'tó"a pubIic-'use '-and' that defendants were without power to Cb-ndemh property of-t'hat character. It was further alleged that'théfé--wa;s''hó'''necessity for’the taking as the ro:ad could Be suitably Ideated- elsewhere. Upon the filing of '-the' 'complaint,'’a féihpórary restraining order was issued'by1 Judge *23 Martin and the defendants were required to show cause before Judge McFaddin why an injunction pendente lite should not be issued. The defendants demurred and also filed a return and answer. The matter was heard by Judge McFaddin upon the pleadings and various affidavits offered by the parties. He concluded (1) that if, as alleged in the complaint, this property is devoted to public use as an orphanage, the Highway Department is not empowered to condemn it for highway purposes, and (2) that the question as to whether this property is in fact dedicated to a public use should be determined when the case was tried on its merits. Accordingly, he overruled defendants’ demurrer and issued an injunction pendente lite. From this order, the defendants have appealed.
In addition to the question of whether this property was devoted to a public use, the pleadings and affidavits also raised the question as to whether it was necessary for the Highway Department to run this highway through it, the trustees contending that the highway could feasibly be located elsewhere. But the issue as to the necessity of taking the property was not passed upon by the Court below, is not raised by the exceptions and is not included in the questions stated in the briefs. We, therefore, express no opinion thereabout. We shall assume for the purpose of this appeal that the property acquired by the trustees is devoted to a public use and restrict our discussion solely to the general question of whether property of this character may be condemned for highway purposes.
The power of eminent domain is inherent in sovereignty. It is founded on the law of necessity.
Paris Mountain Water Co. v. City of Greenville,
110 S. C. 36,
*24
The Highway Department was established “as an administrative agency of the State Government”, Section 33-21 of the 1952 Code. It derives its power from the Legislature. “It has no inherent power. Whatever power it attempts to exercise must be found in some Act.”
Southern Railway Co. v. S. C. State Highway Department,
237 S. C. 75,
Respondents do not question the power of the Legislature to authorize the taking of land already applied to one public use and devote it to another, but they say that where such taking will destroy or materially interfere with the former use, the mere general authority to exercise the power of eminent domain is insufficient and that such authority must be given by the Legislature in express terms .or by necessary implication. This general rule is well settled. 29 C. J. S. Eminent Domain § 74, page 861; Nichols on Eminent Domain, Third Edition, Section 2.2. It was recognized in
County Board of Commissioners for Clarendon County v. Holliday,
182 S. C. 510,
We do not think the rule relied on by respondents applies to the facts of this case. The condemnation here is by the Highway Department as an agency of the State, in behalf of the State and for its own immediate purpose. The condemnor is, in essence, the sovereign. In
State Highway Commission v. City of Elizabeth,
102 N. J. Eq. 221,
But even if the rule be given effect, we think the power of condemnation is necessarily implied from the general authority granted under the statutes which we have reviewed. In determining whether there is such implication, due consideration must be given to the nature and situation of the proposed work and the impracticability of constructing it without encroaching on land *26 already used by the public. Nichols on Eminent Domain, . supra, Section 2.2. A public highway cannot in the nature of things be constructed for any considerable distance" through án inhabited country without crossing property devoted to some other public use. Certainly the Legislature never intended that property of the nature here involved should be excluded from the broad power of condemnation given.
It is argued that the fact that in Section 33-127 the Legislature expressly gave authority to the Highway Department to condemn lands and easements of railroad, telegraph and other public service corporations indicates an intention to exclude from the right of eminent domain all other property devoted to a public use. It is said that if the general authority given by Section 33-122 was sufficient to include all property devoted to a public use, the express authority given by Section 33-127 was unnecessary. But we think that the General Assembly deemed it desirable to give express authority to condemn the property of the public utilities named in Section 33-127 because these public service corporations had previously been given the right of condemnation, a power which the trustees of this orphanage do not have.
We conclude that the Highway Department, acting for and in behalf of the State, is empowered to condemn respondents’ property even if we regard it as devoted to a public use. In reaching this conclusion, we have not overlooked
County Board of Commissioners for Clarendon County v. Holliday, supra,
182 S. C. 510,
The; order appealed from is reversed, the injunction pen-. dente .lite granted by the Court below is dissolved, and the case remanded for further proceedings in accordance with the views herein expressed.