Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court and in the Court of Errors and Appeals of the State of New Jersey Volume 86 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 Excerpt: ...is in derogation of common right, and, so far as it goes, is subversive of the power of government itself. Every reasonable intendment is against the existence of such a contract. He who comes into court asserting its existence must be prepared to show that, in fact, it was made as alleged, and that its terms are such as to reasonably admit of no other interpretation than that claimed." The contract claimed to exist in the case under review does not-arise from any provision in the original charter of the appellant corporation, but rests entirely upon a supplement to the act creating the corporation. This supplement was enacted long after the passage of the act of 1846, providing that the charter of every corporation Seton Hall College v. So. Orange. 86 N. J. L. thereafter granted should be subject to alteration, suspension and repeal, in the discretion of the legislature. The right of exemption, therefore, is based upon a supplement to the charter passed at a time when the legislature had expressly reserved to itself the right to alter, suspend or repeal every charter which it might thereafter grant. But, even if it be in doubt whether the exempting statute was not subject to repeal by virtue of the act of 18-11.6, the question still remains whether the former statute constituted an irrepealable contract. We are unable to give it that effect. There is nothing in the language or terms of the act itself from which a binding contract may be implied. At the time of its passage the beneficiary of the act had been in existence for several years, had purchased lands, erected buildings and was carrying out the purpose of its incorporation. Conceding that its work was charitable, and that the legislature might deem the continuance of such work a sufficient con...