Dickinson Township Road
Dickinson Township Road
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Among the rules of the court below is the following: “ Every petition for the appointment of road or bridge viewers shall be first examined by counsel, and certified by him upon the same to be regular and in due form and that the prayer thereof is lawful and conforms to the purpose of the petitioners, otherwise viewers shall not be appointed.” When, on July 23,1901, the petition for viewers was presented in the present case, it was not accompanied by the certificate required by this rule, but the court notwithstanding appointed the viewers. On August 20th following, upon petition and motion of counsel
This proceeding is founded upon the Act of April 4, 1901, P. L. 65, entitled “ An act to amend section 11 of the act of 13th of June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six (Pamphlet Laws, 556), relating to private roads.” The appellants contend that this title is insufficient, and the statute for that reason unconstitutional. “ The object of section 3, article 3, of the constitution, relating to titles of acts is that legislators and others interested, shall receive direct notice in immediate connection with the act itself, of its subject matter, so that they may know .or be put upon inquiry as to its provisions and their effect. Suggestions or inferences which may be. drawn from knowledge dehors the language used are not enough Commonwealth ex rel. v. Samuels, 163 Pa. 283; Beckert v. City of Allegheny, 85 Pa. 191. A title to an act amending a former statute which merely referred to the day of approval of the act amended and the page of its publication in the Pamphlet Laws, would afford no notice of the subject with which the proposed legislation dealt, and would be insufficient. The title under consideration does not attempt to give the title of the act of June 13, 1836, nor does it pretend to do so;
The contention of the appellant that the legislation authorizing the laying out of private roads is unconstitutional for the reason that it involves a taking of private property for private use, does not require extended consideration. The question was squarely raised and determined adversely to this contention half a century ago: Pocopson Road, 16 Pa. 15. The opinion in that case was, it is true, very brief and did not state the grounds upon which the decision was based, but sound reasons for the conclusion are to be found in the opinion of Mr. Justice Sharswood, in Palairet’s Appeal, 67 Pa. 479.
The order of the court of quarter sessions is affirmed.
Reference
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- Road law — Rules of court — Certificate of counsel — Discretion. Where a rule of court provides that a petition for the appointment of viewers shall be accompanied by a certificate of counsel, to the effect that the petition is in proper form and the prayer thereof is lawful, and that in the absence of such certificate viewers shall not be appointed, and the court appoints viewers on a petition unaccompanied by certificate of counsel, the court may subsequently permit the record to be amended by adding the certificate nunc pro nunc. Constitutional law — Title of statute — Road law — Act of April 4, 1901. The Act of April 4, 1901, P. L. 65, entitled “An act to amend section 11 of the act of 13th of June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six (Pamphlet Laws, 556), relating to private roads,” is not unconstitutional as defective in title. Legislation authorizing the laying out of private roads cannot be attacked on the ground that it involves a taking of private property for private use.