Henry Billings Brown

“ I see no reason why, under the decision of the court, if the legislature should enter into a compact with one of its own corporations to perform a great public work, it may not, after capital has been largely invested therein, and the work entered upon, under the guise of amending the grant, abrogate its contract and leave the corporation practically defenseless. ”

“ As stated in the opinion of the court, the bank was chartered in 1884, with a provision that its life should continue for 30 years, and that a payment of 50 cents on each $100 of stock should 'be in full of all tax and bonus thereon of every kind.' This charter fell under the provisions of the prior act of 1856, declaring that all such charters should be subject to amendment or repeal at the will of the legislature. ”

“ Indeed, it seems to me that it is not creditable to the legislature to impute to it an intent to subject corporations, which had accepted the benefits of the Hewitt act, to the rate of taxation prescribed by the act of 1892 providing for wholly different mode of assessment and taxation, and that it is more reasonable to assume that the taxing officers of the city of Owensboro exceeded their authority in attempting to exact the taxes in question. ”