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MSS 097, Item 137, The Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Companies, vs. the Camden and Atlantic Railroad Company, and the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad Company, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
Processed and encoded by Evan Echols, July 2009.
The Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad Company was chartered March 3, 1854, with authority to construct a railroad from some point on Raritan Bay and through the counties of Atlantic and Cape May to Cape Island, near the outlet of Delaware Bay. Construction work began in 1858.
The Camden and Atlantic Railroad Company's charter was approved May 23, 1852. In 1896, the railroad, along with the West Jersey Railroad Company, the Philadelphia, Marlton and Medford Railroad Company, and three other short lines merged to form the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad Company.
The Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company, incorporated in 1830, was the first built of all railroads in Western New Jersey. It consolidated with Delaware and Raritan Canal Company by act of the New Jersey legislature in 1831 and made jointly liable for contracts entered into by either. Under acts of 1867 and 1872 the joint companies operating the canal were consolidated with another company under the corporate name of the United New Jersey Railroad & Canal Company. In 1871 all property of the company was leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad for a period of 999 years.
This volume contains transcripts of court proceedings and the arguments of Misters Willimanson, Browning, and Vroom on behalf of the defendants in the case of Delaware and Raritan Canal Company and Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Company vs. Camden and Atlantic Railroad Company and the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad Company. The case was heard in the New Jersey Court of Chancery before Henry W. Green, Chancellor of the State of New Jersey in Trenton, New Jersey. This is volume two out of an unknown number of volumes documenting testimonies in this court case and continues where the first volume left off.
Several legislative acts (in 1832 and 1854) gave the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company and its joint company the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company the exclusive right to carry passengers and goods between the cities of New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by means of a railroad across the state of New Jersey until after January 1869. The Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad Company diverted their railroad from their charter route and acquired a right of way to Camden by agreement with the Camden and Atlantic Railroad Company in violation of the monopoly status held by the joint companies. They were brought to court by the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company/Delaware and Raritan Canal Company in 1863.
This volume (number two of an unknown number) documents the arguments of a Mr. Williamson, counsel for the Raritan and Delaware Bay Company, Mr. Browning, counsel for the Camden and Atlantic Railroad Company, and Mr. Vroom, who acted as an advisor for the defendants. It is likely that Mr. Vroom is Peter Dumont Vroom, former governor of New Jersey, and law reporter for the New Jersey Supreme Court. The case was heard before Henry W. Green, Chancellor of the state of New Jersey at Trenton, New Jersey. Green later ruled that it was not lawful to construct any other railroad in the state of New Jersey without the consent of the complainants that might be used to transport passengers or cargo between New York and Philadelphia.
The condition of the volume is fair with a detached front cover and binding. There is also significant flaking and red rot.