Page:Address of Frederick V. Holman at Oregon Bar Association annual meeting.djvu/37

31 to the rights of the cities of Oswego, Oregon City, Salem, Albany, Corvallis and Eugene.

But what will the Portland people say if a city or town between Portland and the mouth of the Willamette River should erect enough bridges practically to interfere with, or prevent ships coming to Portland? It might be desired, by owners of properties along Columbia slough, to have this done and make all shipping use that slough, when it is deepened by dredging, to the exclusion of the harbor at Portland.

In one of the opinions in the Kiernan case, referring to the right of a city to erect bridges over a navigable river, it is said:

"Such grants of sovereignty, however, may be recalled by the power conferring them (Straw v. Harris, 54 Ogn. 424), and this power of recall serves to prevent the abuse of the privileges delegated."

But could such a recall prevent the abuse after the bridges were erected? Such a law could not be a special one. It would have to be a general one, as was decided in Straw v. Harris. It is possible, at least, that a city, under the Constitution of the United States, could have a perpetual injunction from the United States Courts against the State's officers, preventing them from removing or interfering with such bridges after they were constructed. The same doctrine would apply if the recall of the power to build bridges was done under amendment of the Oregon Constitution by the people. In such a case the only remedy appears to be that Congress could pass a law providing for the removal of all bridges in the Willamette River. That Congress has such power was held in Willamette Iron Bridge Co. v. Hatch, 125 U. S. i, and in subsequent cases.

Granting Franchises under Amendment of a City's Charter

The Supreme Court has not passed on the question as to whether a city can, by amendment of its charter, give itself the right to grant franchises not authorized under its charter as granted by the Legislature. It would seem that this power or right followed, as a necessary sequence, from the two opinions in the Kiernan case, and thus a city can be authorized by its voters to grant franchises with the same powers as the Legislature might have given before these amendments to