Page:United States Reports, Volume 209.djvu/390

 364 OCTOBER TERM 1907. Opnlon of t Cou 0 U.& depart from its ruling in the case in 77 Mississippi, for that case is expressly distinguished in the opinion, and, among other things in the course of the opinion, the court says: "This appellee never lozt its exemption by consolidating with any other corporation. It has always retained 'the pre- cise corporate existence' it originally had. Its exemption was therefore continued by section 181 of the constitution of 1890, subject to legislative repeal, but it has never been repealed." 78 Mississippi, 692. And again, on page 693: "But a very different state of case existed, as already pointed out, as to the exemption denied in Yazoo &c. R. R. Co. v. Adams, 77 Mississippi, 194." We think a reading of the opinion makes it clear that the Supreme Court of Mississippi differentiated the cases, and did not intend to depart from its ruling in the former case when similar circumstances were brought to its attention. Apart from the ruling of the Mississippi court, we think it is entirely clear that the effect of organizing the consolidated corporation after the adoption of the Mississippi constitution of 1890 was to bring the new'corporation within the terms and limitations of that constitution, which prohibited exemptJori of corporate property from taxation. The exemption to the former constituent company could not inure to the consoli- dated company without, in effect, ignoring the constitutional provision. This subject was before this court and fully considered in the recent ease of Rochester Ra//wry Company v. Rochester, 205 U. S. 236, wherein it was held that where a corporation was incorporated under a general act creating certain obliga- tions, it could not receive by transfer from another company an exemption inconsistent with its  charter or the consti- tution and laws of the State then applicable, and this even though the legislative authority undertook to transfer the exemption by words which clearly included it. In that case previous decisions of ti court are collated

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