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ACT NO. 1510
ACT NO. 1510 - AN ACT GRANTING TO
THE MANILA RAILROAD COMPANY A CONCESSION FOR RAILWAY LINES IN THE
ISLAND OF LUZON, AND PROVIDING IN RESPECT OF PROCEEDINGS FOR
CONDEMNATION OF LAND BY PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATIONS
Section 1. Authority is hereby granted and given to the
Manila Railroad Company, a corporation duly organized and existing
under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New Jersey, and to its
successors and assigns, to locate, construct, equip, maintain, and
operate certain railways in the Island of Luzon, in the Philippine
Archipelago, on terms and conditions set out in the following
concessionary grant, or contract:
This instrument, made, executed, and entered into this _________ day of
_________________, Anno Domini nineteen hundred and six, by and between
the Philippine Government, by the Governor-General of the Philippine
Islands, of one part, and The Manila Railroad Company, a corporation
duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the
State of New Jersey, of the other part, witnesseth that:
Whereas, under and by virtue of section seventy-four (74) of the Act of
the Congress of the United States, approved July 1, 1902, the
Government of the Philippine Islands was authorized and empowered,
among other things, to grant franchises, privileges, and concessions
for the construction and operation of works of public utility and
service, as by reference thereto will more fully appear; and
Whereas, under and by virtue of sections four (4) and five (5) of the
Act of the Congress of the United States, approved February 6, 1905,
the Government of the Philippine Islands was empowered, among other
things, to enter into a contract of guaranty with any railroad company
organized pursuant to the laws of said Government, or of the United
States or any State thereof, undertaking to construct, equip, operate,
and maintain any railroad in said Islands which should be specifically
authorized by said Government, under terms, conditions, and
restrictions therein fully recited, as by reference thereto will
appear; and
Whereas, pursuant to said power and authority so conferred, the
Philippine Government, by William H. Taft, as Secretary of War of the
United States, did, upon June 12, 1905, issue an invitation for
proposals or bids for concessionary contracts or grants in aid of the
construction, equipment, maintenance, and operation of certain lines of
railway in said Philippine Islands, therein designated and specified,
which said invitation for proposals or bids, as above, was modified and
amended by the circular of the Secretary of War dated December 22,
1905; and
Whereas, under the provisions and conditions of said invitation, as
amended, Speyer and Company, a partnership, upon January 20, 1906, made
a proposal and bid for a concessionary contract for the construction,
equipment, maintenance, and operation of certain lines of railway as in
the proposal of said Speyer and Company contained.; and
Whereas the said Speyer and Company were the sole bidders for certain
lines of railway in the Island of Luzon; and
Whereas their said bid was not in all respects satisfactory to the
Philippine Government, but by negotiation between the Secretary of War,
on behalf of the Philippine Government, and Speyer and Company the
differences between the parties have been settled and accommodated by
the award, concurred in by the Philippine Commission, to said Speyer
and Company of a concession and grant upon the terms embodied in this
instrument; and
Whereas said invitation for proposals did, among other things, provide
that if the award thereunder be to any individual or co-partnership, he
or it should, within thirty (30) days thereafter, duly assign and
transfer the same to a corporation of the character and qualifications
therein specified, namely, a railroad corporation duly organized and
existing under the laws of a State of the United States, or of the
United States or the Philippine Islands, and legally competent in every
respect to enter into and to perform all the terms, conditions, and
obligations of such proposal or bid, and the concessionary contract or
grant; and
Whereas said grantee is a corporation of the character. and
qualifications in said invitation specified, and pursuant to be
provisions of said invitation, the bidders to whom said. award was made
did on _________ 1906, duly assign said award to the grantee, and cause
the same to be by the grantee duly accepted and assumed to the
satisfaction of the Philippine Government;
In consideration thereof, it is conceded and granted by the Government
of the Philippine Islands (hereafter referred to as the Government) of
the one part, and contracted and agreed by the party of the second part
(hereinafter referred to as grantee), for itself, and for its
successors and assigns, of the other part, as follows:
The grantee, and its successors and assigns, are hereby granted by the
Government concessions in perpetuity for lines of railways in the
Philippine Islands, generally and approximately as follows and subject
to such variations as may be approved by the Governor-General and
ratified by the Secretary of War as hereinafter provided:
(a) A concession for the existing lines of the Manila
Railway Company, Limited, and branches therefrom, as follows: From
Manila or from a point on the Manila-Antipolo line to Cavite and Naic,
29 miles; from San Fernando to Florida Blanca, 14 miles; from Dau to
San Pedro Magalang, 9 miles; from San Miguel to La Paz, 10 miles; from
Panique to Tayug, 28 miles, and to complete, maintain, and operate the
branches of the Manila-Dagupan line, now in course of construction, to
Antipolo and Cabanatuan.
(b) A concession for a branch from the
Manila-Antipolo line, now under construction, to continue the line, now
authorized to Mariquina, from Mariquina to Montalban, an estimated
distance of 8 miles.
(c) A concession for a line from Manila, or from a
point on the Manila-Antipolo line, to Batangas and Bauan, an estimated
distance of 73 miles, and for a branch therefrom from Calamba to Santa
Cruz, an estimated distance of 22 miles, with the right to extend such
branch for a farther distance of about 8 miles for the purpose of
extending the line to or building via Magdalena and Pagsanjan, and for
a branch from Santo Tomas to Lucena, an estimated distance of 39 miles,
with the right to extend the same from Lucena a farther distance of
about 8 miles to a point on the coast at which the Government may
decide to construct a harbor.
(d) A concession for a line from Pasacao to Legaspi,
an estimated distance of 72 miles, and for branches from such line from
Pili to Lagonoy, an estimated distance of 31 miles, and from Ligao to
Tabaco, an estimated distance of 21 miles.
(e) A concession for a line from a point near Dagupan
to Camp No. 1, in the direction of Baguio, an estimated distance of 25
miles.
(f) A concession for a line northward from Dagupan to
San Fernando, an estimated distance of 35 miles.
1. It is understood that the routes of the respective
lines above mentioned are intended to be approximate only, and the
grantee shall furnish the Governor-General with detailed plans showing
the exact routes, after the surveys have been completed.
The grantee may, with the consent of the Governor-General in writing
ratified by the Secretary of War, construct any branch lines, in its
judgment desirable, for the purpose of reaching traffic points within a
reasonable distance from the main lines of said railways above
described.
Surveys on and along the several proposed lines shall be commenced by
the grantee within sixty (60) days after written demand therefor shall
be made to the grantee by the Governor-General; detailed reports of the
definite plans, surveys, and specifications, accompanied by complete
maps and profiles of the character and kind in respect of such
construction and equipment directed by the Governor-General, shall, in
writing, be submitted to the Governor-General within twelve (12) months
after said demand, or at such later time as may be permitted by the
Governor-General or the Secretary of War; and within two (2) months
after the submission thereof to the Governor-General the latter shall
fix and determine the final route, substantially in accordance with the
routes as above generally described.
2. Under and by virtue hereof the right of way
through the public lands of the Philippine Government is hereby given
and granted for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the
railroad or railroads as herein authorized to the extent of one hundred
(100) feet in width where it may pass through the public domain,
including all necessary ground for depots, machine shops, station
buildings, workshops, water stations, warehouses, terminals-including
wharves and dock fronts, switches, side tracks, and turntables-and also
such extra lands beyond such one hundred (100) feet as may be found
necessary for said purposes: Provided, That the same be approved by the
Governor-General as a part of the definite plans hereinbefore provided
for; and the right, power, and authority shall thereunder be given to
said grantee, with the written approval of the Governor-General, to
open and work quarries and gravel pits upon any public lands and to
take from such lands earth, stone, timber, and other materials, for the
construction of such railway; but the provisions of this paragraph
shall only apply to public lands available for homestead settlement or
for sale under the Public Land Act, or to timber lands of the
Philippine Government, and shall not apply to lands used and assigned
for other public purposes, or to lands known as the friars' lands.
The grantee shall have the right, with the approval of the
Governor-General, to cross or occupy such parts of public roads,
alleys, avenues, and squares, and to acquire title to such other
municipal or provincial lands, as may be necessary, on terms to be
agreed upon by the grantee and the proper provincial or municipal
authorities, as the case may be, and in case of failure to agree upon
the terms thereof, such terms shall be fixed by the Governor-General.
Lands or rights of use and occupation of lands granted under the
foregoing provisions of this paragraph shall revert to the governments
by which they were respectively granted, upon the termination of this
franchise or concession, or upon its revocation or repeal.
The grantee shall also have the right to acquire from corporations, or
private individuals, by purchase, contract, lease, grant, or donation,
any lands which may be necessary or useful for the construction,
maintenance, and operation of the said lines of railway, or any of them.
The grantee shall also have the right to acquire by condemnation the
lands necessary for bridges, for terminals, including wharves and docks
at harbor points and elsewhere; for sidings, stations, engine houses,
water stations and other appropriate buildings and structures for the
proper and convenient construction, operation, and maintenance of the
lines of railway herein authorized; but no lands within the boundaries
of any province, city town or municipality shall be occupied by the
grantee if the same are in actual use of provincial, governmental, or
municipal purposes, nor shall any land within the boundaries of any
city, town, or municipality be so occupied without the consent of the
proper authorities of such city, town, or municipality, unless the
Governor-General shall consent to the same. The right to condemnation
or eminent domain shall be exercised by the grantee in accordance with
the laws of the Philippine Islands at the time being in force.
The grantee shall have the right to construct and maintain for the
operation of said railways any and all tracks (single, double, or
more), bridges, viaducts, culverts, fences, and other structures; and
all depots, station houses, engine houses, car houses, freight houses,
wood houses, and other buildings; and all machine shops and other
shops, water tanks, turntables, superstructures, erections, and
fixtures; and all elevators, warehouses, wharves, piers, and other
facilities terminal or otherwise-for operating said railroads, and also
any hotels or restaurants at any station or terminal.
3. By the acceptance hereof the grantee stipulates
and agrees to construct said railways herein described in accordance
with the terms and conditions herein imposed, and in perpetuity
properly to maintain and operate them as commercial railways and common
carriers in a manner suitable to the local conditions.
4. All tracks of all the said lines of railways shall
be of the gauge of 3 feet 6 inches, so that when completed the gauge of
all lines covered hereby shall be uniform. All materials employed in
construction and all equipment shall be of good class and quality and
designed to fully meet the requirements of local traffic and local
conditions. This specification as to gauge may be modified with the
approval of the Governor-General. And the said grantee hereby agrees to
construct ready for operation not less than one hundred and fifty (150)
miles of main track, including main branch lines but not sidings, at
the end of two (2) years, after the approval of the final plans for the
same, and not less than seventy-five (75) miles annually thereafter,
until said lines are fully constructed and equipped ready for
operation; any excess construction during any period shall be credited
on account of the construction during the succeeding periods. Such time
for construction and equipment may be extended by the Governor-General
when in his judgment the grantee has been prevented from construction
work by reason of unforeseen labor difficulties earthquakes, action of
the elements, rebellion. ladronism or other causes beyond the control
of the grantee.
The said railways shall be operated as commercial railways for the
transportation of freight, passengers, express, and mail, and, on
demand of the Governor-General, preference of carriage shall be given
over said lines of railway, or any part thereof, to business offered by
the Government of the United States or of the Philippine Islands.
5. The motive power of said railways shall be steam;
except that with the consent of the Governor-General, any of said lines
may be operated by electricity or other power.
6. The grantee, in respect of any said railways,
shall permit (and the right is reserved the Philippine Government to
grant permission to) any other railway now constructed or hereafter to
be constructed in the Philippine Islands to form and establish traffic
connections or arrangements with it on fair and equitable terms, to be
determined, in case of disagreement, by the Governor-General of the
Philippine Islands upon petition by either party and upon appeal by the
Secretary of War.
7. The grantee and its contractors and subcontractors
shall, so far as possible, give preference to such satisfactory
laborers as may be found along the lines of railway.
8. The grantee shall have the right to construct and
operate telegraph, telephone, and electrical transmission lines over
said railways for the use of the railways and their business, and also,
with the approval of the Secretary of War, for public service and
commercial purposes, but these latter privileges shall be subject to
the following provisions:
In the construction of telegraph or telephone lines along the right of
way the grantee shall erect and maintain poles with sufficient space
thereon to permit the Philippine Government, at the expense of said
Government, to place, operate, and maintain four wires for telegraph,
telephone, and electrical transmission for any Government purpose
between the termini of the lines of railway, main or branch; and the
Philippine Government reserves to itself the right to construct,
maintain, and operate telegraph, telephone, or electrical transmission
lines over the right of way of said railways for commercial, military,
or governmental purposes, without unreasonably interfering with the
construction, maintenance, and operation by the grantee of its
railways, telegraph, telephone, and electrical transmission lines.
The grantee shall furnish suitable telegraph offices and operators at
its stations for public use, when so directed by the Governor-General,
on payment of reasonable compensation for the service.
9. All plans for work to be done hereunder and the
work itself shall be subject to the inspection of the Governor-General
or agents appointed by him, and the book and accounts of all the
railways operated, leased, owned, or maintained by the grantee, or its
successors or assigns hereunder, shall be subject to the official
inspection of the Philippine Government.
10. All material imported into the Philippine
Archipelago for the construction and equipment of the railways
undertaken by the grantee pursuant to authority conferred by this
concessionary contract or grant shall be admitted free of duty, under
such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the Philippine
Government: Provided, That this provision shall not extend or apply to
any portion of such lines, or to any material or supplies therefor,
after the same shall be constructed and equipped: Provided, further,
That if any material so admitted free of duty shall not in fact be used
for the construction and equipment of said railroads the duty shall
become payable thereon whenever it is ascertained that it has been used
or disposed of or is held for other purposes: And provided, further,
That this exemption shall extend to port charges upon vessels whose
entire cargo consists of material for the construction or equipment of
the railways, and to such proportion of the prescribed port charges on
other vessels as the tonnage of material for such construction in
equipment may bear to the tonnage of the entire cargo of the vessel.
11. The right is hereby given to the grantee to fix,
charge, and collect just and reasonable compensation for the carriage
of freight and passengers, using as an initial basis for the various
rates the charges now made for the transportation of freight and
passengers to and from stations on the present lines of the Manila
Railway Company; such right, however, for the purpose of insuring just
and reasonable rates at all times, shall be subject to effective
regulation, to be exercised, in the first instance, by the Philippine
Government, and upon appeal by the Secretary of War of the United
States.
12. In consideration of the premises, and of the
granting of this concession or franchise, there shall be paid by the
grantee to the Philippine Government, annually, for the period of
thirty (30) years from the date hereof, an amount equal to one-half
(½) of one per cent of the gross earnings of the grantee in
respect of the lines covered hereby for the preceding year; after said
period of thirty (30) years, and for fifty (50) years thereafter, the
amount so to be paid annually shall be an amount equal to one and
one-half ( 1½ ) per cent of such gross earnings for the
preceding year; and after such period of eighty (80) years the
percentage and amount so to be paid annually by the grantee shall be
fixed by the Philippine Government.
Such annual payments, when promptly and fully made by the grantee shall
be in lieu of all taxes of every name and nature-municipal, provincial,
or central-upon its capital stock, franchises, right of way, earnings,
and all other property owned or operated by the grantee under this
concession or franchise.
13. The said railway lines, and each thereof, shall
be post routes and military roads, subject to the use of the Philippine
Government and the United States of America for postal, military,
naval, and other governmental service, and also subject to such
reasonable regulations as the Philippine Government, with the approval
of the Secretary of War, shall impose restricting the charges for such
Government transportation.
The grantee undertakes to provide on its trains necessary facilities
for carrying the mails, under terms and conditions to be agreed upon by
the Director of Posts and the grantee; and, in case they shall not be
able to agree, the Governor-General shall fix the terms and conditions,
after a hearing shall have been given the grantee thereon; but the
compensation for such carriage of mails shall, under all circumstances,
be a reasonable sum fixed with reference to the conditions existing in
the Philippine Islands.
Reasonable compensation shall be allowed for the urgent transportation
of mail, troops, bullion, ammunition, or freight, for the Government,
at other hours or at higher speed than passenger trains are ordinarily
run. The grantee shall provide such facilities for such purposes, as
may be necessary, at any hour, day or night.
14. The grantee shall at all times have and maintain,
by corporate declaration satisfactory to the Governor-General, an
office and domicile in the Philippine Islands and a representative and
agent at all times fully qualified and empowered to treat with the
Philippine Government in respect of all matters arising hereunder, and
upon whom process may be served in any judicial proceeding for any
object or purpose, whether arising hereunder or otherwise, and upon
whom also any and all notices, demands, tenders, deliveries, and
communications may be given or made to, for, or in behalf of the
grantee hereunder, and its and their successors and assigns; and all
process so served, and all notices, demands, tenders, deliveries, and
communications so made, shall be legal, sufficient, and binding upon
the grantee, and upon its and their successors and assigns, as if made
to it or them in person.
l15. In consideration of this concession, and the
waiver by the Philippine Government of all claims against said Manila
Railway Company, Limited, based on the Spanish concession, the said
Manila Railway Company. Limited, shall fully release all claims against
the United States, the Government of the Philippine Islands, and the
provinces and municipalities thereof, based on the terms of the
concession granted by the Spanish Government to the Manila Railway
Company, Limited; and also all claims growing out of the use and
occupation of the lines of said Manila Railway Company, Limited, by the
military authorities of the United States, and out of the damage to
said lines, accessories, and equipment resulting during such use and
actual occupancy, and especially the claim against the United States
for $1,515,000, gold, presented by the British ambassador to the
Department of State of the United States on behalf of the said Manila
Railway Company, Limited; and this concession shall not take effect as
to the lines of the Manila Railway Company, Limited, including the —
branches thereof to Antipolo and Cabanatuan, until the grantee shall
have presented to the Secretary of War a release and waiver of the
claims aforesaid in form acceptable to the Secretary of war, duly
executed by the proper officers of the Manila Railway Company, Limited,
thereunto lawfully authorized by said company, and upon such release
and waiver being given in a form binding on all holders of lien under
any mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument heretofore executed by
said Manila Railway Company, Limited, the Spanish concession above
referred to shall be deemed to be canceled.
16. This franchise or concession is subject to
amendment, alteration, or repeal by the Congress of the United States;
no stock or bonds shall be issued by the grantee hereunder except in
exchange for actual cash, or for property at a fair valuation, equal to
the par value of the stock or bonds so issued the grantee shall not
declare stock or bond dividends.
The foregoing and all other terms and provisions of section
seventy-four (74) of the Act of Congress approved July 1, 1902, and
section five (5) of the Act of Congress approved February 6, 1905,
relating to said railways, are incorporated into and made a part
hereof, with the same effect as if they were set forth herein at length.
17. The word "grantee" herein shall be held to
include and apply to the successors and assigns of said grantee.
In witness whereof, by virtue of authority conferred upon him, this
instrument, in triplicate, is executed by the Governor-General of the
Philippine Islands on behalf of the Philippine Government.
Done the day and year first above written.
(SEAL)
THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT,
By HENRY C. IDE,
Governor-General of the Philippine Islands.
The foregoing concessionary grant and contract is hereby accepted by
the grantee in its corporate name and under its corporate seal, by its
proper officers, thereto duly authorized by resolution of its board of
directors, passed on the ____________ day of ____________, 1906,
certified copies of which are hereto attached and made a part hereof.
Done the day and year first above written.
________________
By __________________
As its President
Attest:
___________________,
As its Secretary.
(CORPORATE SEAL.)
Sec. 2. When condemnation proceedings are brought
by any railway or other public service corporation, in any court of
competent jurisdiction in the Philippine Islands, for the purpose of
the expropriation of land for the proper corporate use of any public
service corporation, the corporation shall have the right to enter
immediately upon the possession of the land involved, after and upon
the deposit by it with the Treasurer of the Philippine Islands of the
value of the land, in money, as provisionally and promptly ascertained
and fixed by the court having jurisdiction of the proceedings, said sum
to be held by the Treasurer subject to the orders and final disposition
of the court. And the court is empowered and directed, by appropriate
order and writ if necessary, to place the corporation in possession of
the land, upon the making of the deposit.
Sec. 3. The Governor-General of the Philippine
Islands is hereby authorized and directed to execute, for and on behalf
of the Philippine Government, the concessionary contract or grant set
out in section one (1) hereof, after its approval by the Secretary of
War, and to receive on said behalf one of the triplicate copies
thereof, when the same are fully executed, and when a bond in the sum
of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000), in a form and with
sureties acceptable to the Secretary of War, or the Governor-General,
properly executed, shall have been delivered to the Secretary of War,
or the Governor-General.
Sec. 4. The proper officers of the Philippine
Government are hereby authorized and directed to do the acts and
perform the functions by them to be done and performed in relation to
said railways, and their construction, securities, and obligations,
under the Acts of Congress approved July 1, 1902, section 74; February
6, 1905, section 5; and the concessionary contract or grant set out in
section 1 hereof.
Sec. 5. The public good requiring the speedy
enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in
accordance with section 2 of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure
by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September
twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.
Sec. 6. This Act shall take effect upon its
passage, but the grant of the franchise shall not become operative
until the grantee, or its successors or assigns, shall have accepted
the same in the form above given and shall within sixty (60) days after
the passage of this Act, have executed and delivered the contract and
bond herein provided for, and have fully complied with the provisions
of this Act, in so far as the same are required to be done and
performed at said time.
Sec. 7. All Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act shall be, and the same are hereby
repealed.
ENACTED, July 7,
1906.
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