Barnes v. District of Columbia

Mr. Edwin L. Stanton for the defendant in error. The charter of the old corporation having been repealed by the act of Feb. 21, 1817, its ordinance granting permission to the railroad company to construct its road was irrelevant in this case, as the District of Columbia is not responsible for the acts of that corporation. The right to pass along the streets having, independently of the municipal ordinance, been granted by Congress to the company, it was obliged to conform to the grade of the streets, unless Congress authorized a different level. The District had no power whatever to act in the matter.