Opinion of John M. Read, Esquire, Against the Right of the City Councils to Subscribe for Stock in the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and to Increase the City Debt and Taxes for that purpose by Read, John Meredith - 1846

Philadelphia: Printed for the Committee, 1846. Paperback. Very Good -. 30 p.; 22 cm. Disbound from a volume of unrelated 19th-century pamphlets. "13" in ink at upper right-hand corner of title page. Printed by the United States Book and Job Printing Office, Philadelphia. John Meredith Read (1797-1874) was a Philadelphia lawyer who served in the Pennsylvania legislature and as Philadelphia's city solicitor. He became U.S. district attorney of the eastern district of Pennsylvania in 1837 and sat on the state supreme court from 1858 to 1874. In 1846 the Pennsylvania Railroad was incorporated and began to seek subscribers to its stock. At a public meeting, a resolution was adopted recommending that Philadelphia and other municipalities in the state become subscribers, which would require that taxes be levied to cover the costs. The opinion of John M. Read was requested by Andrew Miller, Evans Rogers, and Clement C. Biddle, of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, regarding whether the city could be authorized to purchase stock in the railroad. Here Read explains why he was of the opinion that the city did not have the authority to buy railroad stock nor to raise a tax for cover such a loan. He also argued that "such powers were impolitic, inexpedient and dangerous to be vest in a municipal body." The appendix contains data on the state of the city and county finances at that time. Very scarce. In Very Good- Condition: first leaf detached but present; title page is foxed; otherwise, clean and tight.