paid upon any State debt which has been or may be authorized pursuant to the provisions of this section or upon any part of such debt, provided, however, that the rate of interest shall not be altered upon any part of such debt or upon any bond or other evidence thereof which has been or shall be created or issued before such alteration.

The money arising from any loan creating such debt or liability shall be applied to the work or object specified in the act authorizing such debt or liability, or for the payment of such debt or liability, and for no other purpose whatever. (Amended, 1920.)

Section 4 and 10 of this article are intended to put restrictions upon the legislative power in respect to creating an indebtedness in behalf of the State and to limit the expenditure of State moneys borrowed to the single work or object distinctly specified in the referendum act. They put no other restriction upon the power of the Legislature to amend any act which has been approved by the votes of the people. Kibbee v. Lyons (1922), 202 App. Div. 562, 195 N. Y. Supp. 563.

When referendum vote not necessary.-The Legislature had power to pass chapter 687 of the Laws of 1921 amending section 3 of the Barge Canal Act by striking therefrom the portion providing for the construction of a spur running through the lumber district of the city of Albany but not connecting with the Barge canal at its eastern terminus at Troy or with the Champlain canal at Waterford, and it was not necessary to submit said amendatory act to a referendum vote by the people under section 4 of article 7 of the State Constitution. Said amendatory act was expressly authorized by section 4 of article 7 of the State Constitution providing that the Legislature may at any time after the approval of an act submitted thereunder to a referendum vote repeal the same in case no debt has been contracted in pursuance of the act, which was the situation in the instant case, inasmuch as the construction of the spur in question had not been provided for. Lyons (1922), 202 App. Div. 562, 195 N. Y. Supp. 563.

Kibbee v.

Art. VII, § 5. Sinking funds.-The sinking funds provided for the payment of interest and the extinguishment of the principal of the debts of the State heretofore contracted shall be continued; they shall be separately kept and safely invested, and neither of them shall be appropriated or used in any manner other than for such payment and extinguishment as hereinafter provided. The comptroller shall each year appraise the securities held for investment in each of such funds at their fair market value not exceeding par. He shall then determine and certify to the Legislature the amount of each of such funds and the amounts which, if thereafter annually contributed to each such fund, would, with the fund and with the accumulations thereon and upon the contributions thereto, computed at the rate of three per centum per annum, produce at the date of maturity the amount of the debt to retire which such fund was created, and the Legislature shall thereupon appropriate as the contribution to each such fund for such year at least the amount thus certified.

If the income of any such fund in any year is more than a sum which, if annually added to such fund would, with the fund and its accumulations as aforesaid, retire the debt at maturity, the excess income may be applied. to the interest on the debt for which the fund was created.

After any sinking fund shall equal in amount the debt for which it was created no further contribution shall be made thereto except to make good any losses ascertained at the annual appraisals above mentioned, and the income thereof shall be applied to the payment of the interest on such debt. Any excess in such income not required for the payment of interest may be applied to the general fund of the State.

The Legislature may also by general laws provide means and authority whereby outstanding bonds of the State, for which sinking funds are provided, may be exchanged at par for cancellation, for serial bonds of the form authorized under section four of this article, upon such terms and conditions as to interest and otherwise as it may in its discretion authorize or determine, except that the debt as thus refunded shall finally mature no later and at no greater comparative cost to the State than the original debt; the determination of the Legislature as to such comparative cost shall be conclusive. No further contributions to the respective sinking funds shall be made on account of bonds so exchanged and the proportion of any such sinking fund which the amount of the bonds so exchanged shall bear to the amount of bonds outstanding of the same issue may be appropriated, as required, for the payment of the substituted serial bonds. (Amended, 1920.),

Art. VII, § 7. Forest preserve.

Effect. The provisions of article VII, section 7, of the State Constitution prohibit the Conservation Commission from allowing contractors improving highway routes through parts of the State Forest Preserve, to take rock and stone from said preserve adjacent to said highways for the construction thereof. The land within the limits of said highways, however, not being a part of the Forest Preserve is not subject to said prohibition. Opinion of Attorney-General (1920), 22 State Dept. Rep. 689.

adequacy of compensation, interest. (1921), 230 N. Y. 622, 130 N. E. 919,

Appropriation by State of forest lands, Taggarts Paper Co. v. State of New York affg. 187 App. Div. 843, 176 N. Y. Supp. 97. Adverse possession. The lands of the Forest Preserve created by chapter 283 of the Laws of 1885 and section 7 of article VII of the Constitution of 1895 are held by the State in her sovereign capacity in trust for a public purpose and cannot be acquired by adverse possession. The claim of the defendants that they have title to the lands in question, which are a part of the Forest Preserve, by adverse possession based on a deed to them in 1865, cannot prevail, since the State acquired title thereto by tax deed in 1851, and in 1885, when the Forest Preserve was created, the defendants had not acquired title by adverse possession. The fact that the Forest Commission failed to assert title to the lands in question as it was authorized to do by chapter 283 of the Laws of 1885 does not prejudice the rights of the State, nor is it estopped from asserting its rights by the unauthorized acts or omissions of the Forest Commission. People v. Baldwin (1921), 197 App. Div. 285, 188 N. Y. Supp. 542, affg. 113 Misc. 172, 184 N. Y. Supp. 715. The reservoir and dam at the head of the Oswegatchie River in St. Lawrence county constituting what is known as the Cranberry Lake improvement is owned by the State but is not a part of the Forest Preserve and is not subject to the provisions of article VII, section 7, of the State Constitution. So much thereof

as is in use by the Hydraulic Commission, authorized to complete and manage the same, is exclusively within its jurisdiction and control. The part not in use by said Commission is within the control of the Conservation Commission until necessary for use as a part of the original improvement. Opinion of AttorneyGeneral (1920), 22 State Dept. Rep. 463.

Cutting and removal of living trees in the forest preserve, to be used in repair or reconstruction of dams on streams is forbidden by this section and by subdivision 1 of section 61 of the Conservation Law. Opinion of Attorney-General (1921), 26 State Dept. Rep. 281.

Art. VII, § 8. Canals, not to be sold; not applied to certain canals; disposition of funds.-The legislature shall not sell, lease or otherwise dispose of the Erie canal, the Oswego canal, the Champlain canal, the Cayuga and Seneca canal, or the Black River canal; but they shall remain the property of the state and under its management forever. The prohibition of lease, sale or other disposition herein contained, shall not apply to the canal known as the Main and Hamburg street canal, situated in the city of Buffalo, and which extends easterly from the westerly line of Main street to the westerly line of Hamburg street, nor to that portion of the existing Erie canal between Rome and Mohawk. All funds that may be derived from any lease, sale or other disposition of any canal shall be applied to the improvement, superintendence or repair of the remaining portion of the canals. (Amended, 1921.)

§ 8. The legislature shall not sell, lease or otherwise dispose of the Erie canal, the Oswego canal, the Champlain canal, the Cayuga and Seneca canal, or the Black River canal; but they shall remain the property of the state and under its management forever. The prohibition of lease, sale or other disposition herein contained, shall not apply to the canal known as the Main and Hamburg street canal, situated in the city of Buffalo, and which extends easterly from the westerly line of Main street to the westerly line of Hamburg street, nor to that portion of the existing Erie canal in the city. of Utica between the westerly line of Schuyler street and the easterly line. of Third street, provided that a flow of sufficient water from Schuyler street to Third street to feed that portion of the canal east of Third street be maintained; nor shall such prohibition apply to that portion of the existing Erie canal in the county of Herkimer between the easterly portion of the village of Mohawk and the county boundary line between the counties of Herkimer and Oneida. All funds that may be derived from any lease, sale or other disposition of any canal shall be applied to the improvement, superintendence or repair of the remaining portion of the canals. (Amended, 1921.)

NOTE.-Art. VII, § 8 was amended twice in 1921. This section is given above in both forms, as amended.

Art. VII, § 9. No tolls to be imposed; contracts for work and materials; no extra compensation.

Contract for construction of bridge-type dam construed in connection with this

Art. VII, §§ 11, 12; Art. VIII, §§ 1, 3. Highways; corporations.

section. Foundation Co. v. State (1920), 193 App. Div. 513, 184 N. Y. Supp. 720, remittitur amended, 196 App. Div. 912, 186 N. Y. Supp. 939, modfd. 233 N. Y. 177, 135 N. E. 236.

Section 5 of the Barge Canal Act, providing for the abandonment and sale of canal lands no longer necessary for canal purposes, is not in contravention of section 8 of article 7 of the State Constitution which provides that the Legislature shall not sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any of the canals of the State, for said provision in the Constitution does not forbid the sale of parts of a State canal which have become useless. Kibbee v. Lyons (1922), 202 App. Div. 562, 195 N. Y. Supp. 563.

Art. VII, § 11. Payment of principal and interest of debt.-The legislature shall annually provide by appropriation for the payment of the interest upon and instalments of principal of all debts created on behalf of the State except those contracted under section two of this article, as the same shall fall due, and for the contribution to all of the sinking funds heretofore created by law, of the amounts annually to be contributed under the provisions of section five of this article. If at any time. the Legislature shall fail to make any such appropriation, the comptroller shall set apart from the first revenues thereafter received, applicable to the general fund of the State, a sum sufficient to pay such interest, instalments of principal, or contributions to such sinking fund, as the case may be, and shall so apply the moneys thus set apart. The comptroller may be required to set aside and apply such revenues as aforesaid at the suit of any holder of such bonds. (Amended, 1920.)

Art. VII, § 12. Improvement of highways.-Debts hereafter authorized for the improvement of highways shall be created only in the manner provided in section four of this article. No provision of this article shall be deemed to impair or affect the validity of any debt of the State heretofore contracted or any right or obligation heretofore created between the State and any of its civil divisions. (Amended, 1920.)

Art. VIII, § 1. Corporations, formation of.

Power of Legislature to alter or suspend charter.-New York Central R. R. Co. v. Middleport Gas & Electric Light Co. (1920), 193 App. Div. 273, 184 N. Y. Supp. 221, affd. 232 N. Y. 622, 134 N. E. 597.

Section cited.-People ex rel. Western Union Tel. Co. v. Public Service Commission (1920), 192 App. Div. 748, 183 N. Y. Supp. 659, revd. 230 N. Y. 95, 129 N. E. 220; Burchard v. Payne (1921), 197 App. Div. 829, 189 N. Y. Supp. 249.

Art. VIII, § 3. Corporation, definition of term.

Cornell University.-Liability is not imposed upon Cornell University by this section of article 8 of the New York Constitution which provides that "all corporations shall have the right to sue and shall be subject to be sued in all courts in like cases, as natural persons," for that provision is not applicable to a situation where the corporation cannot be guilty of negligence as to one of its beneficiaries. Hamburger v. Cornell University (1923), 204 App. Div. 664, 199 N. Y. Supp. 369.

Limitation of indebtedness.

Art. VIII, §§ 9, 10.

The board of education of the city of Buffalo is a corporation which may sue and be sued. Matter of Fleischmann v. Graves (1923), 235 N. Y. 84, 138 N. E. 745, affg. 202 App. Div. 825, 194 N. Y. Supp. 934.

Art. VIII, § 9.

Credit or money of the state not to be given.

Bonus to veterans of world war.-L. 1920, chapter 872 providing for sale of bonds of State and payment of proceeds as a bonus to individuals who served in the World War, although invalid under section 1 of article 7 of the Constitution is not objectionable on the theory that it appropriates public money for other than a public purpose. People v. Westchester County National Bank (1921), 231 N. Y. 465, 132 N. E. 241, revg. 198 App. Div. 928, 188 N. Y. Supp. 944.

Advancement of moneys under L. 1920, chap. 901 to the American Seamen's Friend Society will not be violative of the provisions of this section. Opinion of Attorney-General (1920), 24 State Dept. Rep. 608.

L. 1918 ch. 607, authorizing the court of claims to hear certain claims is not in contravention of this section. Callanan v. State (1920), 113 Misc. 267, 184 N. Y. Supp. 688.

Claim against state for death of member of National Guard; finding that death was not result of neglect on part of any officer or representative of state, but occurred through carelessness and negligence of deceased; legislature may not authorize payment of claim in absence of legal or moral obligation of state. Lewis v. State (1920), 234 N. Y. 587, affg. 197 App. Div. 712, 189 N. Y. Supp. 560. Penal Law, article 16, is not in violation of sections 9 and 10 of article 8 of the State Constitution. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. City of New York (1923), 205 App. Div. 335.

Section cited.-Sherlock v. State of New York (1921), 198 App. Div. 494, 191 N. Y. Supp. 412.

Art. VIII, § 10. Counties, cities and towns not to give or loan money or credit, limitation of indebtedness.

Application.-"The section does not apply to an act which permits the enforcement of an obligation which is due to the fact that it arose from ultra vires action on the part of the public authorities. If it is something which the Legislative might have authorized originally, there is no constitutional objection to a curative act which in effect ratifies an unauthorized municipal contract." Holbrook, Talbot & Rollins Corp. v. City of New York (1921), 277 Fed. 840.

The term "city purposes" as used in this section, limiting the amount that can be raised by a city by annual taxation, includes money raised for educational purposes, a state function, as well as those levied for purely local purposes. Board of Education v. Van Zandt (1922), 119 Misc. 124, 195 N. Y. Supp. 297.

Any city activity or enterprise that is reasonably calculated to promote the happiness and general welfare of the people of a given community is serving a "city purpose" as that term is used in section 10 of article 8 of the Constitution of this state. Matter of College of City of New York v. Hylan (1923), 120 Misc. 314. 199 N. Y. Supp. 634.

City purpose; construction and operation of railways and bridges.-Common highways have always been regarded as under the special care, supervision and control of municipal governments and their construction and maintenance are clearly within the provisions of the Constitution, a city purpose. It follows that railroads and bridges which serve the same purposes as common highways may, under legislative authority, be constructed and operated by a city. City of New York v. Brooklyn City Railroad Co. (1922), 232 N. Y. 463, 134 N. E. 533, revg. 198 App. Div. 737, 191 N. Y. Supp. 20.