Section 116. Chief among the important powers usually conferred upon municipal corporations is the delegated authority of the tremendous power of the right of eminent domain.

Defined. The right of eminent domain is an essential attribute of sovereignty, inherent in every independent government, and to be exercised in the discretion of the sovereign power to promote the general welfare of the people; and the rights of citizens to own, possess, and enjoy property must necessarily give way to the right of the State to appropriate it to public uses, when, in the judgment of the sovereign power, public interest will be promoted.1

"Social duties and obligations are paramount to individual rights and interests. Private rights not under the shield of the organic law must yield when they come in conflict with public necessity or the general good. The maxim, Sains populi suprema lex, has an important meaning in its applicatoin to private rights, and in limiting the absoluteness of any possible ownership of private property. The legislature, as the authority representative of the public, and the constituted judge of what is demanded by the general weal, has the right to say, under such constitutional restrictions as may exist in the particular state to every private proprietor, "The public needs of your property thus much," and the individual must submit.

1 Penn. Mut. Life Ins. Co. vs. Heiss, 141 III., 35.

"This is a right inherent in every government. It is a tremendous power and one which is without theoretical limits, and, indeed, without any legal limitations except such as may exist in written organic restrictions upon legislative action; it has, in addition, practical limitations in the sense of justice, which ever prevails in enlightened communities, and which legislatures cannot for any considerable period effectually or safely disregard; and experience has shown that there is a point beyond which no government can press its demands upon its subjects or citizens, and continue to exist." 2

The power of eminent domain is vested in the several states of the union, and the legislature cannot by any statute divest the State of its power.

The government of the United States has the right of eminent domain and may exercise it within a State.

On the formation of any territory into a State, the right of eminent domain immediately passes from the federal government to the newly formed State.

Limitation. Although the right of eminent domain is a sovereign power, it cannot be exercised unconditionally, that is, the property taken must be for public use and must not be taken without just compensation to the owner. This limitation is in the Constitution of the United States, and in the constitutions of the several states.