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Show HAWAII 723 require adoption by virtue of the legislative adoption of the common law of England. (e) The "doctrine of correlative rights" was believed to be the correct one. Accordingly, it was held that the owners of land overlying an artesian basin own the artesian waters; they have correlative rights therein; and each is entitled to a reasonable use thereof with due regard to the rights of co-owners. (f) The legislative act giving the Sewer and Water Commission extensive control over the development and use of artesian water contained no finding or declaration that an emergency existed. Regardless of that, private water rights cannot be deliberately confiscated for community use in times of peace. (g) The police power of the Territory extends to prescribing reasonable regulations governing installation and maintenance of private artesian wells. (h) The police power of the Territory does not extend to prohibiting installation of a new well in an artesian basin, while permitting others to continue the operation and use of their existing wells without diminution. The portion of the legislation found objectionable was held to be unconstitutional. A few weeks later, it was eliminated by the legislature. Prior to the decision in the City Mill case, the basis of the right to use artesian waters had never been specifically decided. By this decision, such rights were declared to exist in the owners of overlying lands and were made, in substance, to relate back to the time of passing of original land titles to individuals. Thus, in declaring the existence of this property right, the supreme court introduced into Hawaiian water law an entirely new principle. The extent and characteristics of the rights of co-owners, other than being "correlative" and inhering in the owners of overlying lands, were not defined by the court. There was no controversy between co-owners and no necessity for a definition. (3) What the City Mill case actually decided. It was actually decided that the Territory was not the owner of all artesian waters in the basin, but that all owners of overlying land had property rights in the use of the artesian waters by virtue of their landownerships, which property rights the Territory could not take for the use of the community in time of peace without making due compensation to the landowners, regardless of the existence of a supposed emergency. Regulation of Artesian Wells General Territorial statute.-A statute providing for the regulation of artesian wells generally throughout the Territory was enacted in 1917.243 For 243 Haw. Laws 1917, Act 156. |