The railway was originally incorporated under provincial law in 1891, but in 1893 it was transferred to federal jurisdiction, as a "work for the general advantage of Canada".

[3] This case arose when two horses owned by Madden were struck by a train operated by the Nelson and Fort Sheppard Railway.

Counsel for the railway was Lyman Duff, who went on to become the Chief Justice of Canada, and an expert in the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments.

Duff argued that the provincial requirement to erect fences conflicted with the safety regulations set out in the federal railway legislation.

In a short decision given by the Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Halsbury, the Judicial Committee dismissed Madden's appeal.

[5] The Lord Chancellor also referred to the Judicial Committee's recent decision, Canadian Pacific Railway Co. v Notre Dame de Bonsecours, decided in March, 1899, four months before Madden.

The federal Department of Justice then published a three-volume collection of significant constitutional decisions of the Judicial Committee.