Mountain Democrat., 1857-07-11
n,IuI.n nr .lmirr al, III.

IRE II ,j.ie eftte state 81 ,Hio wi.t cr re'u-
Honrs * ,E,fR " DOrSrHe tWf'' II U"W NFFtF-
ria'Not 81 DOrdRO toHdg.
To TIE rule requiring tn" respondents
ta appear and show cause why the PRAYER
of the rclator should not hr = antrd, they
appeared and filed the foregoing dcmtll-
rrr, the several grounds "t which will
notice in the or'icr in wli>h they are pre-
Srntrd. And first, that the complaint
"d0cS not specify thc amount ot fees ami
salaries and other liabilities OF the county
fixed hy law fer the present fiscal year, or
the amou!t of revenue acc:uing tor the
same period"
Sec. III uf the act "to create Il Board Of
Supervisors in the counties of this State
and to define their powers and duties,
upon which the re,ator rc!i,S, reads as
| follows:
"Ihe Board of Supervisors shall not,
for any purpose, contract debts or liabili-
ties except those fixed hy or pursuance
of law; and Whenever d, btS or liabilities
shall have been created, which added to
the salaries of county officers and other
estimated liabilities liked 10y law for the
remainder of the year, will equal the re-
venue Of the county for cuIrcnt expenses,
no allowance whatever shall be made of
account, nor Shall ANY expense 6e incur
red Other than the salaries and fees eX-
prcssly prescribed by aMd in pursuance of
law"
| The salaries Of county officers are fixed
! by general -Stttlitet,~4f-w f-wAith-excrH-o
must take notice, and that il is unncCcS-
Sarv to plead what the law fixes. makes
certain and brings to the notice Of all, is
principle 81 familiar that neither argu-
Incnt nor authority will he required to
support. 1t is never necessary to pl, ad
that which the Court will Judi, ilIlv mo-
ticc. Hence il was not necessary for the
plcadcr to state what the "mti,ri,x Of
county officers would amount to during
the year. Wha' is meant by the express
| sion, "othrr estimated liabilities liked hv
law" This, il is admitted hy counsel on
both sides, refers toIhc fees iiNca lv law
as II compensation for county services,
such rs Cleik'S, ShcriW'S, Recorders fees,
&c, and fees of jurors and witnesses and
the like. Now the statute fixes the amt
Of fees allowed for each pai titular service,
| and the only thing left to calculation is
the amount of service required or likely
to be performed. This estimate is t. br
made upon data furnished by the evidence
at the trial, "r showing under the rule
All the plcader could he required to do
under the StIictc>t rule would br to state
the basis upon which the estimate is to he
made, and as that had already hrru done
10y statute, it was now unnrcc> sary to
aver il in the COinpaint
The next objection is that the com
plant "docs not show that the contcin
plated expense IS unnCc, S>ary or is great
or can he dispensed With, or that the
county is provided with the rcquircI
buildings or Court rooms" And this, un-
less the 4th ground o! demurrer is Su>,
tanned, raises the real question in the case,
and that is whether the section quoted is
advisory to the Board or is it mq"datnry:
1t has frequently been hel't NV Mis-
Court that Board of Supervisors cAn ,y-
crciSc no other authority than that cA-
! prcSSly conferred by statute or necessarily
| implied in the execution of delegated
powers See tho case Of Nrwcl! 4 VIII
liamS ~. the county Of FL Dorado, in
| NlllNll ILLS EtltHIi &c Is uSC'l, VIZ
The Board has no power or juriSlic,
tion beyond what the statute cUuturS.-
This position is established by the whole
tenor of our ju licial decisions, by the gen
eral consent and acpH;rScencc OF the pco-
pie. and by numerous decisions in other
States upon similar statutes"
The statute is to the Beard what the
constitution is to the Legislature and to
the COurtS-the charter by which it is
provided and the power by which it is
controlled. This Isl proposition that has
not been controvertcd, and hence we must
look to the statute alone for the powers
conferred and the limitations, il any, that
have been imposed upon the exercise OF
those powers.
The eleventh subdivision Of the 9th
sec. of the act "detinnS thC'du.icS and
powers" Of the Board, gives To ii the power
ito cause to be erected and furnished n
Court house, Jail and such other public
buildings rs may be necessary, and to
keep the same in repair
On the part of the respondents it is con-
tended that this power to erect a Court
house, except by the discretion Of the
| AJOdlu1 10
tho 10th section of the act that when.
ever the interests Of the county require
the Supervisors to erect Court house,
they may do so, and that this power cN-
lists from necessity, for the reason that the
county may otherwise be left without n
Court house. .
"A statute should be construed so as to
give effect and meaning if possible to
every clause and word contained in it,
Cal. Rep, r. 1862, Seaator rs, The Sea
Witch.
Can this he done if the position asSum.
cd by tho respondents is correct. The
Board possessing no power beyond that
which the Legislature has chosen to dele.
gate, and it being made its duty to man
age and control the affairs of the county,
it was necessary to enable it to do SO, TO
give it the power to erect a Court house,
Jail and other public buildings But the
fact that such power has been delegated
does not preclude the idea that it may be
contracted and limited within certain
bounds. Where it rests with the LeCis-
lature to confer certain powers, be their
character what they may. they may be as
lavish OF as spaiing as iss their WiSsle,ss
they may think proper They may, il
they choose, withhold them altogether, or
grant or limit them TO any extent; and the
fact that they have failed to meet the
/ III.