Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-06-12
THE JOURNAL


LIZ OOOnNA ALL q Il
District Courf.June Term, 1865.
HON. JOHN F. DILLON, JUDGE.
We give below the points decided by Judge
Dillon in the case below named. They will
be found of interest, not only to professional
readers, but others:
Corasin o. Wallace-The plaintiff brought
former action against the defendant on
special contract without common counts for
labor and material on building house, al
leging that he had fully performed his con-
tract He showed that he had done work
but not in all respects fully performed the
contract. He therefore failed in that action.
He brings this action not on any special con-
tract but for the reasonable valWe of his SER
vices. 1t was claimed by the defendant that
the plaintiff was barred by the former action,
but the Court held otherwise, and that the
plaintiff was entitled to bring this new &C.
ton. ,.e.-.. .,.- ...
Cloud for plaintiff. r5
Richman & Bro. for defendant.
Dapis cs. Joy.-Defendant received Of
plaintiff $144 in Canada bills to be exchanged
for currency here. He exchanged part and
part he did not. Before he paid over to the
plaintiff the amount which had been ex-
changed, his safe was robbed and the money
TAKEN
The Court decided, LIST, that as to the
Canada bills on hand when the robbery took
place, the defendant was not liable; but, I'd,
that as to the Canada bills used by the de-
PENDANT and not paid over, the robbery was
no defense, and the defendant was liable, be-
cause the very moment the bills were used
by the defendant, he became the debtor Of
the plaintiff, and nothing but actual payment
will satisfy debt
Hanna 4 Fitzgerald for plaintiff.
Butler for defendant.
sP1ER WHITAKER VS.. JOHNSON COUNTY.
This was an important case INVOLVING the
question of the constitutionali,y Of chap. 81
OF the acts of special session, 1862.
The plaintif # sues upon certain coupons,
upon railroad bonds. The county denies
that it is bound to pay them, and says that
their issue was illegal and unconstitutional,
as held by the decision of the Supreme
Court. The plaintiff replies and says that
the county is estopped or barred from making
this defense because he had previously brought
another suit on other coupons issued by the
county at the same time and for the same
purpose that the county then set up the
same defense it now does, and this former
suit was decided by the Supreme Court against
the county. The county conceded that this
was so, and that it would be estopped were it
not for chap. "a, above mentioned, which ex-
pressly allows the county "to allege and
prove any matter of defense in such an action
the same as though no former action had
been brought or recovery had" e
The plaintiff objected to the validity of this
law because, LIST. 1t impairs the obligation Of
contracts; End. 1t takes away vested rights !;
3rd 1t gives special privilege to certain
class of debtors 4th. 1t makes the legisla-
ture invade the province of the judiciary by
declaring what shall be the legal effect of a
judgment
But the Court decided in favor of the coun-
ty, holding that the law was not so clearly
unconstitutional as to authorize courts to de-
clare it invalid; that the effect of the act
was simply to do away with rule of evidence
and not 70 impair vested rights. As the en-
tire liability Of the county on its railroad in
debtedness turns upon this decision, the case
will probably be taken by the plaintiff to
the Supreme Court.
Grant, Underwood & Wheeler, for pl'tff.
Baker, Edwards & Ransom, for defendant.
STATE OF IOWA, VS.. WILLIAMS & BRAY.
Defendants indicted for stealing Morford's
horses Plead not guilty. Jury trial. Verdict
of guilty.
Ellis, Dist. Atty for State.
L. H. Washburn, for defendants.
STATE vs.. BROWN.
Charged with stealing wood. Jury out
when court adjourned.
MORTALITY IN THE GRAY-BEARD BEGIMENT.
We have been requested to correct the
statement made by us, on the authority of
another, some time ago, that over one hun
bred of the 37th Iowa had died since the
regiment was stationed at St. Louis. Mr..
Kimball, our present informant, has furnish
ed us with list prepared by surgeon in
the hospital, which gives the names of twenty
three as the entire number of this regiment
who died in the hospital at St. Louis. Max
ing the most liberal allowance for deaths re-
sulting in cases of sick soldiers sent home on
discharge or furlough, it is reasonable to
suppose that the sum total has not exceeded
fifty. The general health of the regiment has
been fully equal to that of any other in the
service. r. r--r -rf
MAGNIFICENT PRESENT FOR GEN. CROKER.
mn