Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1873-08-25

debt. which is now q little over hall
o million dollars, would have in
creased to nearly a million and a
quarter.
I propose to answer the questions
have asked and show what would
be the attitude Of the county in the
contingencie have supposed.
No candid man Of intelligence
certainly no lawyer-will deny that
from the moment these negotiable
bonds, payable to bearer, are issued
and delivered and passed into the
hands Of an innocent holder, they be-
come debt against the county, and
will ever remain so until paid Or dis
charged. There is no doubt then
about the liability Of the county to
pay the new bonds, if issued.
The judgments, however, are q
different kind of liability and very
different principles Of law apply to
their assignment and regulate the
rights of the assignee. Judgments
are not negotiable, as that term is
understood when applied to COM
mercial paper. They are, however,
assignable, but the assignee. takes
them subject to all the equities that
existed between the debtor and
creditor at the time Of the assignment.
What were those equities in the
supposed case ! The time Of assign
naent supposed is before the first
bond Or any interest becomes due.
At that time, the equities upon
which the debtor (the county, could
insist, would be that if the amount
due on the 18th April, 1874, for
principal and interest ON the bonds
should be paid, it should be applied
in payment of so much of the judg-
ments; and so Of any payment which
should thereafter become due, and
paid; if all the payments Of princi-
pal and interest should be made at
maturity the county could insist that
the judgments should be fully dis
charged although assigned to an in
nocent holder before any payment
became due. But if the first or any
subsequent payment should not be
made at maturity the county could
insist upon no equities against the
assignee, because it could not have
insisted upon any as against the
creditor himself, for by the very
terms of the 9Th clause OF the agree
ment it is provided that eff from
ony cause a0hatever, said payments
shall not be faithfully and promptly
made, as agreed, the said first party
may proceed upon his judgments,
and resort to any and all other rem
edies in the same manner as ii this
settlement and agreement had not
been made" There can then be no
doubt, that il from any cause what
ever, the county should fail to meet
any of it's payments, it would be-
come liable to pay the whole amount
both Of the judgments and new
bonds, deducting only the amount
actually paid.
But it may be said, there is no
danger that the county will ever fail
to meet any Of these payments. [
hope not, if the bonds are ever is
sued; for sad indeed would be our
case in the event of failure. The
only safe course is not to issue the
bonds, and then there will be no
danger. / can, however, f0resee
several causes from which such dam
ger may arise:
One is the issuing Of q mandanus
to compel the levying tax to pay
the Judgment in favor of Bowen,
amounting to over $61 ,000, which is
understood to have been bought up
on speculation by Milwaukee law
yer, who refuses to compromise for
less that the full ''pound OF flesh"
My own opinion is that If the board
levy tax OF about SIC, 1000, as they
will have to, to provide for the pay
ments to become due under the
compromises, that there is not much
to apprehend from the vengence OF
the court for not levying more. But
others whose opinions are perhaps
entitled to more weight, entertain
serious apprehension from this
cause, and | mention it as one
which ought by no means to be over
looked.
Another cause, and one to which
[ attach more importance, is the
possibility, that from q variety of
causes, SO large a number of the
. taxpayers who would be willing to
pay their taxes, would be unable to
do SO, and that after all of the best
directed efforts, there would not be
a sufficient amount of money col
lected to make the first payment.
But the overshadowing and inev-
liable reason why the county will
not be able to make the first pay
ment is, that if you persist in car
rying out this compromise accord
ing to the terms Of this agreement
and proposition majority of the
people in several of the largest and
wealthiest towns in the county are
determined that they will not sub
nit to it, and that they will not pay
their taxes. The towns of Dodge
vile and Ridgeway pay more than
one-fourth Of the whole county tax,
add to these the town of Arena, and
you will find that the assessment of
these three towns is nearly one-third
of the whole amount for the county,
and in each of these towns the feel
ing Of opposition, and the determin-
alton to resist this compromise is
nearly unanimous. The same is