The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1874-01-30
E. d. RENOUDET,
Parish Auditor.
j. S. WOOSTER,
Endorsed
NAV IL, 1869.

treasurer.
May IL, 1869. E. L. WEBER.
These notes Or warrants, of which the
plaintiff sets himself out as aholdcr, APP
pear to have been duly protested fol
nOn-payment. u
funds in the parish treasury when these
warrants were issued, and that there
have been lone since. That the war
rants were illegally issued on bills of
credit or money. ...
The authority OF the Police Jury OF Of
its officers to issue the warrants is denied,
and defendant alleges that no provision
for their payment has been made or re-
quired by law. Prescription of five
years is plead. The plaintiff had iudg-
ment for the sum claimed, with interest,
and defendant has appealed.
It has been frequently determined that
police juries are political corporations,
whose powers are specially defined by
the Legislature, and that they can legal
~ exercise no other powers than those
delegated to them. They are specially
required by statute, when within the
scope of their legitimate powers they
create q debt against the parish, to pro-
vide in the same act the means Of pay-
ing it. For all purposes for which they
are by law authorized to create debts,
they are authorized to levy and collect
a tax for paying them. But without a
special grant OF power by the Legisla-
ture for that purpose, they clearly have
no authority to issue and put in c~ircula-
ton negotiable instruments of any kind.
No special statute is shown in this ease,
comforting upon the parish of West
F%eliciana the authority to issue the
negotiable notes or warrants upon which
the plaintiff sues in this case.
1t is commended that, as these instru-
ments were issued for the purpose of
paying the necessary expenses of the
parish, such as fees to the sheriff, to the
jalLOr for maintenance of prisoners, to
the District Attorney of the District for
services rendered in the parish, to the
coroner of the parish, to a certain party
for building a bridge, ETC., they were
properly issued for o legitimate pur-
pOse-that of d~efraying the necessary
expenses OF the parish; that a distinction
exists between this case and others
where police juries have put in circula-
ton notes or bonds for the purpose of
raising money on. The answer to this
reasoning seems plain. That the Police
Jury is vested with power to levy and
collect q tax to defray all the necessary
expenses of the parish, and that they are
not authorized to do it i'm any other way,
And it would seem from the very case
before us that " to this complexion must
it come at last" for it is shown that for
several years past the parish in question
has annually issued instruments of the
kind now sued upon, taking up old is
sues by new ones; that there has not
been, from 1866 to 1872, any taxes collect-
ed in currency that there has not been
q HnIIoIs in OTIrTnnau IN Al ,Nnr.c1, 4,o,o,
ry since the war, and nov the plaintiff
in this case prays for q decree of the
court, ordering a tax to be assessed and
collected to pay his claim.
The doctrine held in the cas- of Bre-
aux vs.. the parish of Iberville, 90 An,
p, and MarinOnx VS.. the parish of
1berville, same volume, p. 251, and in
the case of Edwards VS.. the parish of
B0ssier, "a An, p. 459, is applicable to
the case at bar. We must, then, seeing
that the negotiable instrument sued
upon by plaintiff was issued withoutau-
thority OF law, regard them as null and
void. ..
It is, therefore ordered that the judg-
ment of the District Court be annulled
and reversed. 1t is further ordered that
there be Judgment for the defendant,
the plaintiff paying costs in both courts.
D" ".
THE New CHIEF JUsTICE.-Last
nights dispatch from Washington an
nOunces the unanimous confirmation by
the Senate Of the nomination Of Mr.
Waite, of Toledo, Ohio, as Chief JUS
tice OF the United States Supreme Court.
The successful nominee is the son of
the late Chief Justice Waite, of Connec-
ticut, and was born in 1915. He grad
uated at Yale when twenty-five years
Of age; Immediately thereafter removed
to Toledo, o., studied law, and for
many years is reported as having stood
at the head of the bar of Northwest
Ohio. In 1850 he served with distinc-
ton in the Ohio Legislature. Some
years later he was nominated for Con-
gress, but was defeated. Twice he was
offered and declined q seat in the Su-
preme Court of Ohio. In 1871 he was
appointed one of the counsel at the &C.
neva Arbitration. When the nominal
ton for Chief Justice reached him he
was acting as president of the Ohio Con-
stitutiOnal Convention, a position to
which he was elected by the unanimous
vote of all parties, The Cincinnati pa
pers state that Mr.. Waite has never
or bis Immediate friends. It viii BE re-
membered that when the telegram was
read in the Convention, two or three
days since, announcing the nomination,
and that body broke out into applause,
the President at once called it to order
and went on promptly with the regular
business: 4 trait iiRRdaiiPaatiTe Of amOdest
and dignified man. .#.
The United States Supreme Court is
composed as follows: Justices Hunt, OF
EeW York; Clifford, of Maine; Swayne,
of Ohio; Miller, of Iowa; Davis, of Illi-
noise; Field of California; Strong, of
Pennsylvania, Bradley, of New Jersey,
and Chief Justice Waite.-[N. o. Times,