Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-06-24
THE SCHOOL LAW.
important Decisio n by Ii Supreme
Court.

| 1RO
Court.
The St. 10. Gazette says: n week OF
two since the school board OF this city
passed a resolution employing legal
counsel, and %instructing them to apply
to the supreme court for 4 writ OF man
damus, whereby the county court would
be compelled to levy a seven mills, IN,
stead of the four mills tax, authorized
by the constitution, for school purposes
The following decision was given yes
terday by the supreme court, from which
it is quite evident that there will be 8
dearth of public schools in St. JOSEPH
next year:
OPINION Of H COURT.
The St. Joseph board ofpublic school:
is a corporation created by the act o
the legislature of March ID. 1866, anC
March 20, 1872, and by those acts au
thorized to estimate the amounts o.
money requisite for the purpose of build
ing and repairing school houses anc
furnish the same, and paying salaries O
teachers and officers and to meet othel
contingent expenses, and to make GU
and certify under the seal of the corpo
ration, their annual estimates, and file
COPY of the same with the clerk OF thu
county court of Buchanan county, on OF
before the first Monday of August il
each year. The county court is ther
required by these enactments to levy the
amount so certified on the taxable prop
erty, real and personal in sal d schoo
districts, the limits of which are previ
ously defined. provided that the a. shall
not exceed seven mills on the dollar fol
any one year.
This estimate having been made fol
the present year, and it requiring a levy
of seven mills on the dollar to meet thu
expenses reported, the county ceurr
made a levy of four mills on the dollar
and refused to levy the W mills. a!
required under the act of the Legislature
aforesaid. To compel the court to levy
the seven mills is the object of the appli
cation to this court.
The present constitution of the state
which went into effect on the thirtiett
day of November, 1875, in the 18th sec
ton of the 10th article, concerning rev
enues and taxation declared the taxation
for school purposes in school districts,
shall not exceed 40 cents on the hundred
dollars, with a provlso that this rate
may be increased in districts formed Of
cities and towns to an amount not to ex'
coed one dollar on the hundred dollars
valuation, and in other districts to al
amount not to exceed sixty-five cents Oh
the hundred dollars valuation, on the
condition that a majority Of the voters
who are taxpayers voting at an election,
held to decide the question, vote for said
increase.
In the schedule it is declared that the
provision of all laws which is inconsis.
tent with the constitution shall ceas
upon its adoption, except that all laws
which are inconsistent with such provis,
ions of this constitution as require legisla-
ton to enforce them, shall remain in force
until the first day of July, 1877, unless
sooner amended or repealed by the gen
eral assembly.
This restriction in the constitution, in
regard to taxation for school purposes,
to 40 cents on the one hundred dollars.
unquestionably requires n Legislation
to enforce, nor is it contended on the
part of the petitioners here that it does.
But it is insisted that the RESTRICT on or
prohibition, not being absolute, but liza
BILE to be removed by legislative atcion
and a specified popular vote, in accor-
dance with such legislative action, both
the restriction and the subsequent clause
of the constitution providing a mode of
avoiding it, must share the same fate /;
and both alike await the result of legis-
lative action. In other words. as the
proviso which points out a mode of in
creasing the tax and removing the re-
striction to a certain extent does need
legislative action before it can be execu.
ted, the restriction itself, though con-
fesscdly needing no legislation to enforce
it, must, like the mode of avoiding it,
remain imperative until the legislature
shall provide such mode.
The question is an important one, not
only as regards the interests involved in
the present application. but as its de-
| cision must effect various otherprovisions
Of f.A constitution in reference to taxa
tion' accErpanied with similar provisos.
s:s"ceeding this clause in
relation to taxation for school purposes
| follows similar restrictions and similar
provisions, by which the restrictions may
be removed. Thus in the same section
it is provided:
.'For the purpose of erecting public
buildings in counties, cities and school
| districts, the rate of taxation herein linn.
tied may be increased when the rate OF
such increase, and the purpose for which
it was intended shall have been submit.
ted to avote o fthe people. and two-thirds
of the qualified voters of such county,
city and school district, voting at such
| election, shall vote therefor"
And section II declares that "no
county, city,o township, school district
or other political Incorporation or sub.
division of the state shall be allowed to
become indebted in any manner or fol-
any purpose, to an amount exceeding in
any year the income and revenue provi-
ded for such year, without the assent Of
two-thirds OF the voters thereof voting
at IN election to be held for that purpose
nor in cases requiring such assent, shall
any Indebtedness be allowed to be in.
creased to an amount, including existing
indebtedness, in the aggregate exceeding
five per cent. on the value of the taxable
property thereon, to be a%scertained by
the assessment next before the lastassess.
ment tor state and county purposes pre-.
vious to the mourning of such indebted.
ness, provided that with such assent any
county may be allowed to become in.
debted to a larger amountfo for the erection
of a court house or Jail; and provided,
further. that any city, town, township,
school district, or other political corpo.
ration or subdivision of the state incur.
ring any Indebtedness, requiring the
assent OF the voters as aforesaid shall be-
fore or at the time of doing so, provide
for the collection of an annual tax sniff
cient to pay the interest on such indebt-
edness as it falls due, and also to con-
stitute a sinking fund for payment of the
principal thereof within twenty years
from the time of contracting the same"
In the first part of section 10, the
constitutional rate of taxation for coun-
ty, city, town and school purposes is
fixed. The provisions above quoted al
low certain notifications of these rates.
The question then is. must the rates of
taxation fixed in the constitution, when
accompanied with provisions in that in
strument authorizing their modification,
await the action of the legislature to
provide the NEAR of obtaining such
modification. before the rates themselves
go into operation.
The fifteenth section of the schedule
to the constitution declares that: The
general assembly shall pass all such
laws as may be necessary to carry the
constitution into full effect. There is no
way of enforcing this Injunction on the
legislature. Under u system OF gov
eminent. there is no power to compel
the Legislative department of the gov
eminent to make laws. Constitutions
.,-ry - -