The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-02-19
DOnaldsOnville's Bonds.

ana Cue mauT1u ae1TS
VS.. the Town.
Judgment Of the District Court
Amended.
The Bonds are Held to be Valid, but the
Town is only Liable for $4,000, the
Unoollected Balance of the Tax
Of $1,000 Year Levied in
1866 to Pay the Bonds.
Through the enterprise of our active
and valued New Orleans correspondent,
"Epsilon Mu," we are enabled to lay be-
fore our readers the full text of tic de-
cisions rendered by the Supreme Court
on Monday last i'll the cases of Justl1ien
Oubre, Widow Vileor Dugas and V. Maui
rim ct ais cs. the Town of Donaldsonyille.
Associate Justice Fenner was the organ
of the court, and the DEGREES were as fol
lows:
The Oubre Case.
No. 77G9.-J. Oubre, appellee, IS. The
Town of Donaldsonville. Appeal
from the Fourth Judicial District
Court, Ascension parish.
Defendant opposes numerous defen-
ses, of which, in this case, we find it nee
essary to notice only the following, viz /:
LIST. That the bonds sued on are with
out consideration because given in set
tlement or renewal Of prior bonds or evil
dences Of debt which were illegal and
absolutely null and void, because, at the
time of issuance of the same, no pro-
vision was made in the ordinance Great
ing the debt for the payment of the prin-
cipal OF interest thereof, as required by
law.
This defense can not avail in the pres
ent case, where the plaintiff is not the
party to whom the bonds were originally
issued, but is alleged and proved to he a
bona fde holder, for value, acquiring the
bonds, negotiable in form, before maturi-
ty. Against such holder of such bonds,
the only defense permissible is the want
of power to issue them, and they are not
subject to equities as to consideration or
otherwise. See numerous cases cited in
Dillon on Municipal Bonds, S, 7; Dillon
Oh Municipal Corporation, 4O5, Ais, 4l6 !;
Daniel OIL Nego. Inst, 1900. State er
rel Moore rs City 30 A. 46 ".""
BY Act No. 50 OF 1861, the General AS
sembly authorized the Mayor and Select
men of Donaldsonville "to issue bonds
of said town, for such sums, not exceed
ing $25, 900, as i'll their Judgment may be
required for the interest OF said town."
1t IS not disputed that these bonds were
issued in pursuance of this legislative
authority. Purchasers of such bonds,
after issuance and before maturity, were
not bound to in4nire beyond the exist
ence of the power and its exercise by the
corporate officials designated. They have
no concern with the motives Or consid-
erations which guided these officials in
the exercise Of the discretion vested III
them by the legislative power.
2nd. They urge that the bonds sued
on are void because in the ordinance
creating the debt, the means of paying
the principal and interest thereof were
not fully provided. From 1853 to the
present time the following provisions,
now embodied in section 2l4S Rev. Stat
utes, has been the law Of this State ::
"Thc police ,juries Of the several parish
cs, and the constituted authorities of in
corporated towns and cities shall not
hereafter have power to contract any
debt or pecuniary liability, without fully
providing il the ordinance creating the
debt, TIE means of paying the principal
and interest of the debt so contracted. ,
BY the very terms of this provision, it is
limitation upon the power of police jul
therefore operative as we'll against third
bonds as against the original holders
thereof.
Frequent aAjHtlications of this court
have placed it beyond controversy that
the debts contracted by municipal au-
tlorities in violation of this prohibitory
law are stricken with nullity and are in
6777; % A. 2:}5 "a A. 458 26 A. GO; % A.
GA 80 A. 40, Al, 462; 81 A. 1SU; 2S A.
343; 90 A. PSI, 10, lOA.
NC art HoJ utSpuSC(l w CuliStItlt GIC
provision 50 strictly as to say that where
some provision is made, the contract will
not be valid to the extent of such pro
vision, but it will be valid only to such
extent. Neither would we be SO technical
as to hold that if conten,poraneous pro
,ision be made even in a different Ordi-
nance from that creating the debt it
would not be sufficient compliance with
the statute. In such case we should con-
slider the two ordinances as substantially
one. After a close scrutiny OF ALI the or
dinlnces and resolutions OF the cOrpor-
ate authorities connected with the issu-
ance of the bonds OF which those herein
sued on are part, we find no provision
whatever made for the payment of either
principal or interest on these bonds, ex-
cept the following, viz: "That an an
nual tax of one thousand dollars be lev
led on all the real estate of the corpora
ton OF the town OF Donallsonville and
that the same he set aside to form a sink
ing fund to pay the said consolidated
debt" The liability of the town must lie
clearly restricted within the limits of
this provision, unless either these bonds
can be removed from the operation of
Section 244s, Revised Statutes, or unless
it can be shown that they are entitled to
the benefit of some other provision Valid
" made for their payment.
1t is suggested that inasmuch as the
Act Of 1861 authorizing the issuance of
these bonds imposed no consideration re-
auiring provision to be made for their
payment, the, we're excepted from such
condition. This position is utterly un-
tenable. The Act of 1s6l was special
law and did not repeal the general law
of 1853 and 1855 now Section 244S r. S.
There is no express repeal and there is
no inconsistency from which a repeal
can be implied, X. G. c. Act %. Mimi
eipal corporations and police juries have
no right to issue notes or bonds at all,
without special Legislative authority. %
4 14l 225 The Act of 1861 WAS in