Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-01-26

We have number of inquiries for
Information on the subject of the back
TAX law. Two of them are substan-
italy as follows: "Will tax sale carry
title where service is had by order of
paoiication, and it afterwards appears
that the party was not nonresident.
but only resided in distant part of
this State, all the proceedings being
regular, and the record being all that
the law requires? VIII Sneriff's deed
under such circumstances carry title?"
Ihe law requires that when the officer
TO whom summons is directed ''shall
make his return that the defendant
cannot be found, the Justice of the
Peace before whom the suits pending,
being first satisfied that the summons
cannot be served. shall make the order
as.above; and every order of publicat ation
against non-residehts shall be publish
Ell In some county where the suit is
pending, or, if there be no newspaper
published in the county where the suit
is pending, then tho order shall be pub
Hsaed in any newspaper published
nearest the county seat; and if the de-
fendant or defendants fail 10 appear at
the time and place required by said or
der and defend said cause of action,
Judgment Dy default shall be rendered
as prayed, which judgmeAt shall be as
binding and eftectual against the prop
erty on which the lien is sought to be
enforced, as if there had been personal
service on the defendant" We infer
tom this explicit language that it
would not effect the title, if it should,
afterwards, turn out that the defendant,
Instead of being a nonresident of the
State, was only q nonresident of the
county, and was living at the time in
different part of the State. The of
ficer's return that, after exercising
reasonable diligence, he could not find
the defendant, woul,. probabl, be held
conclusive against one who sought to
upset the proceedings.
On the point of redemption: the law
does not give the owner any right of
redemption after the land has been
sold and the Sheriff's tax-title passed.
1t allows him to redeem the land before
suit and sale by payiag the original
taxes thereon, together with interest
redeem after suit shall nave been be-
gun, by paying all additional costs and
/. reasonable attorneys fee; but it does
not provide for any redemption after
the land has been sold. He may bring
suit against the new owner and attempt
to show that the land did not owe the
taxes for which it was sold, or that
there were tai defects in the process
against it; but as the law explicitly
s.rovides that the tax-biiis as certified
,tss1 collector and filed with the nc
tiiaan in the suit ''shall be priBla .facie
evidence that the amount claimed in
said suit is just and correct, the whole
harden of proof would be on the claim
ant aud his task would be very diff
cult one. The backtaX law was enact
ed to compel payment OF taxes on land
much of it bought by non-residents
and held for Observation-Disclosures
had for years evaded such payment.
Under the old law purchasers could
net easily be found for such land, be-
cause, tax-title could be upset with
little difficulty. But the new law
aimed to invite purchasers by fortify-
ing their title with every means in its
powsr-and this explains why all suits
to overthrow the proceedings under
the new law have ended in failure
Pep1fi|jcUn