The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1885-03-19

discharge aud pay the matured coupons OF the
eonds OF such city, and other matured indebted
ness, with proviso rs to the boards contestne
cfaIms Ihis section also provides for q levy Of
speciai annual tax to meet the accruing annual
interest OF the bonds Of the city. The 18th sec.
tlon provides that ne claim shall be paid until
audite,t and allowed by board, and then onlv on
an order OF the President, countersigned by the
clerk and section IA gives power to sue and be
sued, IN the same manner as other municipali-
ties in this State
MR. JUSTICE RANEY delivered the opinion OF
the Court.
l. The first objection urged is that the first
seo.ion Oh Inc act Is waning in uniform opera
tion' as II does not purpOrt to apply to all the
cities and towns in the State which are in a sim
llaI financial condition, but only to those which
We're organized under the general act of March
T. iooS' lor the lncorpora ton Of cities and towns
making no provision whatever for its opera ton
upon those that were organized anterior TO the
passage OF the latter act or upon those that NAV
De organized in the future under such act or an Y
other subsequent legislation"
. are there any cities or towns in this State
,onas %aSanlzed anterior" to the act of March 4,
iooS An act approved August 6, 1868, (chap.
ter 1881 having practically the same title and
oeing To great extent the same in effect as the
act OF 1869, provided by its thirtieth section that
all the powers and privileges conferred by it
nllsht pe exercised by any city or town previous
~ incorporated. and made it lawful for any such
CITY or town to re-organize its municipal govern.
heht oy voluntary surrender of its charter.
an oy an organ Zation under such &C; ; and also
| provided that upon failure of any CITY or town
10 accept the provisions of the act within six
months alter its approval, "all the acts vesting
such CITY or town with power are hereby re-
| pealed The same provisions are found in Sec
tlon 30 OF the act OF 1869, (chapter 1881 as ap.
pllcable to all cities and towns Incorporated
prior to February 4, the day of its approval, the
| only difference being that nine months instead
| 81 al for
slons This act also expressly repeals tina,
| OF 1858 Thus far it is PLAIN that there are no
CUES or towns IN existence whose recognized
| te9dt organization antedates the act of February
T. 1863 or rests upon any prior law. Chapter
| loo, which became law February 8 1870 and
IS entitled An Act relating to Cities" recites,
IN its preamble, that the act Of 1869 did not in.
tend to affect the organization Of any CITY or
town made under the act of 1863 and declares
valid ali proceedings, past or future of the Off
GERS OF any ctty so organized We do not think
II necessary, In view OF an ACT of 1872 to be men,
toned, to pass upon the validity of this act as it
does not pretend to speak as to any organization
made prior to the act of 1868. In 1872, IAN
Act relating to municipal governments" was
passed, and it provides that all cities and towns
which prior TO February 4, 1862 re organized
under the provisions of the act of 1863 and have
since been exercising the privileges and powers
granted by said act and the act of 1869 or anv
act passed subsequently be and the same are
hereby made and declared to be legal municipal
corporations and governments the same as if
legally organized under the said act" of 1859
Ii also declares all acts and dougs Of such gov
ernm"ntS and their officers under any law of the
Stat" to be valid. aud that such corporations
and their officers shall have all the powers grant
ell by the act of 1869, and all subsequent acts
relating TO municipal corporations. We think il
Is clear that since the approval Of this act on the
14th day of February, 1872. all cities or towns
organized or re-organiZed under the act Of 1868,
and which failed to re-organize under the
act OF 1869, stands as incorporated under the act
OF 1859, and depend upon it and lis amendments
Tor corporate power. This being so there are
cities or towns existing whose organization an
tedates, in the eyes of the law the act of 1869
We do not understand the act now in question as
applying only To cities which were at lis approval
Indebted in the sum mentioned. The language Of
the first section is sufficient to cover any city or
town which may become so indebted. When
ever, means at whatever time" Substituting
these words and reading the section That at
whatever time any city or town in this State, in
| corporated under the act of 1869, "s indebted
to the amount" &c, land has defaulted and
still defaults in the payment of its interest ac-
count, the charter Of such city or town shall be
| and the same is declared to be repealed and the
Incorporation thereof dissolved" it is plain that
the effect OF This section is prospective. We do not
think that the other sections of the statute change
the effect Of this. We think the purpose of The
second section was to prescribe the duties OF the
| Governor as to corporations to which it would
| apply up 10 the expiration of fifteen days.
| Should any other city or town in the future,
| gAnZed or to be organized under the act Of 1869
become so indebted, and be in default, it would
| be the Governors duty under sections l and
| ) to appoint commissioners. So far as cities and
| towns to be organized under any "subsequent
legislation" if the act Of 1859 shall be simply re-
| pealed, then there will be no subsequent
| legislation; if ii shall be amended, and the
| lid ,hoa~ a.
| cite. or towns from the scope of this act,
! The question will be upon the validity of such
amendatory provision, but if the act of 1869 is
entirely supplanted by another statute, such
statute will provide whether the act in question
shall stand Us a part OF the new system or fall
| altogether. The word incorporated" when
taken with the other words Of the section means
cities towns which, at the time of such de-
fault are incorporated under such act. We are
no more at liberty to insert the word " hereto
| fore" than hereafter" before it. The fact of
incorporation, and not the time is the material
| point We understand the effect of the word
d" still TO be that if municipality which has at
| any time defauted, should pay up before the
proclamation or appointment of officers that it
would be relieved from the provisions of this
statute. 1t is rule of construction that a stat
| ute should be construed so as to give 1t pros
pective and not a retroactive effect unless its
terms will clearly not permit it, as we'll as a rule
that statute should be so construed as to avoid
| the objection OF uncOnstltutiOnaliy, II re2SOna-
bly, possible Cooleys COnst Linn, $40, 1874
H. 1t is c0ntended that the aci is in violation
! of Sections II, 1S and 81 of Article of the
State Constitution Section II provides that
"the Legislature shall not pass special or local
laws in any of the following enumerated cases,
viz: regulating county, ownship, or nu
nicipdl business; regulating the election OF
county, township and municipal officers" Sec
ton IS provides that "in all cases enumerated in
the preceding section, and in all other cases
where a general law be applicable, all laws
shall be general and Of uniform application"
Section 81 provides that the Legislature shall
establish uniform system Of county, township,
and municipal government" 1t is claimed to be
a special law regulating municipal business, and
TO be wanting in uniform operation throughout
the State; to relate to past and present condi-
lions Of corporations, and not to future condi-
| tons.
The Constitutional provisions cited have been
before this court several times In the case OF
NcConihe vs.. McMurray, II Fla, 238, there was
involved a statute which purposed to create a
third class of municipal corporations, in addition
IN the two existing classes. The two classes
were. first, town having less than three hundred
voters, and second, city having at least three
hundred voters The third class proposed, was
any city containing sixteen hundred or more
F registered voiers and il was to have powers and
privileges different from those conferred on the
nther classes The statute OF 1879 left it dis
cretionarv with cities having 1900 or more reg
isered voters 10 become city Of the third class
or 10 remain one under the second class under
tho former statute. The court held that the aci
~ 80 . stotuta reUulaiinO mi uncinal hus