Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-07-28
A CITY BOND CASE.
Judge Mcfarland Decides Relative TO
Interest Money in the Treasury.

| one of the chief holders or CITY JULIUS
against Treasurer Porter, to compel the lat
ter to pay over to him the surplus FUNDS
now in the city treasury as interest on the
coupons held by him, was determined by
Judge Mcfarland yesterday in Department
Two of the Superior Court Other holders
| of bonds of the city appeared as inter
venors, they, too, desiring the privilege oil
! having a grab at the money. Judge McFar.
| land reviewed the history of the case, and
ordered the payment Of the coupons IN the
order of their maturity, His DECISION was
| as follows:
This is proceeding commenced by petitioner
| to compel respondent, Treasurer OF the city OF
! Sacramento. by writ of mandate, to pay certain
| interest coupons held by petitioner. Inter-
| Venors are the holders of similar coupons older
| in point of time and maturity than those OF Pc
| titioner; and they claim that as the fund pro
| yided for the payment OF their coupons Is not
sufficient to satisfy all OF the coupons now que,
| the respondent should be directed TO pay them
in the order of their maturity, presentation ana
| registration. The case was heretofore submitted
| with the understanding that Whenthe court had
| reached a conclusion with respect 10 the mann
| questions involved, it should indicate such con
| clusion by way of an opinion, and that nndlngs
| should afterwards be prepared III ACCORDANCE
! herewith 1t was also understood that the de-
| c.sion in this case should determine all other
|
| In accordance with the decisions OF the SUI
preme Court I find, LIST, that the Treasurer of
| the present city of Sacramento may be com
| PEELED by mandate, without the acJlon OF the
| municipal government to pay the matured in
| terest coupons of the bonds of the old CITY and
| County OF Sacramento = and, I'd, that he can
not be thus compelled TO pay interest on said
| interest coupons.
But there is not money enough in the interest
and sinking fund to satisfy all the coupons
| held by the various parties, and the remaining
| question IS In what order shall they be paid
The bonds to which these coupons belong
were issued by the old corporation known as
1.-THE City and County of Sacramento which
was organized by the Act of April n, 1858, and
abolished by the Act of April -. 1858, which
latter Act organized the present City of Sacra-
mento.
The said Act of 1858 created an interest and
sinking fund, ont of which these coupons were
TO be paid. Down to the year 1858 there was
sufficient money in said fund to pay the coupons
as they matured, and there was no trouble; but
after January 6, 1863, more coupons were pre-
scented to the Treasurer, who was then Henry
Miller, than there was money in the fund. The
Treasurer, Miller, then adopted the plan of reg
istering the coupons as they were presented,
and paying them in the order of their maturity
and registration as fast as money came into the
fund. He procured book for that purpose, and
from that time until May, 1881, period of more
than eighteen years the said Miller and his
successors in the Office of Treasurer continu-
ously registered in said book all coupons which
could not be paid upon presentation, and paid
them IN the order of their maturity and regis
tration as money for the purpose was furnished
That is they paid the registered coupons of a
particular year before the unregistered coupons
of the same year; but paid the coupons of prior
year. when presented. whether registered ornot,
before the coupons of a subsequent year. Dur
ing all this time this system of registry and paw
ment seems to have been accepted and ac-
qulesced III by the holders of coupons and also
by the city. Petitioner himself presented many
coupons to be thus registered. After 1881 owing
TO complications arising out of threatened liti-
CATION, the city authorities determined to cease
temporarily the payment of coupons and thus
u large amount of money has accumulated in
the fund.
think that this system of payment has been
recognized and sanctioned BY the Legislature
by the Act Of April, 1861 Statutes of 1861, page
81; by the Act OF March % 1864 Statues of 1864,
page 2l7l: and by the Act of March, 1872 Statutes
of 1872, page $40 creating the Commissioners of
the Funded Debt Sinking Fund.
IN the case of Freehill VS.. Porter Is West Coast
Reporter, 800. it seems from the pleadings that
the point here discussed must have been in
volved and that the Supreme Court must have
held that the coupons should have been paid in
the order of their maturity although the point
does not appear in the opinion of the Court.
From the foregoing considerations. as well as
from others which readily suggest themselves,
/ conclude that it is the duty of the respondent
to pay the coupons involved in this case and in
the other proceedings pending in this Court, in
the order of their maturity to the extent of the
fund. do not see what other rule could be
adopted that would not lead to disorder and
confusion, and work injustice to claimants
whose money was due long before petitioners |
demands had matured, Here is continuous
fund drawing supplies from continuous sources
OF revenue and intended for the satisfaction of
certain claims which are to become due from
time to time during long series of years. 1t |
was expected, no doubt that the accTuing reVe- |
nue. would be equal to the maturing claims 1t |
turned out, however, that for long time it was !
moi rauFn flo ,,-;th fI,o
acquiescence of ALL began. and for many years |
continued, to pay the claims in the order of |
their maturity-the Oldest first. Finally, for |
reasons above indicated, there accumulated |
a large amount of money in the fund, |
but still not enough to satisfy all |
matured claims. Petitioner now says |
that this money should be applied to his later |
claims to the exclusion of iutervenors older |
ones Upon what ground is this claim based2 |
Solely upon the ground that he has commenced |
this suit. But the commencement of the suit |
created no new right. Whatever right he had |
before this proceeding was begun he has now |
and no greater. This is not Il case where Il |
party, by superior diligence, has created or I'M
earthed, a fund. His suit has not put dollar |
ton of money there. Intervcnors lost no rights |
by not anticipating petitioner in the matter of |
commencing legal proceedings. They could |
safely expect that when money would again be |
paid out by the Treasurer, ii would be paid ac- |
COrding TO the established order. Ifthey had |
suit first. they could not have sue |
ceeded unless their claims, before the suit. had |
been the better.
1t is argued that, this being a mandamus pro
ceeding, respondent can be made to do only |
what is specially enjOined upon him by law and |
that therefore considerations as to the order |
OF payment etc, are irrelevant here. But the |
Supreme Court having held that it is his plain |
duty, specially enloined by law. to pay these |
coupons to some one, and the parties owning |
the coupons being now here in Court il must |
be determined to whom he shall pay the money |
now in the fund Both petitioner and inter
venors have presented their coupons to him and |
payment. Nothaying money enough |
to pay all their claims, it must be determined to
whom he shall pay the money which he has.
MycOnclusiOnis that a writ of mandate should |
issue, directing the respondent to pay the cou-
pOnS of the various parties in the order Of their
and seniority. Let the parties prepare |
their findings
WEATHER NOTES - From the Signal
Service reports last night one would think
a warm wave was on its way down the
coast. 1t has been exceedingly warm in
Washington Territory and Oregon. In the
interior of the country mentioned above
the thermometer reached 500 and above.
the highest being 9S- al Olympia and Dav-
ton, while in California at no Signal Service
station was the thermometer az high as
500 in fact, the highest being only So at
Red Bluff and Keeler, or IL cooler than
the hottest point in Washington Territory.