The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-01-27
The Corinth Tax Cases.


Mr.. Editor:-Some one, manifestly in the
interest of the defendants, has sent you a
very one-sided account of the cases of Town
of Corinth against A, M, Carpenter and
others, now pending In Orange county court.
These are two suits brought by the town to
recover of Carpenter and his bondsmen for
his delinquencies as collector of taxes in
1879 and 1880. Your preiudiced informant
has given very complete statement of the
defendants claims in each of these suits, but
he has most carefully ignored not only the
claims of the plaintiff but what the referee
has found to be the actual facts of the case ;
for these suits have already been fully tried,
and elaborate and complete reports of all
the facts therein have been filed by the
referee, Hon. Samuel NJ. Gleason, who was
appointed by the court, with the consent
and approval of all the contestng parties,
and was probably better qualified for this
difficult task, by virtue of his well-known
ability, unquestioned integrity, acknowl-
edged impartiality and high legal attain
ments, than any other man in Orange
county. But before this excellent tribunal
of their own selection, after fortnights pa
tent hearing these defendants were unable
| to sustain single one of the points which,
your biased correspondent says, " the evil
| dence tends to show" 1t is true that the de-
PENDANTS claimed that collections from the
tax-bils of 1879 and 1880 had been applied
| in settlement of the suits brought on the
bonds of 1877 and 1879 but the referee says
| that " the fact is not and cannot be found
| from the balance of the evidence in the
cases that defendant, Carpenter, applied,
with the consent or knowledge of the select
men of Corinth, any money which he col
lected on the tax-bills of 1879 or 1880 upon
his receipts for tax-blls of 1877 and 1878, or in
settlement of suits brought theron" and he
further says, " if there was any misapplca-
ton of money collected on the list of 1879
| and whatever misapplcation of money col
lected on the list of 1880 there might have
! been, on the part of said Carpenter, it was
| not known to the selectmen or town officers
of Corinth, and was therefore without theil
consent" 1t is also true that at the first
| hearing before the referee, in November
1888, the defendants claimed that they had
never sealed nor authorized any one to seal
either of the 1879 or 1880 bonds, though al
the sureties, only the preceding May, in &
bill in chancery brought to enjoin these suit!
at law, had sworn that Carpenter, during
his incumbency of the Office from 1870 {,
to 1882, inclusive, gave bonds in due form
for the faithful performance of the duties o
collector of taxes in each of said years, which
bill in chancery was based on Carpenter
affidavit that he " gave bonds each year TO
the faithful performance of his duties a
such collector that " in 1879 John A. Ten
ney, John b. Locke, Joshua n. Knight an,
Loren Emery were sureties on his bond a
collector of that year" and that all of tn
above, except Knight, were sureties on hi
| DOnu lOr COLLECTOR III loou, InOupn tdrpenIe
and his sureties since November, 1888 hav,
claimed and sworn that no bond as col
lector of taxes in 1879 was ever given. Blu
the referee has found that although n
seals were affixed at the time of signing
still each of the sureties knew and under
stood that said Carpenter would perfeC
said bond by sealing it himself or procurin
it to be sealed, before he delivered it to tn
| town authorities, and that they each author
! lied him so to do" 1t is questioned by tn
plaintiff whether there ever were any mis-
applications by Carpenter of the collection
, from the 1879 and 1880 taX-blls of whic
the town officers had any chance to know
: and the referee has found that it does nC
, appear and cannot he properly inferre
, from all the evidence whether there was an
, misappication whatever. Your officiou
volunteer of er pdrte information advise
that " the town may as well pay their cost
and pocket the loss" but it would be an Ill
heard of proceeding in the annals of the la
, for plaintiff to cease prosecuting his claim
: against defendants abundantly able to +,
spond in damages, when the tribunal mi
, tually chosen to determine the matters
dispute has made his final report for thu
plaintiff to recover nearly six thousand do
lars! However convinced Corinthians ma
i be of former loose management in tow
: affairs, they will doubtless take care that 1
9 town officials of theirs shall exhibit IL
0 astounding stupidity of backing out
: lawsuits in which they are reasonably ce
tain to recover several thousand dollars a,
mitted to have been puroined from til
y town. OBSERVER.