The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-02-05
THIRD edition.
THE LEVY COURT.

/ Protest Repub1 leans of the Levy
coust Unload Then Asclyes of all RE-
spousibiiity-By To morrow $4,000
81 County Notes viii Have Gone to
Protest
Al the afternoon session of the Levy
Court yesterday resolution was hand
Cd around among thu members to get
their assent. requesting County Treas
1urcr Carswell to wave protests on 7
three county notes due yesterday.
= The notes aggregate $4,000. One was
K for fl0 900 and Is held by the Farmers |
Bank at New Castle; smother for ~, 500,
held by the Union National Bank of |
e this city, and the third for 81, 800 held |
G BIZ the Farmers Bank in this city. |
y Notes amounting To- 100000 will be- |
come due on Friday.
q Tho protest WAS waived yesterday rs
described and the same will be done
with the notes of ~, 600 coming due
Tomorrow. There will then be SIS, 900
Of county notes protested. Through
4 motives OF delicacy the Republican
members did not want TO parade the
affair before the public more than pos
sible, though they were in no way
Responsible for this condition of
affairs.
The notes will NOW have to be held
until the county is able to take them
\ up, or until they are funded and paid
of by an act OF the Legislature,
The court then discharged the fol
lowing assessors from further attend
I hnce at the court until the dates mem
tlpHed:
ned Lion hundred, to-day; Mill
Greek. to-day; Brandywinc, Friday;
Now Castle, Tuesdhy; White Clay
Creek, to-day; Pencader, Tuesday;
Biackbird, Tuesday; Wilmington, Third
district, Tuesday.
AZ $40 O'Clock the court adjourned
until 10 O'Clock this morning.
The decision of MIR. Bradford, attor-
ney for the court, Yesterday, in regard
Is TO the Legality q thu floating deDt, Is
the subject of generh comment, as 1t
shows that the Notes for $4,000 at
least, had been illegally contracted,
and the members Of the Levy Couit
who voted in favor pf contracting the
notes are personally responsible. The
following is the glst OF Mr.. Bradford's
decision;
'srhe General Assembly, on March
k 2Sih, 1855, passed an act empowering
the Levy Court to borrow 5000 to
pay Off the floating indebtedness of the
county, and in pass Ing that act sec
ton was Inserted, reading as follows
ut shall not be lawful for the said
Levy Court to contract any floating
debt or to borrow ahy money in addi.
ton TO the amount by law authorized
10 be borrowed EXCEEDING the sum oi
fi0,O00 in any one year; and when any
such floating debt shall hereafter be-
contracted IL shall be the duty Of sale
III Levy Court to prov dc for the payment
thereof out of the faxes to be levied il
the year next thereafter; provided tina
In ease of the destruction by fire OF
any OF the public buildings of sait
county or OF any accident TO any
bridge of said county destroying TIN
same or rendering 1t insecure, the Lev!
Court may, by n vote of thTeefouTth
OF its members, provide for Sucl
emergency by temporary loan or loan
until after the next ensuing session o
the General Assembly.
'Scction of said act is as follows
In case OF any violption OF section
Of this act the members Of the Lev
Court voting In favor OF such violatio
shall be personally liable for any deb
or debts Incurred.
Mr.. Bradford then goes on to stat
that he had been Informed that thcr
were promissory nbtes Outstanding 0
SHSOOO, due to SEVERAL banks. He ha
also been informed that all this indcb
edneSs except SO 200 had been COZ
Encted since the passage of the at
referred TO. That statute clearly rcl
dered Il unlawful for the Levy Cuul
20 contract any Heating indeblednc5
o. Borrow any money aside from tn
500, 600 loan in any one year in exec,
q The Sum OF $4,000, unless In case {
enlergency causedby tie deStructiu
by hte Of lYbllc b4iid;nss 9r accideI
TO aHy trldsa as as6{S Ii..ai.ei5f1ita; an
In express terms made it the duty
tho Levy Court to provide for the pa
mont OF the Indebtedness SO contractt
or the money SO borrowed in any al
year out OF the taA les to lo levied in T.
year next after the contracting OF SUI
Indebtedness or borrowing Of sd,
money,
~. bradford sa d that he was Of Il
opiliul, altgr careful reading, tn
the contracting QfIany indebtedness
tho borrowing OF any money by Il
court In any one calendar year, in
far rs il was III excess of the sum
$4,000, was rendered Illegal by sa
act, II therefore follows that amy al
all promissory NOTES of the coun
given to secure tine payment of su,
indebtedness or borrowed money we
to the extent i'll Which they inClud
such prohibited excess Illegal al
void, and am of The opinion that
was and is illegal for the Levy Cou
to make and use any promissory nd
or notes for the renewal in bank
elsewhere of any ptller nute or not
81 the county in SD far as the latt
!, Include either mddiately or imme
II atcly any excess Or Indebtedness pl
n hibited by said settion 3.
But, says Mr.. Bradford, the M
fact that the county in any one "
n may have unlawfully borrowed
81 amount In excess of the legal lii
"A does not necessarily show that d
particular note for $4,000 or less giN
Il a nulllty, for tile Leyy Court has
right to borrow up to the sum OF !
900 In any one ealander year.
note or notes, therefore, in 50 Tar
given to secure the payment of
whole or any PORTION of the sum
$4,000 of indebtedness in any gil
calendar year, would be valid, for
Subsequent illegality on the part
the Levy Court in contracting at
honal indebtedness oil borrowing az
tlp19l m2ney eeRld IN any way an
or defeat any Ho9e or notes legal
valid at the time OF the execution,
delivered thereof
A question of the legality OF Ii
notes depends upon whether any
ton of the debt was contracted
meet losses by fire and flood.
In regard to the question of
yldlng for the payment OF these no
the statute restricts tho Levy Court
the sum OF Sl0,0u0 officiating indebt
ness In any one year, and then ma
~ tho At.tN - I -