Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1894-02-20
l%inquent Taxes.

uon o. delinquent taxes on "wednesday
last. on poution Of the sheriff.
ia the matter Of tbe application
Msrtin Lohman, sheriff aud ex-
collector Of Dona Ana county.
for an order directing the payment
into the hands d the treasurer Of
Dona Ana county Of certain delinquent
tar mouey.
OPINION.
The difficulty met with BY the sher-
Ia in the matter Of the application TO
the proper funds Of money IA his
hands derived from the collection Of
delinquent taxes, arises under the pc
culiar wording Of the latter portion
Of Section 2 Of Chapter 6s Of the SEES.
SION laws OF 1899 aud particularly that
portion Of The SAID section which is as
follows;
And hereafter all taxes annually
LEVIED for county purposes shall be ap.
p%rupriated and used exclusively TO
meet and pay the current expenses of
the county for the year succeeding
that in which said taxes have been
levied, TO the extern that said taxes
have been collected prior 10 and dur.
ing SAID last mentioned year; Provid-
ed, that all delinquent taxes Of pre-.
cedinR years shall be applied when
collected IN the current expenses Of
the county as they may accrue"
Two constructions might DO placed
upon the prOviso quoted;
First, that all delinquent county tax.
rs derived from any levy whatsoever,
either the current expense fund, court
fund, current expense bonds and sink.
ing fund, funding Indebtedness ant
sinking fund, court house bonds, 10.
terest and sinking fund, road tax,
school fund or any other fund, after
the same become delinquent, shall be
paid into The current expense fund Of
the county and not appropriated when
collected II delinquent to the special
funds for which they we're so levied.
Tho other construction might be.
hat only the delinquent current ex.
pense fund should be applied to the
payment Of current expenses when
collected. and not turned over to the
succeeding year as is provided for in
the first portion of the section quot
ed.
To the former construction the
court was inclined to lean for the
reason that the ~ mills current ex.
pense fund levy allowed by the legis-
lNture 70 the different counties in this
territory has in the past proved insult.
icient to meet the current expenses Of
the county as they accrued. The leg
islature for 1889 evidently had this in
mind at the time of the passage of the
act in question as shown by the fact
that they provided for an additional
hslt-mill levy for said current ex-
ponse fund.
Taken alone, this section . Of chap
ter GO of the act of 1889, would upon
its face bear only the second construc-
ton above set FORTH but taken in con
nection with prior and subsequent
acts Of the legislature as contained in
the compiled laws Of 1884 and session
acts subsequent thereto, the first con
structiOO, and that to which, as has
just been said, the court loaned, would
be borne out, and this was the con-
struetion placed upon the act in at
tempting TO arrive at the intention Of
the legislature AS expressed in the act.
by this court, in passing upon a similar
petition presented by the sheriff Of
Grant county at a late date.
la constituting an act OF this char
acter however, it is necessary for the
our to attempt in the best manner
possible 10 arrive at the intention Of
the legislature, and where this inten-
ton as set forth in the act by the word
ing thereof, IS so ambiguous that
doubt may still arise, then public pol
icy should dictate the conclusion ar.
rived at finally by the court. As a
matter of public policy, unless the in
terest Of the bondholders or Others
was affected materially, the court
would be inclined now as upon the
first perusal Of the law, to give it q
very liberal construction that the cur
rent expenses of the county might be
met aud county finances maintained
upon a cash basis.
To do this, however, would necessi,
tate at the present time, the declar.
ing Of all the taxes due for the year
1893, delinquent il unpaid prior TO the
lst of January, while the fact is thai
u majority Of the taxes so due upon
the LIST of January we're not paid until
after hat date.
Now, il the court were to hold thai
these taxes due on tho lat Of January.
not paid until after that date, were
delinquent and that under sec
ton 2, chapter 90, Of the act Of 1889
referred to, being 80 delinquent, al
such county taxes from whatever
levy derived, should be paid into IN,
general current expense fund, Will,
the interests Of tho bondholders nigh.
not suffer, the our fund in partien
lar would not be 80 short that ii woulC
be a matter Of impossibility TO cleaI
the jail aud afford relief to taxpayer.
BY starting the accumulated bushes.
Of the courts.
As to the school fund, no question
can arse, for the reason that although
levied by tho county commissioner
collected by the sheriff and paid int,
the county treasury, this Is In reality
territorial levy being certified as Othe
territorial levies are cartihed to tn
county commissioners, by the audito.
a. The territory.