Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1895-04-04
TERRITORIAL TAXES.
An Official Query and Responsc-An
Opinion of General Moment by
the Solicitor General.

PoJSl"' Aho loiioWihR iePis eAP'"'Hs
itself:
F. W. Clancy Esq, Secretary and Treasurer
University of New Mexico. Albuquerque,
n. NJ.
Santa Fe, N. NJ, April 2, ls95.-Dear
Sir: l am in receipt of your letter dated
March 20, in which you request my official
opinion as to the application of the act
approved February 2S, 1895, entitled "An
act for the financial relief of counties" to
the tax levy for the maintenance and sup
port of the University of New Mexico.
The act in question is as follows
"All territorial taxes which were delin-
quent on the 1st day of January, 1895, and
which were assessed prior to the lst day
of January, 1894, and all such taxes which
have not been paid over to the territorial
treasurer, shall, when collected, be paid
by the collector to the treasurer of the
county wherein the same have been LEVIED
and collected, and the said treasurer upon
receipt of the same, shall apply one-half
of the amount or amounts SO collected
and received by him to the court fund of
the county, and the other half, or SO much
thereof as may be necessary, shall be ap-
piled by said treasurer to the payment of
delinquent and outstanding interest
coupons of said county, and the surplus
remaining over after the payment of the
said delinquent and outstanding interest
coupons shall be turned over and paid
into the general county fund of said coun-
ty; provided, however, that this act shall
not apply to the levies heretofore made
for school purposes, or for the payment
of interest on territorial funded indebt-
edness now due or to become due by the
1st day of July, 1896"
Your letter raises two questions: First,
is the tax levy authorized for the benefit
of the University of New Mexico terri
torial tax? and, second, dis it levy for
school purposes?"
As to the first of these questions, it
seems evident that it was the intention of
the legislature to devote-unless other
wise excepted-all of the delinquent
taxes raised by general levy through
out the territory to the purposes set
forth in the act Had it been the inten-
tion of the assembly to utilize for these
purposes only the "taxes levied for gen
eral territorial purposes" it would,
doubtless, have 80 stated instead of using
the term, territorial taxes" terri
torial tax, according to the ordinary rule
of construction, would seem to be tax
levied by the territorial officials under
authority from the territorial legislature,
and under the same authority covered
into the territorial treasury and thereup-
on disbursed by the proper territorial
officials. 1t Is tax levied uniformly
throughout the whole territory as distin-
guished from a tax levied only within
county lines or within the limits of mu-
nicipal corporation. Under these views,
which seem in all respect consonant with
reason and fair construction, the tax
levied for the benefit of the University of
New Mexico is territorial tax, and if
not otherwise excepted from the provis-
| ions of the act under consideration il
should be diverted to the ends set forth
in that act.
Whatever may be the proper construc
tion of the term, territorial taxes
however, the consideration of the second
question and the conclusion drawn from
| such consideration makes it immaterial,
so far as the purposes of this opinion are
concerned, whether the tax for the bene-
| fit of the university is territorial tax or
not.
| Is the university tax levy levy made
"for school purposes" within the meaning
of the act approved February %? If it is
then the provisions of the act, by express
exception, are not to apply. 1t was the
evident legislative intent in providing
for the courts to guard at the same time
the interests of education. Had this not
been true the exceptions of levies "here-
tofore made for school purposes" would
never have been embodied; and the pres
ence of this exception clause is very
strong indication, if hot direct expires
sion, of the intention of the legislature or
the sub ject. An inevitable conclusion
from the wording of the act is that it was
the desire of the legislature that the com
mon schools should not be crippled by
being deprived Of any portion of theil
already scanty support, and it is hardly
less certain that it was the intention O.
the legislature at the same time to guart
against ,nroads upon the meagre income
of other educational institutions sup
ported by the territory and occupying
auxiliary and supplementary relations tt
the common schools. If, therefore, thu
wording of the act is fairly susceptible o
construction such that it shall include
educational institutions other than com
mon schools, public policy and desire
to carry out the legislative intent demand
that such construction be given. Now
what is the meaning of the expressions
i SCHOOL and "for school purposes" Ii
ASYLUM va. Phoenix bank, 4 Conn. 176, {
school is defined to be ian institution fo
instruction or education" In Omaha Ma
tional college vs.. Bush ct al, 20 Nebraska
N449, it WAS decided that the wore
school means "an institution of learning
and is not limited to the lower grades
of schools" The last mentioned case il
squarely in point, involving as it doe'
the meaning of the expression "fol
school purposes" Maxwell, @. j., il
speaking for unanimous court, says:
''The sole question for determination
is, was the property in question at the
time the tax was levied used excluslvel,
for school purposes! The first defini
tion of the word school is a place fol
learned intercourse and instruction; ar
institution for learning; an educationa
establishment; place for acquiring
knowledge and mental training. Th'
defendants contend with considerable
I earnestness that the school purposrs
mentioned in the statute apply only tc
the lower grade of institutions of learn
ing, and do not include higher institu
i tions like colleges. We can see no good
reason for TINS limiting the meaning oi
the words mentioned. An examination q
of any work in which the subject il
fully discussed will show that the word
school in it's broad sense is applied to
any institution of leaaning and 1t evi
IDENTIFY is used in that sense in the statute
The exemption, therefore, applies to any
institution of learning used exclusively
for school purposes"
| Upon authority, therefore, as we'll as