El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-12-14
current municipal expenses and to pay

current municipal expenses and to pay
debts heretofore contracted
Secondly:-Taxes not ex' eeding one
| half OF ooe per ent of the value of said
property TO construct or acquire water
| works, gas works, can is, public
grounds or buildings, and to improve
the streets, and to make other perman
ent public improvements.
Thirdly:-Taxes not exceeding one
half of one per cent of the assessed
value of said property 10 maintain the
public free schools. (Ses special laws
of 1899 o. SOY.
And by the amendment in 1893 (see
special laws of 1893, p. 43) of said se.-
tin 90 the powe- of the city council to
pay debts heretofore contracted and to
paw interest on and create sinking
funds for it's bonded debt, is directly
given.
1t INST be remam bered hat the Ell
Paso sewer bonds wee not issued I'M
til 1887 Trans o. 64). At the time Of
their issuance IN 1887, section of ar
ticle l. of the constitution of 1876 was
in force. By the last sentence of aid
section of article IL Of the constitr-
ton of 1876 it is de dared thst "no de u.
for any purpose sh all ever bs Incurred
in any manner by any city or county
unless provision is made at the time OF
create III same far levying and IL
lie cG1Qg d SUN clcub W pay OiiO LII
tArest thereon and provide at least two
per cent as sinking fund We can
not understand how doubt can BE-
raised a to the application of this con-
stitutional provision a. the time of the
creation of this Sc yer bond d bt. In
our jud gment, it makes no difference
what the old charter of 1873 may
have said oout the sinking funo
Even if, as this out thinks, the sink
,v,f<
of 1873 to two per cent only, when the
vision in the old charter of 1873 in
consistent with it or repuguant to it,
pass I'd out of existence. The constitu-
ton ia the supreme law OF the state.
snd it is of no vir ue whatever unless
it would control in matters OF such q
nature as those we have under discus
sion. Our supreme court has declared
repe atedly that this last sentence OF
section 7, of article IL, of the constitu-
tion of 1876, applies to every city and
county in the sts tie.
THIRD-This honorable court erred
in sustaining the appellants 14th as
signmeDt of error and in holding that
the taxes levied to pay the interest on
and to provide a sinking fund for the Ell
Paso public school bonds were illegal
upon the ground that at the time the
bonds were issued the city Of FL Paso
was not an independent SCH DOL district
STATEMENT.-As we have here
tofore shown, in the spring of
1882 an election was ordered
for the purpose of determining whe her
or not the city should assume control
of all the public free schools within its
limits Ard upon a vote of the tax
payers in said city, in April, 1882, the
city, acting under the provisions of
Art. 37S1 of the Rev sed Statut- OF
1879 (Which is the same as Art. 1904 of
the Revised Statutes of 1880 assumed,
in conformity with the law, exclusive
control of it's public f ee schools and
became an Independent school di trict
Trans p. SOL It was shown that the
FL Paso public school bonds had been
sold and were unpaid and that said
bonds and the taxes therefor were in
all respects legal if the city of FL Pa o
was q inGe pendent school district and
had the power uader the constitution
and its charter to pass the ordinance
authorizing said bonds.
REMARKS The school bonds were
issued in 1890. some time after the
special charter of 1889 went i1to effect
and they were issued in entire con
formity with the provisions OF the
special charter of 1889, and if Ell Paso
WIS Ill HUT SCuOOl d!S0i lCb
the time of their issuance, there is no
doubt whatever respecting their vail
dity and the legality of The taxes levied
to pay the interest aud provide sink
ing fund for the same. We think we
have shown ,pelusively that FL Paso
was an independent school district at
the time these bonds were issued.
FOURTH.-This honorable court
erred in holding that The judgment of
x-.- for
as it allowed ir terest on Delinquent
taxes for the years prior to 1895. and
in holding that by the provisions Of the
act Of 1895 art. 5232h, r. S. lsa5) in
terest cannot be collected upon taxes
due by delinquent prior to thai year i.
observation-disclosures the provis oos of
Art. 5232", r. S 1895, the city of Ell
Paso is entitled to recover interest a.
the legal rate from the time the taxes
became delinquent, upon ali taxes da :
prior to the yea 1895, and by the pro-
visions of sections 13 aud Is of Art. 8 Of
the constitution, tie legislature had
authority to enact the law of 1895. By
the provisions o. Chap. "a, Tit. ia of
the revision Of 1895, all tax sales made
| to cities as we'll as to the state prior to
the time of the enactment OF the chap
ter mentioned, were made defeasible
aud vol liable al a mater of grace to
property owners tDfOuRnOuG Gne sJaGe,
an under Sec. Is, of Art. 8 of the con-
s,itution, the legislature was authoriz-
ed to impose the penalty prescribed as
condition of payn Mt, or, rather. tn
modify the old PEI. lty 10 tax payer
favor. The question is really a oons' l.
| tutional oce: Is the set of 1895, in SO
far as it author: yes judgmen for IL
terest on taxes due to 1895, constitu-
| tional or not? The appel iant @ d ms
| that it is unconstitutional for the rea-
son that it has q retroactive effect.
We now say, as we have said hereto
fore, that, whether it is retroactive OF
not, as the constitu ion declares tina,
after tt tax sale the property own n
can not redeem the property without
paying double the amount for which
the property was so,d-snd as under
the cons itu ion the penalty would be
100 per cent of the rrincipal-and a.
Sec. 10, of Art. o. The const tuition. it
is expressly declared thst the property
may be old for the payment of taxes
and per a. ties due by such delinquent
under such regulat ons as the leg sla=
ture may pre- cribe,-the legis allure