The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-10
BhZLALE DEED VOID
so HOLDS JUDGE BUM IN HE
PHALEN PARK FOLKS
SUIT.
COUNTY HAD NOT THE RIGHT
TO DONATE IT TO THE
CITY.
BAzILEs KNEW AT THE TIME
That the County Was Not Securing
the Property for Its Own
Purposes.

The county Of Ramsey will not buy
the Bazille property adjoining Phalen
park and the north city limits. This
is the situation resulting from decis
ion filed by Judge Bum in the district
court yesterday, which declares void
the deed to the county Of the tract Of
land in question. The preceding board
of county commissioners, shortly be-
fore its retirement from office, nego-
tiated a deal with Ed Bazille and his
wife Clara NJ. BaziIle, whereby the
board agreed to purchase for ST., 500, or
whereabouts, a tract of land just out
side the city limits and adjoining the
north side of Phalen park. 1t was the
purpose of the county board to donate
the land to the city for an addition 10
Phalen park. A resolution aue1or1zing
ing the purchase was adopted, the
deed to the land was prepared, ten
dered to the board, and a majority
voted to accept it. But in order to
complete the acceptance and authorize
the purchase of the land, the signature
of the chairman of the board of county
commissioners was needed. This sig
nature could not be obtained, as Chair
man Doran refused to approve of the
action. In the meantime the new
board came in, and to put an end to
the controversy promptly rescinded the
resolution of it's predecessor for the
purchase of the land. Thereupon, Mrs.
Bazille, the owner of the property.
brought suit against the board of coun-
ty commissioners to compel the &C
ceptance of the deed and the payment
Of the consideration named therein.
under the contention that the rescind-
ing resolution of the new board was
illegal in that it violated the obliga
ton of a. contract
The county demurred to the COM
plant on the ground that it did not
state facts sufficient to constitute a
cause of action. The demurrer was
argued before Judge Bum some weeks
ago. Judge Bum sustains the demur-
rer, and in an accompanying memoir
andum gives the following reasons
therefor:
81 have concluded that the only fair
construction of the recitalS contained
in the resolution of Dec Z, shows con-
clusively an intention on the part Of
the defendant to buy the land and
donate it to the city of st. Paul. The
land was to be bought for the purpose
Of giving it away and not for any
use for which defendant had the pow
err TO purchase land. 1t is, think, i'm
material that this intention is express
ed only by way of recitals and not in
the resolution proper. 1t is the exis-
tence of the intention and not it's eX-
preston, that controls. I think the
Intention to buy for a purpose for
which the commissioners had no right
To use the land fairly appears from
the complaint.
"A more difficult question is whether,
the defendant having the power to
buy land for some purposes, the fact
that it intended to devote the land to
az illegal purpose constitutes a de-
Tense to an action by the vendor for
the purchase price. It must be con-
ceded that plaintiff knew that the de-
PENDANT intended to give the land to
the city; in other words, that it in
tended to use the land for an illegal
purpose. The recitals in the iced ten
dcred the defendant, show this We
have then a case where officers of a.
municipal corporation agree with the