The record-union., 1898-04-28
The SUPERVISORS MUST ACT
MUST APPOINT AN INSPECTOR
OF FRUIT TREES.
IF Not Done in This County a Writ
OF Mandate VIII be
Asked For.

In yesterdays Record Union was
published two letters which are OF
considerable Importance to horticultur
lists throughout Sacramento County.
The first was from Charles Aull, War
den of the Folsom Prison, written to
| the Secretary of the State Board of
Horticulture, asking for protection
against orchardists adjoining his, Who
declined to spray their trees, thereby
making his efforts in that direction fu-
/ tile
The second letter was from Secretary
/ LelOng to the Chairman of the Sacra-
mento County Board Of Supervisors,
requesting that immediate steps be
taken to make the orchardists COM
planned Of comply with the statute gov
erning the case.
! BY an inadvertence Mr. Lelong was
| reported as saying that unless the
Board Of Supervisors act promptly he
intended to bring suit against the orch
ardists In reality he said he should
bring suit against the Board of Super
! visors and enforce a compliance with
! the law.
| Mr.. LeIong has retained Attorney
/ Frank S. Sprague in the matter, and
unless in the near future the board acts
! in the premises suit will be brought.
BY the Act of 1889, entitled IAN Act
to protect and promote the horticulture
al interests of the State" it became
! incumbent on the County Boards of Su-
pervisors to appoint County Boards OF
Horticultural Commissioners, to act
subordinately to the State Board of
| Horticulture and made it mandatory
upon the Boards of Supervisors to Gre
ate and appoint such a commission.
| The validity of this Act having been
questioned, a mandamus suit was
/ brought against the Board of Supervls-
/ ors of Sonoma County, and Hon. John
G. PRESLEY, Judge of the Superior
Court of Sonoma County, on the 10Th
/ day of June, 1889. rendered a decision
in which the validity of the Act direct
| ing the Boards of Supervisors to estab-
| lish County Boards of Horticultural
Commissioners was sustained. The
court said:
THE Act of March, 1889, provides
that whenever q petition is presented
| to the Board of Supervisors of any
county, and signed by twenty-five or
)
ers and possessors of an orchard, or
both, stating that certain or all orch
ards or nurseries. or trees Of any vari-
ETY., are infested with scale insects.
and praying that a commits
sion be appointed by them, whose duty
it shall be to supervise their destruc-
ton, as herein provided, the Board of
| Supervisors shall, within twenty days
thereafter select three Commissioners
for the county, to be known as a Coun-
ty Board of Horticultural Commission
erS
I'm accordance with this Act a petit
ton was presented to the Board of Su-
pervisors, signed by this plaintiff and
twentysix other persons, praying for
the appointment of County Board Of
Horticultural Commissioners for So
mona County, and a demand was made
on the Supervisors that they carry into
effect the provisions of the Act. The
board refused to appoint the commits
sioners.''
After long review of the Act of 1891
and that of 1889, amendatory thereof,
the court concluded it's decision in
! these words:
"It was contended that Acts Of the
Legislature which provided that a duty
/ imposed shall be performed within 6.
certain time are directory and not
mandatory. I cannot assent to that
proposition. Where a court or board IS
directed by law to perform an act in
a given time, the law, unless it declares
the act may not be done after the ex-
piration of the time, is so far direct
DRY as that the act is valid, though done
after the time fixed, but is not direct
Org in the sense that the duty or act
directed may be entirely disregarded or
omitted.
THE time is given that the board
may have ample opportunity to act in
telligently and with good Judgment. but
not to enable the board or officer Of
whom the duty is required to disregard
1 1t entirely. I have no doubt but that
the Board of Supervisors is required
by the law in question to appoint a
County Board of Horticultural Com
missioners, and that it may be lawfully
done after, the expiration of the twenty
days given them in the Act for deliber-
alton"
]