Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-12-18
(Richmond Times.)


There is pending in the Circuit
Court of old Elizabeth City county. to
be argued either in chambers or at the
February term. one of the most inter
estinG and unique cases in the annals
of the Virginia courts.
The style of the suit is chesapeake
School District vs.. Jones, treasurer, ct
ais" The action was instituted some
two years ago by Hon. Francis eau
sey. of Hampton, for the purpose OF
compelling Jesse 5. Jones' treasurer of
Elizabeth City county. 10 turn over 10
the Chesapeake School District it's
proportion OF the school taxes collected
upon certain property upon the Unt;ed
states reservation ut Fortress Monroe.
temporary injunction was secured
two years ago by Mr.. Causey. re-
straining the treasurer from paying
out the taxes collected Ger district pur-
poses on the reservation to the fund
for county school purposes. The pres
ent proceedings is to make the injunc-
ton permanent. Messrs. Causey,
Jones and Woodward represent the
Chesapeake District, and Col. Thomas
Tabb appears for the defendant.
The amount involved is only about
sIo0 year. and there Is in hand some
thing over $500. the collections for the
past three or four years.
TAXES DIVIDED.
The school taxes are divided into
three ciassiiications. Ten cents on
every hundred dollars worth of prop
erty goes for STATE educational pur-
poses: ten cents goes for general coun-
~ educational purposes; ten cents is
devoted TO the district in which the
collection is made 1t is over the last
named item that the legal fight is in
progress.
In 1896, the state OF Virginia grant
ed to the United States government
the property now included in the Fort
ress Monroe reservation. embracing.
Also the shoal upon which the Rim
Kaps, or Fort Calhoun. was built.
When the grant was made, however.
was expressly provided that if at any
tlme the property was used for other
purposes than expressed in the grant,
IL should revert to the Commonwealth
When the Chamberlin Hotel was
erected. the contractors, artisans, sup
ply men, and others. attempted to put
mechanics liens on the structure 'Th,
attorneys for the hotel people argued.
When the case came into the Federal
Court Of the eastern district OF Vir-
ginla, that the property was a part of
the United States reservation, and.
therefore, the laws of the State did
not apply.
a STARTLING DECISION.
Judge Hughes, who was on the
bench at the time, then made the
startling decision that inasmuch rs the
property had been used for hotels,
wharves and other purposes not ex-
pressly stated in the grant. IT had act
ually reverted to the State of Vir-
GINA. He, therefore, overruled the OBJ
lection interposed by the attorneys for
the hotel management and the liens
were duly recorded
1t was shortly after this decision
was given that Colonel Morton Marye.
the State Auditor, acting on the advise
OF the Attorney General OF the State,
Major r. Taylor Scott, one of the most
brilliant lawyers OF the day, directed
that all houses on the reservation,
other than those used for government
purposes, be assessed and taxed as
personal property. This order was duly
carried out and in the regular course
of things the taxes We're collected and
have been collected ever since.
DID NOT DIVIDE.
But. for some reason that has not
developed, the treasurer, instead of dis
tributing the taxes thus collected
turned the amount that should have
gone to Chesapeake district into the
general county school fund. 1t was to
put stop to this that the injunction
was obtained and it is to keep a stop
put to it and compel the treasurer to
turn over the proportion of taxes due
Chesapeake district each year to that
district as they are collected: also to
turn over the amount already collected
and due; for the attorneys for the dis
trict claim that, even if an adverse de-
ciSon should be rendered, the district
is undoubtedly enfield to the taxes al
ready collected. whatever may he the
disposal of taxes that may be collected
in the future.
TOWN OF pHOEBITS
The Importance of this point is seen
when 1t is remembered that at the last
session of the Legislature the town of
Phoebus was Incorporated and made a
separate school district, whereas it was
formerly part of the Chesapeake dis
trlct Phoebus now comes in asking
Tor share of the taxes but the attor-
neys for the district, while admitting
that there may be some reasona bleness
in the claim of Phoebus, do not admit
That the town is entitled to one cent of
the taxes in the future. certainly not
any that may have been collected in the
past. In fact, they will undertake to
prove, when the occasion arises that
PhoebuS is not constitutionally scpa-
rate school district, inasmuch as the
Dill chartering the town did not set
forth that fact in its title, as the law
provides. The Phoebus complication
viii likely play an important, though
minor part in the controversy.
1t can hardly. however, affect the
main issue. The defendants contend.
in the first place, that the reservation