Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1900-09-20
Windham County Court.

Hon. John H. Watson, presiding Judge.
| Hon. Frank Worden and Hon. Daniel
Kellogg, assistant judges.
R. E. Gordon, sheriff.
H. G. Barber, states attorney.
j. H. Merrifeld, clerk.
M. j. Perry, Apt, VS.. j. Q. Shumway.
This was an action OF trover to recover
damages for alleged wrongful acts of the
defendant acting ss an officer. The plain
tiff was collet tor OF taxes fer the town of
Stratton for the years 1898, 1894 and 1895,
giving each year bond which was secured
by chattel mortgage on personal property.
| When he made settlem, mt with the town
there was disagreement as to the amount
due on tax bills, the town claiming bal
ance of $177 due the town. Failing to se-
cure satisfaction from the plaintiff tie town
instituted procee dngs aga INST him before
justice of the peace al d secured an ext Mt
in its favor, which, however, was not
enforced in season and consequently
lapsed. The town afterward in March,
| 1899, proceeded to enforce its claim, then
reduced to 500, by forecloslng the chattel
mortgages given by plaintiff to secure his
several bonds. The defendant as officer
in the case advertised COW and 20 sheep
and proceeded to sell the same under the
mortgages. The plaintiff at the sale re-
peatedly forbade the otlicer selling the
S ock stating that a portion of the sheep
were not covered by the mortgages. The
officer proposed to sell the COW which was
specified in all the mortgages, when the
plaintiff held a conference with two of the
selectmen OF Stratton as a result of which
the officer did not Sc II the COW but instead
sold all the sheepwifh the plaintiffs consent.
The sheep were bid off for pl,intiff BY one
OF the selectmen for about $95 and the
plaintiff then executed ch ,ttel mortgage
on the sheep to the two selectmen individ-
ually Tor $65 Plaintiff has since paid $48
on this mortgage and the same was turned
over to the town.
The court held while the trial wss in
progress that having elected to proceed
against the plaintiff by taking out an ex-
tent the town was barred from collecting
the alleged deficiency by foreclosure of the
mortgages so that the sale OF the property in
question was illegal unless plaintiff in some
way withdrew bis objections to the sale of
the sheep and the sale was made by plain
t,ff's consent. This question Of consent
was the point in the case, the testimony on
behalf of the plaintiff tending to show that
all the way through the proceedings he for
bade the sale and protested against its le-
gallty that when he had his conference
with the selectmen referred to he had an
understanding with them as individuals
only, and to the effect that he would put
in the seven sheep not included, as he
claimed, in the mortgages to be sold in lieu
of the COW, but in no way releasing bis
rights, the selectmen to bid off all the
sheep for him and take chattel mortgage
on the SINE to secure them, not for the
town but as individuals.
The testimony on behalf of the defendant
tended to show that while the plant # at
first forbade the sale he afterward in con-
ference with the selectmen waived all his
objections and that the selectmen acting in
an official capacity bid eff the sheep for the
plaintiff, took mortgage Of him for $65 to
secure the town for amount due on the tax
bills, I'd that plsi tiff told the officer to
go ahead and sell the sheep thus giving, as
be claimed, full license to the whole trans
action.
1uC jury ISUuEuGu q NCTulCG lOr Inc
plaintiff to recover damage, in the sum OF
$65. Fits and OE Butt .rfield for plain
tiff; Waterman & Martin for defendant.
Town OF Marlboro VS. Charles May.
An action brought under the statue e pro-
viding penalty for bringing poor and
irdigent person from any town into an
other with intent to charge it with the sup
port. 1t appeared from the evidence that
the defendant owns fam in Marlboro
where he resides during the summer sea-
n, but moving each winter to farm in
Wilmington, OF which is a more comfort. |
Pble house. A5out five years sgo there |
was being care for by Wilmington a girl
then about seven years old named Minnie |
Phillips, a relative OF Mays Wi e, who with |
other relatives then made an arrangement |
with the town of Whining on whereby they |
were thereaft'r 10 assume the support of |,
the child Alter awhile the relatives be-
came tlr ID OF their job, the girl who was |
feeble minded became more of a bur len |
and in 1898 while living in Marlboro May
went to the Marl5. overseer OF the poor
and asked bin to assume support OF the
girl as he, NAV, was urable and unwilling |
to keep her longer. This request as re-
peated two or three times but the over
seer put the matter off under different pre-
t,xts until May moved into winter quartersl