The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1904-08-06
SURETIES ARE
RESPONSIBLE
COURT DECIDES A
GAINST APPEAL MADE FROM
FIFTH CIRCUIT COURT.

The Supreme Court has affirmed the
decision of the lower court against the
sureties of w. A. Wright, the default
ing tax assessor for Waimea Kauai.
The case came up in the Fifth Circuit,
Kauai, under the title of Charles Gay,
j. *. Kapuniai, G. Bluckstad and w.
a. Wright, plaintiffs I'M error against
j. *. Farley tax assessor defendant in
error Smith d Lewis We're for the
plaintiffs i'm error and NJ. f. Prosser
assistant attorney general, was for the
defendant in error
The case is stated thus:
"E. f. Couant, tax assessor and coll
lector of the fourth taxation division,
an officer appointed by the treasurer of
the Territory and under bond to- him,
appointed one of the plaintiffs in error
w. A. Wright, deputy assessor ana coll
lector for the district of Waimel in said
division and i'm pursuance of statutory
requirement. eXacted from him a bond
for the faithful performance of his du-
ties. This was a joint and several bond,
dated January 2, 1902, in the sum of
$4,000, payable to Conant and his sue
cessors i'm office by the said Wright as
principal and the other plaintiffs in
error as sureties, and was approved by
Conant as to amount and suficiency OF
sureties. The names OF all the sureties
were i'm the body of the bond before il
was signed by any of them, and the
other two sureties signed after Black
stad. In March following after some
correspondence between Blackstad.
Conant and the treasurer growing out
of a request by Blackstad to be relels-
ed from the bond, Conant wrote to him
that he was relieved from all further
responsibility and also Endorsed on the
bond, in the space below the names of
the witness but above the certificate of
approval of the bonds, these words
Q. Blackstad has been given permie,
sion to withdraw from this bond. Il. r.
Conant.' In July following. it was as
certained that Wright was short in his
accounts $2,S4S.4O. He turned over to
the treasurer l. O. Us Of various per-
sons for more than the full amount. on
which $6435U was afterwards collected,
and finally this action was brought by
the defendant in error. Conants sue
cessor in office, for the balance, 81, 2O4. 60,
against the principal and all the sure
ties on the bond, and, after trial by the
court, jury waived, judgment. was re-
covered for that amount and costs.
Many exceptions We're taken and en-
bodied in bill of exceptions. and now
this writ of error is brought 10 reverse
that judgment. Only a few Of the
twenty-seven assignments Of error are
relied on
The court decides against the plain
tiffs in error, using the following Ian
guage:
The main contention is that the
surety Blackstad was released. and thai
his release operated in law as a re-
lease of the other sureties. 1t will b.
unnecessary to say what the effect Of
release of one surety would be upon tn.
liability of the others under the circum
stances of this case, or what the effec
would be as to delinquencies by tn,
deputy assessor prior to the release. O,
whether in this case the delinquencie,
all occurred after the supposed release
because in our opinion the ATTEMPTED
release was Intellectual for want Of au
thority in the assessor to grant q re
lease"