Case Name: In the Matter of the Agricultural Society of the contiguous counties of Dutchess and Columbia against A. M'Intyre, Comptroller, &c.
Court: New York Supreme Court of Judicature
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1819-08
Citations: 17 Johns. 87
Docket Number: 
Parties: *In the Matter of the Agricultural Society of the contiguous counties of Dutchess and Columbia against A. M’Intyre, Comptroller, &c.
Judges: 
Reporter: Johnson's Reports
Volume: 17
Pages: 79–80

Head Matter:
*In the Matter of the Agricultural Society of the contiguous counties of Dutchess and Columbia against A. M’Intyre, Comptroller, &c.
Where Agn-fftftCcmm’-hes are to be 'ier'Ti A«u"te themselves to propriated 'by isis, ("eJsF4¿ ch-107-)lor lhi agriculture, " &•. they should be formed alter due -public no-⅝ the' county, to mcf‘ for that 1>u,p0!,e'
BY an act passed the 7th of April, 1819, (sess. 42. ch. 107.) the legislature appropriated the sum of ten thousand dollars, for two years, for the promotion of agriculture and family domestic manufactures, to be distributed among the several counties. Of this sum 400 dollars were given to the county of Dutchess, and 800 dollars to the county of Columbia. The second section of the act declared that, whenever any agricultural society should be formed in any one county, or in two contiguous counties, the members of which should annually procure or raise, by voluntary subscription, a sum oí money, ami file affidavit thereof with the comptroller ; he should issue « • . ,■> n 1 /•» , his warrant on the treasurer for the payment of a sum, equal to the amount of such voluntary subscription ; but not exceeding the amount to which the county or counties were ea-titled By the apportionment made in the first section of the act.
Several of the inhabitants and farmers of the counties’of Dutchess and Columbia, who had, in 1814, formed an agricultural association, called The Farmers’ Club, and had annually distributed premiums to promote agriculture, met on the 10th of May, 1819, at Red Hoolc, in Dutchess county, pursuant to notice, and formed themselves into a society s under the name of “ The Agricultural Society of the contiguous counties of Columbia and Dutchess.” Having organized the society, and received the funds of the former association, a subscription was opened and circulated, and a meeting of the officers of the society appointed for the 21st of May, at which time the sum of 7 12 dollars and 70 cents was raised by voluntary subscription, including the funds of the same association. A certificate and as to the amount was, accordingly, transmitted to the comptroller, with a request, that he would issue his warrant to pay them the amount appropriated, by the act, to the said two counties, *which the comptroller declined doing, supposing that the moneys were to be paid to separate societies in the two counties.
Talcot now moved for a mandamus to be directed to the comptroller, commanding him to pay over to the said society, the sums of money appropriated to the said counties, pursuant to the said act.
Oakley, (attorney general,) contra.
He read several affidavits, from which it appeared, that about the 15th of April last, the grand jurors, at a court of oyer and terminer held at Poughkeepsie, in Dutchess county, after consulting with several gentlemen of the county, then present, proposed to give public notice of a meeting of the inhabitants of Dutchess county, to take into consideration the propriety of forming a Dutchess county agricultural society. A notice, signed by the foreman and the other jurors, was, accordingly, inserted in the Poughkeepsie Journal of the 21st of April, 1819, and in one or more county papers, of a meeting to be held, on the first Tuesday of June, 1819, at Luther Gap’s in the town of Washington, which, from its central situation, was the usual place of holding county meetings, for the purpose of forming an agricultural society in the county, to which all the inhabitants of the county were invited, and which notice was published in the same Journal, for several successive weeks. On the first Tuesday of June, not more than 25 persons attended, on account of bad weather; and they unanimously resolved to adjourn the meeting until the 22d day of June, on which day there was a very numerous meeting of the citizens of the county at the same place ; previous to which, an address to the farmers of the county, calling their attention to the adjourned meeting, was published. At this meeting, by a unanimous resolution of the persons present, a Dutchess county Agricultural Society was formed, officers appointed, and the society organized, in such a manner as fully to comply with the terms of the act, and entitle the society to the sum appropriated by the legislature.

Opinion:
Per Curiam.
The reasonable construction of the act, though no precise directions are given for the purpose, is, *that these societies should be formed after due public notice given to all the inhabitants of the county. The notice given for the formation of a society for the two counties, was a private notice sent to the members of the Farmers' Club; it was not sufficiently general and public. The counties of Dutchess and Columbia am large ; and the provision in the act was evidently intended for small counties contiguous to each other. We think, therefore, that this motion ought not to be granted.
Motion denied.