In this case the street was widened under the provisions of the St. of 1866, c. 174, which do not permit the set-off of benefits in estimating the damages to the land-owner. The value of the whole benefit and advantage to the estate should therefore be determined for the purposes of the assessment under the St. of 1868, c. 276, so far as it was caused by the widening of the street. The first ruling prayed for was erroneous, and properly refused.
The jury determined the benefit to be $6465, and to their verdict in that particular there appears to be no ground of objection in law. The board of aldermen had adjudged the value of the benefits to be $9000, and had assessed the petitioner $4500, or one half the amount thereof; and the report states that “ the whole assessment made by the board of aldermen did not exceed the whole cost of widening the street.” It must be assumed upon this report that the assessment was of a proportional share upon all the estates benefited and liable to the assessment; and that the cost was so great as to warrant an assessment to the full extent allowed by the statute; to wit, one half the adjudged value of the benefits. When the jury, in revising the judgment of the board of aldermen, determined the benefits to be $6465, and did not find the whole cost to be less than the amount assessed by the board, the only “ proportional share ” which could be assessed was one half of the amount so fixed by them as the value of the
According to the terms of the report the verdict must be set aside and a New trial ordered.