63 W. Va. 480 | W. Va. | 1908
The Bluefield Water Works & Improvement Company, a West ’ Virginia corporation, filed with an assessor of Mercer county a report or statement of its property for taxation for the year 1905, as provided by Code, chapter 29, section II, as found enacted in chapter 35, Acts 1905, p. 311, (Code of 1906, section 161), showing its taxable property and also its indebtedness. The assessor refused to allow such indebtedness as a set-off against the money, credits and investments of the corporation. Then the corporation applied to the county court to correct the assessment by deducting such indebtedness from its money, credits and investments, and the county court, having refused relief, the corporation appealed the matter to the circuit court, which reversed the action of the county court, and allowed such deduction of indebtedness, and corrected the assessment, and ordered a refund of a portion of the taxes. . From this action of the circuit court the State of West Virginia has sued out a writ of error from this Court.
The question of jurisdiction of - this Court to entertain this writ of error has not been made by counsel; but this Court has often said, and it is an axiom of court procedure, that a court must, before acting on the merits of a suit or writ of error, look to its own jurisdiction, because it is forbidden to act where there is no jurisdiction, and its action is likely void, and besides the court ought not assume jurisdiction when it has none, and thus set a bad precedent.
For these reasons we think there is no jurisdiction for this writ of error in this Court, and we dismiss it for want of jurisdiction to entertain it.
Dismissed.