79 Ga. 709 | Ga. | 1887
L. H. Bowen, Oelestia C. Foster, Cassandra 0. Hulbert and A. C. Morgan, filed their bill in Greene superior court against the mayor and aldermen of Greenesboro, alleging that they were residents and tax-payers in said town, and that the General Assembly had passed a local act, approved December 24th, 1886, to authorize the mayor and aldermen of said town to hold an election at the courthouse in Greenesboro on the first Saturday in February, 188T, to determine the question of issuing bonds; and in the event that two-thirds of the qualified voters residing in said town should vote in favor of issuing bonds, the mayor and aldermen were to issue bonds, and provide for the payment of the principal and interest accruing on the same by local taxation, for the purpose of constructing and furnishing a school-house for the white and also one
“ To the Citizens of Greenesboro, Greene county, Georgia:
“Notice is hereby given that an election will be held at the courthouse door in said city on the first Saturday ifi February, 1887, by virtue of an act of the legislature, to decide whether or not said city will issue bonds to build two school-houses, one for the whites and one for the colored people. January 21st, 1887.
James B. Park, Jr., Secretary. H. T. Lewis, Mayor,”
The bill alleges that this notice was published a second time on the 4th of February, 1887; and on the following day, the said election was held and the result announced that a majority of two-thirds of the qualified voters had voted in favor of the issuing of bonds. The bill further alleges that, on the 11th of April, 1887, the mayor and aldermen adopted certain ordinances for the issuance of said bonds, under the provisions of said act, in the sum of $7,-000, providing for the amount of said bonds, the denomination thereof, the amount of interest payable thereon^ and when due; providing further, that said bonds should be sold at public outcry the first Tuesday in July, 1887, to the highest bidder; and levying a tax to pay interest thereon and create a sinking fund for the ultimate redemption of said bonds; providing further, that the marshal of said town should make out a complete list of all tax-payers resident therein, or owning property therein and of all the taxable property, and assess taxes thereon, to be collected by said marshal. The bill alleges that said bonds had been prepared for issue; that on third of June, 1887, said
This cause came on for a hearing on the bill and answer before the chancellor on July 1st, 1887 ; and he refused the injunction prayed for in said bill. The complainants excepted to said decision, and they bring the case here for review.
The bill alleges that the notice was published the first time on the 21st of January, 1887, and the second time on the 4th of February, 1887, and that the election was held on the day thereafter. The act under which this election was purported to have been held was silent as fo the length of the notice, and what said notice should contain. It was necessarily silent, because' the legislature had already passed a general act upon the subject, and was forbidden by the constitution from passing any local act, after passing a general act upon the same subject of elections and notice.
When a county or municipality undertakes to incur a
We therefore rule that when a county, or town, or city, desires to incur a debt and issue bonds therefor, they must comply strictly with the general law upon the subject of notice of election and what that notice must contain; and the defendants in error not having done this, the court erred in not granting the injunction prayed for.
Judgment reversed.