219 Mass. 219 | Mass. | 1914
The petitioner is a duly licensed journeyman plumber; and under our statutes there is nothing unlawful in his contracting to do or in his doing by his own labor the work which he has contracted with Sommers to do. Sts. 1912, c. 518; 1910, c. 597; 1909, c. 536. Commonwealth v. Beaulieu, 213 Mass. 138: Barriere v. Depatie, ante, 33. He is a competent plumber, with sufficient manual skill and technical knowledge to do the work, and intends to do it himself without employing any one to assist him. He is not a master plumber.
If we assume that the city of Holyoke could by ordinance require that a permit to do such work should be issued only to a master plumber, yet we are of opinion that this ordinance makes no such requirement. Without such a requirement, it is plain that a journeyman plumber, if found to be a fit person, could contract to do and could do by his own labor all the work that here is contemplated to be done. This right cannot be taken away without a clear provision to that effect. The provision that the
The trend of authority elsewhere is to the same effect. Indeed some of the State courts have gone farther than here is necessary or than we should be disposed to do without full consideration. Davidson v. State, 77 Md. 388. Dexter v. Blackden, 93 Maine, 473. State v. Justus, 90 Minn. 474. State v. Pennoyer, 65 N. H. 113. People v. Marx, 99 N. Y. 377, 386. State v. Gardner, 58 Ohio St. 599. State v. Benzenberg, 101 Wis. 172. Slaughter-House Cases, 16 Wall. 36. Butchers’ Union Slaughter-House Co.v. Crescent City Live-Stock Landing Co. 111U.S.746. Tick Wo v.Hopkins, 118 U. S. 356.
There is nothing inconsistent with this view in Quinsy v. Kennard, 151 Mass. 563; Commonwealth v. Parks, 155 Mass. 531; Commonwealth v. Ellis, 158 Mass. 555; Commonwealth v. Hubley, 172 Mass. 58; Commonwealth v. McGann, 213 Mass. 213; or Storer v. Downey, 215 Mass. 273.
The fact that the petitioner has a partner who attends to
The respondents refused to issue a permit for the sole reason that the petitioner was not a master plumber and was not licensed as such, and that his plan did not show the name of a master plumber who was to do the work. This was one of the agreed facts. We must take it that they found all other facts in his favor, and that in the exercise of their judgment and discretion they would have issued a permit to him but for the one objection stated. As that objection was without foundation, and as the single justice has stated in his report that if the petition could be maintained the writ was to issue, it follows that the writ of mandamus must be issued as prayed for.
So ordered.