252 Mass. 407 | Mass. | 1925
This is a petition for a writ of mandamus. It is brought by the county commissioners of Essex County and the county itself, against the city of Newburyport, its mayor, city council, city treasurer and city auditor. The purpose of the petition is to enforce payment by the city to the county of the assessment required of the city of Newburyport with reference to the tuberculosis hospital of the county of Essex by St. 1924, c. 443. Prior to 1924 no contribution toward the cost of the tuberculosis hospital had been required of the city of Newburyport. Spec. St. 1917, c.107. By St. 1924, c. 443, that city, together with Lynn, Lawrence, Haverhill, and Salem, was included within the Essex County tuberculosis hospital district and rendered liable to assessments therefor. The material provisions of § 3 of the last mentioned act are these: “By reason of the admission under section one of this act of said cities of Lynn, Lawrence, Haverhill, Salem and Newburyport to the enlarged tuberculosis hospital district thereby constituted, the total amount to be assessed on the said cities on account of their respective shares of the total cost of the said tuberculosis hospital to the date of the passage of this act shall be five hundred and ninety thousand forty dollars and eight cents, divided as follows: — ... Newburyport, twenty-two thousand two hundred and eighty-eight dollars and fifty-four cents; and said assessments . . . shall be paid over to the treasurer of the hospital district on or before December thirty-first of the current year.”
It is provided in § 1 that “For the purpose of caring for the inhabitants of the cities and towns within the county of Essex who are suffering from tuberculosis, all of said cities and towns shall constitute the Essex County tuberculosis
It is the settled rule of practice that the extraordinary remedy provided by a writ of mandamus will not be permitted where there is other relief afforded either by common law or by special provisions of statute. Selectmen of Lexington v. Mulliken, 7 Gray, 280. Wheelock v. Auditor of Suffolk County, 130 Mass. 486. Perry v. Hull, 180 Mass. 547. Daly v. Mayor of Medford, 241 Mass. 336, 339, and cases there collected. City Council of Newburyport v. Mayor of Newburyport, 241 Mass. 575. Decatur v. Auditor of Peabody, 251 Mass. 82.
Exceptions overruled.