152 Ga. 76 | Ga. | 1921
1. The court did not err in overruling the demurrer filed by the intervenors to the amended petition and answer.
2. Assignments of error to which no reference is made in the brief of the plaintiff in error will be treated as abandoned.
3. It is contended that the act under which the election was held; is illegal and void, and that the bonds cannot be validated, for the reasons: (a) said act does not provide how or in what manner money to pay off the bonds shall be raised; (b) said act does not specify the property upon which nor the territory within which a tax for that purpose shall be levied; (c) said act does not vest in any person or persons authority to issue,, sell, and dispose of the bonds, nor to levy and collect' a- tax for their liquidation. This contention appears to be without merit, upon consideration of the act of 1919 (Acts 1919, pp. 288, 349), known as the “ code of school laws.” Section 143 of the act of 1919 provides: “ When one fourth of the registered qualified voters of a school district, consolidated district, or county, in which a local tax is now or may hereafter be levied for school purposes, or of a district in a county now levying a local tax, shall be filed with the boar'd of trustees, or board of education of such a school district, consolidated district, or county, a petition asking for an election for the purpose of determining whether or not bonds shall be issued for the purpose of building and equipping a school house or houses for said school district, consolidated district, or county, the required number of petitioners to be determined by the said board of trustees, or board of education, it shall be the duty of said board of trustees, or board of education, to fix the amount, denomination, rate of interest, and dates when due, and call such election in terms of law now provided for a county issue of bonds. . . The said board of trustees, or board of education, in case the election is for a bond issue, shall follow the law as required of county authorities as embodied in section,440 et seq. of the Code of 1914, volume 1, in the issue thereof.” Section 442 of Civil Code (1910) provides: “ When said notice is given and said election held in accordance with the preceding section, if the requisite two thirds of the voters of the county, municipality, or division at said election vote for bonds, then the authority to issue the bonds in aceqrdance with paragraphs 1 and 2, section 7, article 7 of the Constitution is hereby given to the proper officers of said county, municipality, or division. Section 145 of the act of 1919 provides: “The county authorities, in levying and assessing taxes for the purpose of paying the interest and returning and paying off said bonds, shall, in the event that the entire county is not embraced within the area or territory in which said election is held, levy and assess such taxes only against the property located within the area or territory within which said election is held. For the purpose of taking care of the expense of these bonds for districts, consolidated districts, or county, the board of trustees or board of education shall recommend and the board of commissioners shall levy
4. It is contended that there is no evidence of the fact that one fourth of the qualified voters petitioned the ordinary to call the election for bonds. After such election has been held the burden is upon those attacking its validity to show that a proper petition was not presented, and intervenors in this case failed to establish their contention. Wilson v. Dunn, 143 Ga. 361 (85 S. E. 198); Ray v. Swain, 148 Ga. 203 (2) (96 S. E. 209).
5. The evidence submitted to the court as to whether or not there was the requisite number of qualified votes in favor of the issuance of bonds is, without contradiction, to the effect that there were one hundred and twelve registered qualified voters in the district; that sixty-eight voted in favor of bonds and three voted against bonds. This evidence was sufficient to support the judgment of validation.
(a) Some of this evidence was objected to and error was assigned on its admission, but there is no reference in the brief of plaintiff in error to these assignments of error, and accordingly they will be considered as abandoned.
6. Where an election is held on the question of issuing bonds, as in the present ea.se, on the 9th day of a given month, and it is proposed that such bonds, if issued, are to be dated on the first day of the same month and shall bear interest from date at the rate of six per cent, per annum, and are to be paid off within thirty years, the fact that the bonds bear date eight days previous to the date of the election affords no reason why said bonds should not be validated.
7. Where an election for bonds was held on the 9tli day of July, 1920, and it is proposed that all of said bonds shall be paid off and retired on the first day of July, 1950, the fact that said bonds are dated July 1st, 1920, will not make said bonds void on the ground that their issuance is not in conformity with paragraph 2, sec. 7, art. 7 of the constitution of Georgia (Civil Code, § 6564), which provides as follows: “ Any county, municipal corporation, or political division of this State, which shall incur any bonded indebtedness under the provisions of this constitution, shall, at or before the time of so doing, provide for the assessment and collection of an annual tax, sufficient in amount to pay the principal and interest of said debt within thirty years from the date of the incurring of said indebtedness.” It is not necessary under the constitution that provision for the payment of such indebtedness shall be made until “ at or before ” the liability is created, and such provision need not be made before the application for validation. Epping v. City of Columbus, 117 Ga. 263 (12) (43 S. E. 803).
S. All other assignments of error not specifically dealt with are either abandoned or are without merit.
•Judgment affirmed.