6 Md. 113 | Md. | 1854
delivered the opinion of this court.
It is not necessary to express an opinion upon all the pro
It was insisted-, on the part of the appellant, that the plan and terms of the-agreement are so vag.ue and uncertain, that the law will not recognize any obligation to pay this money. In other words, that they do not amount to a contract in law. And, first, it is said that the term. “ Atheneum”'conveys to the mind no definite idea, and that the alleged contract is void for the want of a sufficient and certain'subject.. We are not to determine questions of this kind according to the uses to which such buildings were devoted among the ancients. The meaning of this term was well known among the- Greeks and Romans as designating a public place where professors of the liberal arts held their assemblies, rhetoricians declaimed, and poets recited. In modern days, however, the name has- been frequently bestowed upon establishments- connected- with literature, science, and the arts, whether devoted to one or more branches of learning. There are many such institutions in this country. Probably no two of them are the same in origin, design or government, yet each, looking to its character and object, may very appropriately be called an Atheneum. We do not consider this a sufficient objection to the validity of the subscription.
It was also urged, that even if the term “Atheneum” be sufficiently definite, there was no consideration- for the agree
In whatever uncertainty the law concerning voluntary sub- ; scriptions of this character may be at this time, in conse- \ quence of the numerous decisions pronounced upon the subject, it appears to be settled,jtliat where advances have been made, or expenses or liabilities incurred by others, in consequence of such subscriptions, before notice of withdrawal,
But here a question arises as to the right of this plaintiff to sue. This branch of the subject has elicited much discussion. The cases referred to, without asserting a principle, have generally been decided according to their peculiar circumstances, the plaintiffs having been required to bring themselves within the principles heretofore indicated as governing actions of this character. If in some, as was contended, recoveries have been had in the name of parties possessing no stronger claim to sue than the present appellee, it is to be observed, also, that in others equally as favorable, the right has been denied. Without particularly examining the authorities it may be remarked, that in those cited on this point, in behalf of the plaintiff below, the defendants had agreed to pay their contributions to the plaintiffs, as the party named in the agreement, or afterwards selected in the manner therein indicated for the purpose of receiving the. money; or the
The objects proposed by the friends of this institution, as imposing on all the parties a high moral obligation, were forcibly presented in answer to the legal defences set up by the appellant. It too often happens that judgments according to the law do not subserve the purposes of justice. But this the courts have no power to remedy. It is safer that a private right should fail, or a wrong go unredressed, than that settled principles should be disregarded in order to meet the equity of a particular case. Not finding any warrant in the law for sustaining this action in the name of the appellee, the judgment must be reversed without procedendo.
Judgment reversed and procedendo refused.