76 So. 550 | Miss. | 1917
delivered the opinion of the court.
The Gloster Compress & Trading Company is a corporation owning a compress and warehouse in the town of Gloster. This is an appeal from an assessment by the town of Gloster upon said property. The property had formerly been assessed at five thousand dollars but was assessed in the present instance by the municipal authorities at fifteen thousand dollars, the assessment having been made on the 5th day of October, as to this particular property, and said assessment entered on the roll on said 5th day of October. On the following day the agent of the appellant appeared before the board and protested against said assessment and asked that - it be reducec to ten thousand dollars, which the board declined to do. The roll as an entirety was approved on the 18th day of October at an adjourned meeting, and on the 21st of October petition for appeal to the circuit court, was filed. When the ease reached the circuit court on apneal a motion to dismiss because the appeal was not filed with • in five days after the assessment was made. The court
On the trial of the case in the circuit court the plaintiff, or appellant, introduced testimony showing that after the compress was erected that the cotton industry in and around Gloster was practically destroyed by the boll weevil, and that the business of compressing had been abandoned, and that the building and warehouse was much reduced in value by reason of the destruction of the cotton industry and the financial conditions in and around Gloster following the advent of the boll weevil. The plaintiff also introduced testimony of so'me of the officers and stockholders of the corporation showing that the property had been offered for sale for ten thousand dollars, and that in their judgment that would be a fair price for the compress and property of the company, and that they would be glad to sell for that amount. One of the witnesses was asked to state whether or not the compress was for sale, and, if it is for sale, at what figure, and the answer was that it “is for sale, and we would entertain a reasonable bid for the same, having offered it at ten thousand dollars, and willing to accept seven thousand five hundred.” This-question and answer was objected to and objection sustained. Witness was then asked to “please state whether or not you have ever in the past three years offered said compress for' sale, and, if so, state the names of the parties and the price at which you offered same,” and answered, “Upon an inquiry from Mr. G. TI. Barney, we, in our letter of January 23,1915; offered the property at ten thousand dollars, and in our letter of February 6, 1915, to Mr. C. A. Gordon, Port Gibson Miss, we again offered the compress property including everthing for ten thousand dollars.” This question and answer was objected to, objection sustained by the court, and the testimony excluded. Witness was then asked “whether or not such offer was in the
Judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded.
Reversed and remanded.