129 Ark. 207 | Ark. | 1917
Appellants, who are the holders of county warrants of Craighead County, presented their petition to the circuit court of that county for a writ of certiorari to bring up for review the proceedings of the county court calling in warrants for cancellation or reissue pursuant to the terms of the statute. Kirby’s Digest, § 1175 et seq. The proceedings of the county court were brought up under the writ, but on final hearing the circuit court refused to grant the prayer and dismissed the petition.
The order calling in the warrants was duly made and entered of record by the county court on December 22,1915, in accordance with the terms of the statute. The return of the sheriff recites the posting of a copy of said order of the county court at the courthouse door in the city of Jonesboro, and also a copy at the courthouse door in the town of Lake City, and also copies at voting precincts in each township, but the notice does not show that copies were posted at the several voting precincts in the city of Jonesboro. The statute provides that the clerk shall furnish the sheriff with “a true copy of said order within ten days after the adjournment of said court” and that the sheriff shall “notify the holders of said county warrants to present the same to said court, at the time and place fixed as aforesaid, for redemption, cancellation, reissuance or classification of the same,” etc. * * * “by putting up at the courthouse door and at the election precincts in each township of said county, at least thirty days before the time appointed by the order of said court for the presentation of said warrants, a true copy of the order of said court in the premises, and by publishing the same in newspapers printed and published in the State of Arkansas for two weeks in succession, the last insertion to be at least thirty days before the time fixed by said court for the presentation of said warrants.” Kirby’s Digest, § 1176.
There is no presumption in favor of the regularity of such proceedings, but the record itself must affirmatively show that the statutory requirements were complied with. ‘ ‘ The statute having prescribed the manner in which the notice should be given,” said this court in Gibney v. Crawford, supra, “it could not be given legally in any other manner; and having prescribed what shall be the evidence of the publication it can be proven in no other manner. Facts which should be of record can not be proven by parol.”
There is no escape, we think, from the conclusion that the Legislature meant to require the posting of the notice in every voting precinct in the county, and it follows, that, since it was not done in this case, the order of the court calling in warrants was ineffectual and should be quashed. The judgment of the circuit court is, therefore, reversed and the cause is remanded with directions to enter judgment in favor of appellants in accordance with the prayer of their petition.