50 Me. 529 | Me. | 1864
The facts fully appear in the opinion of the Court, which was drawn up by
Stephen G. Inman enlisted as a soldier in the volunteer army of the .United States. At the time of his enlistment he was a resident of Milford, but his settlement was in Orono. While in the service, his family, being in actual distress, applied to the overseers of the plaintiff town for assistance, which they duly furnished, and gave notice of the same to the defendants, who declining to pay the same, this suit was commenced.
The relief was furnished while the Act of 1862, c. 127, § 1, was in force, which is in these words — "The cities, towns and plantations in this State arc hereby severally empowered to raise, by taxation or otherwise, to be applied to
By § 2, a portion of the money so applied was to be reimbursed from the State treasury to the city, town or' plantation furnishing the aid referred .to in the preceding section.
By § 6, "No pauper disabilities shall be created by reason of receiving the aid provided for in this Act.”
By the pauper law, as established prior to the Act under consideration, towns and cities were obliged to relieve all persons destitute within their limits, with a right of. reclamation, when those relieved had a settlement elsewhere, against the towns where .such settlement might be. No special legislation, therefore, was necessary, for the purpose of enabling towns to relieve the families of destitute soldiers; — but it was, if the Legislature designed to prevent such relief from imposing upon, those relieved the disabilities of pauperism.
The Act of 1861, c. 63, provided only for those enlisted in the ten regiments therein referred to, — and enabled
If the first section left it at the election of towns to relieve in accordance with its provisions, the Act might be of no effect. If they may relieve under it or not — then all cities and towns may decline to relieve under it, and the Act thereby become repealed — and all families of volunteers relieved, by the fact of receiving relief, are made subject to the disabilities of pauperism.
If it be optional with cities, towns and plantations, whether they shall relieve persons destitute who are within its provisions, then if the town of Orono should relieve all the destitute families of its resident volunteers, under the first s’oction, and the town of Milford should relieve none, but should so relieve that it may recover compensation for the amount furnished of the defendants under the general pauper law, as they claim to do, then, in such case, Orono would be compelled to bear its share of the general burden of the State, as well as its particular and special liability to the plaintiffs, for the amount advanced bv them to the destitute families of volunteers having a settlement in the de
It is obvious, too, that this law is general, applicable to all cities, towns and plantations, and that no right is any where given for any city or town or plantation to escape its provisions. If the right of election were given, it would cease •to be a law — if its enactment might be disregarded by any city or town so choosing.
It is insisted that this law is not mandatory. It was passed for the purpose of encouraging enlistments, and, as it sets forth, "in aid of the families of volunteers.” But, if not obligatory, if not mandatory, it is entirely inoperative or may be made so. The general rule in the construction of statutes, is, that when a public body is clothed with-power, and furnished with means to do an act required by the public interests, the execution of that power may be insisted upon as a duty, though the statute conferring be only permissive in its terms. The reasoning of Nelson, C. J., ■in the Mayor, &c., of New York ,v. Furze, 3 Hill, 612, is entirely applicable to the statute under consideration. "This statute,” he remarks, referring to the one, the con
It was the duty of the plaintiff town "to raise money by taxation or otherwise ” to aid in the support of the family of Inman. They have done this in some way, for they have furnished it supplies for which they claim to recover of the defendants. This they canpot do. Their only claim for reimbursement was against the State. — Veazie v. China, ante, p. 518. Exceptions overruled.