12 Vt. 674 | Vt. | 1839
The opinion of the court was delivered by
— In the first of these cases, the defendants’ title, and in the second case the plaintiff’s title, depends upon the competence of evidence, offered by them respectively, in support of two collector’s sales of the lands in question. The proceedings in support of the first sale have already been held defective, in the case of Isaacs, Administrator, v. Shattuch. Many of the exceptions taken in this case to the other sale were overruled in the former case alluded to. I shall now confine my remarks to those exceptions, which were not then considered. The testimony in support of this last sale, as well the record as the evidence to prove the rate-bill, was rejected by the court below as being incompetent for the purposes for which it was offered. If that testimony was competent, although not sufficient to make out a perfect title, the case must be remanded to that court for further proceedings.
1. The tax bill is said to be insufficient. It will be remembered that the statute does not, in terms, require a tax-bill. But as it does require the collector, before he enters upon the duties of his office, to execute a bond, in “ double the amount of such tax as he may be appointed to collect,” it seems to pre-suppose that the amount of the tax, which he is to collect, shall be ascertained before he gives the bond. It was held in Spear v. Ditty, 8 Vt. R. 419, that the amount of the bond was to be determined by the amount of the tax, which was not voluntarily paid to the committee, and which it thereby became necessary to put into the hands of the collector. Hence, in that case, it was considered, that a tax-bill must be furnished the collector by the committee. But it is no where required that the tax-bill should appear of record, nor indeed that it should be preserved in its original
2. It is objected, that in the record of the committee’s advertisements, the name of Luther W. Brown appears, whereas Luther H. Brown was appointed to that office, and the
But in construing a record, we may always resort to the' obvious means in our power of arriving at the truth. From inspection, it is apparent that the record was originally made Luther H. Brown, and, that subsequently, the letter H. was so altered that it will now read either H. or W. This, doubtless, occurred after this manner. The record was originally made from the papers, and made, as it should have been, Luther H. Brown. But the town clerk, on comparing the record with the formula furnished for his guide, by those interested in the sale, found this name written with a W. instead of an H. Being in doubt which letter might be correct, he gave it this double aspect. Under all the circumstances of this case, to hold the record void for this defect, would be hypercritical indeed.
3. In regard to recording the advertisements of the collector and committee, all was said in the case of Isaacs v. Shattuck which this case requires, except that, in the present case, there were some verbal differences in the advertisements published in the different papers, and one of each form was recorded, the collector’s advertisements in two papers being the same.
4. In the collector’s advertisement in the Rutland Herald, the object for which the tax was granted, is thus stated: “ for the purpose of making roads and building” -. This is not an omission which affects the import of the notice. Literally, the phrase would read “ making roads,” or “ making roads and building them,” which is the same ; the first phrase manifestly implying all that could be expressed in the latter, if the word “bridges” were supplied. As the bridges are a portion of the road, the “ making” of roads, ex
5. The record of unredeemed lands states the vendue to have been held on the 7th of June, 1834, when it was in fact held on the 7th of June, 1833. As this record refers to the sale by numerous other particulars, this error, in the date , of the vendue, could not mislead any one. The court are all agreed that the title is not affected by this error. It is said somewhere to have been held that, unless the list of unredeemed lands was properly recorded in the proper office, the title of purchasers was thereby defeated. 1 can find no such decision reported. Upon what possible ground it could be decided that this, which was not required to be done till thirty days after the title of purchasers had, by express provisions of the statute, become perfected, should operate to divest' that title, is wholly past my comprehension. The court now incline to consider that this cannot affect- the title in any’ case. But it is not necessary to go farther than the facts in this case require.
6. It is said the collector has sold some lands in town for more than the tax and cost. This is not made to appear, and if it were so, it is difficult to perceive how it could affect the title in this case.
The question in regard to the allowance of the committee’s account, not having been passed upon by the court below, cannot be revised here, upon the present bill of exceptions.
Judgments of the county court reversed, and both cases remanded for new trial.