117 Ark. 30 | Ark. | 1915
Appellant owns land in Clajr County, Arkansas, within the boundaries of the St. Francis Drainage District, and this is an action instituted against him and other land owners by the drainage district to enforce payment of assessments levied for constructing the improvement. The district was created by special act of the General Assembly of 1905, and amended in 1909, and again in 1911. This suit is to recover the assessment levied for the -year 1912. The statute as last amended provides for the 'appointment of an assessor in each county, who is a resident of the county and not the owner of lands within the district, and that such assessor, together with the engineer, shall compose the board of assessors for that county. The act further provides that after the assessments have (been made the board of assessors shall meet at the time and place designated in notice for the purpose of hearing complaints of land owners aggrieved by .such assessments and for correcting errors therein. It also provides that .any land owner may appeal to the county court within twenty days after the meeting of the assessors for the purpose of equalizing the .assessments. Appellant challenges the constitutionality of the statute creating the district and also the validity of aill the proceedings thereunder.
Counsel rely on the case of Davis v. Gaines, 48 Ark. 370, as sustaining their .contention on this point, but we think the case is not an authority on this point as presented 'here. The court in that case was dealing with a statute which on its face included certain lands a.s a part of the territory benefited by the improvement but exempted those lands from taxation for certain years. The court held that the statute was void on its face for that reason. No such .situation is presented in the statute now under consideration, for the reason that no property within the prescribed limits is exempted from taxation.
W-e find nothing in the record which would justify us in declaring the statute or the proceedings thereunder void, so the decree of the chancellor is affirmed;