133 Ark. 491 | Ark. | 1918
(after stating the facts). The road dis-' trict was established under Act 338 of the Acts of 1915. Acts of 1915, p. 1400. Section 16 of the act is relied upon by the commissioners to uphold the validity of the order of the county court authorizing the change from a gravel to an asphalt surface and also the changes in the route of the road. The section reads as follows:
“If the commissioners find it necessary and to the best interest of the district at any time before the improvements are made, to make any alteration or change in the plans and specifications, or the route of the road to be constructed, or that it is necessary to construct any additional laterals or extensions within the boundaries of the district not provided for in the original plans, or find that any road or roads in the course of construction should be extended in the additional territory not included in the original district, they shall have the engineer for ©aid district or the State Highway Engineer, as the case may be, to make plans and estimates of the cost of such changes, laterals or extensions.
“When the engineer has completed his report of same he shall file it with the board of commissioners, and the commissioners of said district shall file same in the office of the county clerk. Thereupon the county court shall direct the clerk to give public notice that such report has been filed and set out the changes suggested, and calling upon the land owners to appear in that court and show cause for or against said changes in the plans, route or the construction of any laterals or extension as the case may be at .a date not earlier than five days after said notice shall have been given in a newspaper having a general weekly circulation for two consecutive insertions. If the county court finds at the hearing above provided for that it is to the best interest of the district to make any change or alteration, or construct any lateral road or to extend any road into adjoining territory, or to extend the boundaries of the district so as to include adjoining territory, it shall make an order extending the boundaries of the district approving the changes submitted or the construction of any lateral road or extension as the case may be, and from the finding of the county court thereupon appeals may be taken by complying with section 14 of this act.”
If the broad construction sought to be placed upon section 16 by the commissioners in regard to the alteration of the plans and specifications and route of the road to be constructed should prevail, it is at once obvious that the section is in conflict with section 1 of the act or ,at least that the two sections would be inconsistent with each other.
Subsection (A) of the first section provides for the circulation of the petition among the land owners and for the filing of a plat with the petition upon which the boundaries of the proposed district shall be plainly indicated showing the road which it is intended to construct and the improvement as nearly as practicable.
“Tour petitioners agree to any chang'e that may hereafter be made by the court or the commissioners of the district in the line of said road, provided the general purpose of securing the highway between the terminii is retained.”
Hi the first place, it may be said that this, provision of the petition only authorizes a change of the route; and not a change of the materials of which the road is to be constructed. In the next place, such construction would give those who signed the petition the power to change the provision of a statute and to give it a meaning which was not intended by the Legislature. It would in effect give them the power to legislate and to change the meaning of a provision of the statute in accordance with their will and contrary to the will of those who did not sign the petition. Those who did not favor the improvement had the legal right to have the district organized and the improvement constructed in accordance with the provisions of the statute; and that right could not he taken away by any act of those signing the petition.
It follows that the chancellor erred in sustaining a demurrer to the complaint, and for that error, the decree will be reversed and the cause remanded with directions to overrule the demurrer and for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.