138 Ga. 471 | Ga. | 1912
J. E. Whiddon, a peddler and traveling vendor of patent medicine, filed a petition seeking to enjoin the officers of the county from collecting from him the occupation tax prescribed in § 946 of Civil Code, for peddlers and traveling vendors of patent medicine, alleging that he was not subject to the tax sought to be collected, for the reason that he had no interest whatever in the business and was acting only as the agent and employee of a certain named indigent Confederate soldier, who was exempt from the payment of such tax under the law of this State, and held certificates from the ordinaries of two other counties to that effect. At the hearing, after the introduction of the pleadings of both parties, the original certificates of the ordinaries, and an affidavit of the Confederate soldier referred to, confirming the allegations of fact set forth in Whiddoffis petition, the court passed an order permanently restraining and enjoining the sheriff and tax-collector as prayed, to which order they excepted.
Section 533 of the Code of 1873 contained the following provision: “If any person, except a disabled soldier of this State, peddles without first obtaining such license in counties where the ordinaries take no action regulating peddling, he forfeits to the county one hundred dollars for the first act of peddling, and for each month thereafter twenty-five dollars more.” And under § 536 of that code 'it was made the duty of the several ordinaries of this State to issue process against persons incurring the penalty provided for under the section first quoted. Construing these two sections of the Code of 1873, this court said: “Section 533 is, if any person, except a disabled soldier of this State, peddles without first ob-