26 Kan. 419 | Kan. | 1881
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This is an action of mandamus brought in this court in the name of the state by the county attorney of Phillips county, to compel the board of county commissioners of said county to order an election for the relocation of the county seat of said county. Section 2 of the act concerning the location and removal of county seats, (Comp. Laws of 1879, p. 313,) provides, among other things, that wherever the county seat of any county has been located by a vote of the electors of the county, and where county buildings have been erected, donated or purchased at the county seat, the cost of which shall have been at least $2,000, and not exceeding $10,000, and five years have elapsed since the last election for the location or relocation of the county seat, the board of county commissioners shall, upon a petition of three' fifths of the legal electors of such county, order an election for the relocation of the county seat. Section 4 of said act provides as follows:
“ Sec. 4. For the purposes of this act, the number of legal electors in the county shall be ascertained from the last assessment rolls of the several township assessors in the county.”
These sections apply to this case, and under them a petition was presented to the county commissioners of Phillips county, asking for an order for an election for the relocation of the county seat of that county. The commissioners refused to-order the election, upon the ground that the petition did not contain three-fifths of the legal electors of the county; and whether the petition did contain such number of legal electors as ascertained, or as ascertainable from competent evidence, is the principal and indeed the only question now presented for our consideration. Involved in this question, however, are
In the present case it would seem that there were 2227 names found on the assessment rolls, as made out by the
As before stated, we think the lists made out by the several township assessors under § 65 of the tax law constitute the assessment rolls of the several townships, as
The first question which we shall consider is, whether all the names found upon these personal-property statements should be placed by the township assessors upon the assessment rolls. We think we must answer this question in the affirmative. Every person residing in the county and owning property subject to taxation is required to make out one of such statements (tax law, §§4, 9, 10, 59 and 66); and the name of every person found on such statements must be placed on said lists or assessment rolls, (tax law, §65). Afterward, the county clerk prepares an abstract of such assessment rolls for the auditor of state, and in such abstract he states “the aggregate value of all personal property” and “the total value of all taxable property” (tax law, §76); and, in addition thereto, furnishes an abstract of the aggregate values of all the different specific classes of property required to be assessed, and also furnishes the aggregate amount of the constitutional exemptions. (Same section.) All this would seem to indicate that all taxable property, with the name of the owner, should first go upon the personal-property statements, and then should be placed upon the assessment rolls. For if this were not so, some portions of §§65 and 76 of the tax law would be meaningless, and the county clerk could not furnish to the auditor of state the abstract required by §76. It is claimed, however, by the plaintiff that, as the constitution and statutes of the state of Kansas exempt $200 worth of personal property for each family (Const., art. 11, §1; tax law, §3, sub-div. 9), the names of all persons who do not own any taxable property,
We think it is clear that the assessment rolls should contain the names of all ¡versons who own any taxable property, although they may be the heads of families, and may own nothing but personal property, and may not own even two hundred dollars’ worth of that; for they are assessable as we think, although they are not taxable. But suppose the assessors fail to place the names of all persons who are assessable and have been assessed, upon the assessment rolls: then may the county commissioners, when a petition is presented to them for a relocation of the county seat, look behind the assessment rolls and to the personal-property statements for the purpose of ascertaining the number of legal electors in the county? We think they may, although probably they could not be compelled to do so. At least, if they should,
This view of the case permits the county commissioners to carry out the will and intention of the legislature; and it does no harm or injustice to any person. The legislature intended that no election should be ordered for a relocation of a county seat in cases like the present case, unless a number of the legal electors of the county equal to three-fifths of the number of legal electors who were assessable and had
We think the writ of mandamus should be denied in this case; therefore judgment will be rendered in favor of the defendant board, and against the plaintiff for costs, and the peremptory writ will be denied.