81 Vt. 31 | Vt. | 1908
A woman residing in the plaintiff town became poor and in need of relief, and the plaintiff relieved and-supported her till she died, and buried her at reasonable expense, without notifying the defendant, in which she had a legal residence. But before she died, the plaintiff notified the defendant sufficiently to charge it for said expense if, in law, the plaintiff is otherwise entitled to recover therefor.
The statute provides that every town shall relieve and support poor and indigent persons residing or found therein when in need of relief, as the statute requires. The statute further provides that if a person is poor and in need of relief for himself or his family, the overseer of the poor of any town shall, when application therefor is made, relieve such person or his
Overseers of the poor have the care of poor and indigent persons as long as they remain at the charge of their towns, and are required' to see that they are suitably relieved, supported, and employed, at the charge of their towns, either in the poorhouse provided by the town, or in such other manner as the town directs, or otherwise at the discretion of the overseers; and overseers must take effectual means to prevent such persons from straying into other towns.
It is well to note that in considering this question we cannot reason by analogy, nor draw inferences from general principles, for there are no equities between towns in respect of caring for and supporting paupers, and no common-law liability, but the whole matter is purely and strictly statutory, and where the statute imposes no liability there is none, and that is the end of it. This has always been the law of this State, and the law of England as well. It follows, therefore, that if the defendant is liable in this action, it is because the statute makes it so; and if the statute makes it so, it is by implication, and not by express provisión, for there is none; and if by implication, it must be found in the general provisions for the relief and support of paupers. But care must be taken in construing statutes by implication, lest a wild olive be grafted in, and a statute cannot be thus extended beyond what is necessary to accomplish its purpose. Now the purpose of this statute is, the relief and support of paupers; and it cannot be said to be necessary in order to accomplish that purpose, that one town should be liable to another town for burying its paupers.
It must be held, therefore, that our statute imposes no liability in eases of this kind, and consequently, that none exists. In all of the other New England States, and in some, at least, of the other states, there are express statutes imposing such liability, and all the cases referred to by the plaintiff are from states having such statutes.
The 43 Eliz. c. 2, passed in 1601, was the first poor law act that England ever had. Prior, to that time the relief of the poor was provided for by voluntary contribution, the col
Pro forma judgment reversed, and judgment for the defendant to recover its costs.