271 Mo. 579 | Mo. | 1917
The appeal is from a judgment of the circuit court of Osage County establishing a drainage district in said county known as ‘ ‘ Shawnee Creek Drainage District of Osage County,” and declaring the same a
Tbe matter reached tbe circuit court upon an appeal by tbe remonstrators from a judgment of tbe county court where tbe report of commissioners, appointed under section 5551, Revised Statutes 1909, was approved, and tbe objections of remonstrators overruled. Tbe judgment of the circuit court on a trial anew “approved and confirmed” tbe order and judgment of tbe county court.
I. Appellants claim that tbe county court did not acquire jurisdiction of tbe matter by reason of tbe failure of the clerk of tbe county court to post the notices required by section 5549, Revised Statutes 1909. This section providés that tbe county court, upon tbe filing of tbe petition for tbe formation of the district, shall cause three weeks’ notice of its presentation- and filing to be given in three different ways: First, by posting such notice in at least five of the most public places in said proposed district ; second, by causing a copy of tbe same to be served on each landowner or person interested residing in any county affected by tbe proposed work; and, third, by publishing tbe notice for three successive weeks in some newspaper. No question is raised as to tbe proper service of tbe notice by tbe second and third methods. It is claimed only that there was a failure to post tbe five notices in “five of tbe most public” places in tbe proposed district.
Tbe same section provides that tbe “certificate of tbe clerk or the-affidavit of any other credible person, affixed to a copy of said notice, shall be sufficient evidence of tbe posting,” etc. The record shows tbe affidavit of F. W. Hoehner to tbe effect that be posted tbe notices, describing the five places where he put them, and stating that those places were “five of the most public places in Shawnee Creek Drainage District as described within tbe aforesaid notice,” etc.
II. Another assignment of error by appellant was the action of the trial court in permitting the commissioners to amend their report. After the case got into the circuit court, and after hearing the testimony, the circuit court ordered the report of the commissioners to he corrected and it was corree^e^ in °Pen court. The correction related to the description of each tract of land mentioned in the report. The original report correctly gave the boundaries of the district and correctly stated the number of acres owned by each person, without giving correctly the .description of each tract. The
Section 5560, Revised Statutes 1909, as amended by the Act of 1913, Laws 1913, page 267, provides, among other things, upon a hearing of the report and remonstrance: “If the court finds from a hearing duly had that the report requires ■ modification, the same may be referred to the commissioners, who may be required to modify the report in any respect.”
This reference, of course, is to a proceeding in the county court and authorizes that court to modify the report ‘‘in any respect,” which would not violate the substantial rights of the parties.
It is not contended by appellants that the amendment could not have been made in the county court. They only claim that the circuit court was powerless to make it after an appeal there. In that appellants overlook the effect of an appeal to the circuit court from the judgment of a county court. Section 4091, Revised Statutes 1909, gives the circuit court appellate jurisdiction of judgments and orders of the county courts in the following terms:
“In all cases of appeal from the final determination of any case in a county court, such appeal shall be prosecuted to the appellate court in the same manner as is now provided by law for the regulation of appeals from justices of the peace to circuit courts, and when any case shall be removed into a court of appellate jurisdiction by appeal from a county, court, such appellate court shall thereupon be possessed of such cause, and shall proceed to hear and determine the same anew, and in the same manner as if such case had originated in such appellate court.”
The effect of this statute is to give to the circuit court on appeal exactly the same authority and jurisdio
No error is discernible in the record; the proceeding seems to have been entirely regular.
The judgment is affirmed.
The foregoing opinion of White, C., is adopted as the opinion of the court.