148 S.W. 818 | Tex. App. | 1912
Appellees brought this suit against the county judge and the members of the commissioners' court and the sheriff and ex officio tax collector of Llano county, alleging, in substance, that they were property owners in the Oatman school district No. 13, Llano county; that in July, 1910, a petition was presented to said county judge, asking for an election in said school district to determine whether or not a special school tax, not exceeding 25 cents on the $100 valuation of property in said district, should be levied to supplement the state school fund; that an election was ordered on said petition, and a majority of the qualified voters in said district voted for said tax. Appellants sought to restrain the levy and collection of said tax, upon the ground that said petition was not signed by a majority of the qualified voters of said district; and that in consequence thereof said election was void. The court rendered judgment in favor of appellees, granting a permanent injunction against appellants.
1. The petition was signed by 15 qualified voters, and the contention upon the part of appellees is that there were 31 qualified voters in said district; while the appellants contend that there were but 29 of such voters. We do not deem it necessary to pass upon the assignments as to the alleged disqualification of three of the alleged voters in said district, for the reason that we think the action of the county judge in finding, as he did, that a majority of the qualified voters of said district signed said petition is final, and was not subject to review by the district court. There is, perhaps, nothing which more urgently calls for the exercise of all the power given courts than the maintenance of the purity of the ballot box. A free ballot and a fair count lies at the very basis of our government, by which is meant that every man should be at liberty to cast his vote in accordance with his best judgment; and that it should be counted as cast, and the correct result declared. But when the complaint, as in this case, does not call in question the fairness of the election, or the correctness of the declaration as to its result, we do not think that mere technical irregularities as to the manner of ordering such election should appeal very strongly to the court. As was said by Chief Justice Gaines, in Scarborough v. Eubank,
Appellees concede, upon the authority of State v. Larkin,
2. Appellants contend that the election petitioned for and held was void, for the reason that neither said petition nor the order for said election stated any specific amount of tax to be levied. Said petition prayed for an election to determine whether or not a tax, not exceeding 25 cents on the $100 valuation of property in said district, should be levied to supplement the state school fund in said district. In the case of Lowrence v. Schwab,
It is clear that under this statute it is not necessary, as it was held to be under the former statute, that the election must be for a specific rate. Does it make any difference that the election was for a tax not exceeding 25 cents, instead of not exceeding 50 cents? We think not. Under this statute, the voters may fix a specific rate, if they so desire; and the commissioners' court in such case would be bound by such action. But they may fix an indefinite rate, provided it does not exceed 50 cents on the $100. In the case of Lowrence v. Schwab, supra, the court said that it was not the intention of the statute to leave it to the discretion of the commissioners' court as to what tax should be levied within the maximum limit. Said statute did not provide that such discretion should be exercised by any one; but the statute of 1909 does provide for such discretion in the following language: "If the proposition shall have been for a school tax not exceeding 50 cents on the $100 valuation of taxable property in the district, the commissioners' court shall levy such a rate, within that limit, as shall have been determined by the board of trustees of said district and the county superintendent, and certified to said court by the county superintendent." Section 66. This confers the discretion as to the amount of tax for any one year upon the board of school trustees and the county superintendent; and we cannot see that it makes any difference that the voters, in intrusting them with such discretion, have made the maximum limit 25 cents on the $100, instead of 50 cents on the $100.
For the reasons herein stated, the judgment of the trial court is reversed, and judgment here rendered for the appellants.
Reversed and rendered.