Young v. Ward

• Decision Date: 16 November 1898
• Citation: 41 A. 925,88 Md. 413
• Parties: YOUNG v. WARD et al.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

41 A. 925

88 Md. 413

YOUNG v. WARD et al.

Court of Appeals of Maryland

November 16, 1898

Appeal from circuit court, Prince George's county; J. Parran Crane and George C. Merrick, Judges.

Ejectment by Jeremiah Ward and others against Thomas E. Young. From a judgment for plaintiffs, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Argued before MCSHERRY, C.J., and BRYAN, FOWLER, BRISCOE, ROBERTS PEARCE, and BOYD, JJ.

C. C Magruder and Jos. S. Wilson, for appellant. Chas. H. Stanley and Jos. K. Roberts, for appellees.

BOYD J.

The appellees instituted an action of ejectment against the appellant for a part of a tract of land in Prince George's county called the "Levels." At the trial, they offered evidence tending to prove their legal title and right of possession to the property in dispute, and the damages suffered by them in consequence of being ejected and the defendant then offered in evidence the papers in No. 1,962 equity in the circuit court for Prince George's county, being the report of sales of the treasurer and collector of state and county taxes of that county, with exhibits, and final order of ratification thereof, under and by which the defendant claims title, as purchaser at a tax sale of the property sued for, and in conjunction therewith a book marked "Exhibit C, No. 1,900 Equity," which had been filed in that case, and which is referred to in the report of sales, and claimed to be an exhibit in this case. The plaintiffs objected to the introduction of the papers and book in evidence, and, the court having sustained the objection, the defendant excepted, and thus brings the principal question before us.

Under the local laws for Prince George's county, the treasurer is made collector of state and county taxes; and sections 116 to 116G of article 17 of the Code of Public Local Laws, as amended by chapter 137 of the Laws of 1890, prescribe the method of his procedure for collecting taxes. It is provided that, on the second Monday of January of each year, the treasurer shall publish for six consecutive weeks a list of all taxes in default and not collected by him from personal property, and that, on the first Monday of March, he shall proceed to sell any and all pieces of such property on which the taxes have not been paid, and shall continue such sale each secular day until every parcel shall have been so offered. The treasurer is required by section 116E to make a full report to the circuit court of the county, on the equity side thereof, "setting forth his proceedings in the premises in detail, with copy of the printed list and notice aforesaid, and also showing to whom, at what price and for what sum of money actually received by him such several parcels were sold respectively, the amount of tax, of interest accrued, of penalties, of pro rata cost of advertising such sale, and of the surplus fund in each instance." No order nisi is passed, as contemplated by the general law; but section 116 provides that the general notice of sale, when published as required, "shall have all the force and effect of a summons to appear in said court on the thirtieth day after the first day of such sale, to show cause why such sale should not be ratified and confirmed"; and section 116E provides that in respect of all parcels so reported sold, against the ratification whereof no cause shall be shown, the court "shall forthwith proceed to consider and determine the same, as in the case of default to appear after summons duly served, and in one decree to ratify and confirm each and every such unopposed sale." The treasurer reported to the court in No. 1,968 equity his proceedings in reference to his sales for taxes for the year 1891, referring to the notice given, etc., and showing that he had commenced the sales on March 7, 1892, and continued the same on the 8th and 9th of that month; and the only description of the property sold, to whom, at what price, etc., given in the report, is as follows: "That said treasurer and collector has transcribed and alphabetically indexed in a well-bound book, namely, the book filed as Exhibit C in No. 1,900 equity, Exhibit C, on May 23, 1891, with his report of tax sales for the year 1890, a list of all and each and every parcel of land mentioned and described in said published lists, and sold as aforesaid, on which the taxes aforesaid, interest accrued to the time of payment, penalties, and pro rata share of costs had not been paid prior to the sale of the said parcels of land as aforesaid, showing to whom and at what price the said several parcels of land were sold respectively, the amount of tax, of interest accrued, of penalties, of pro rata cost of advertising such sale, and the amount of surplus resulting from any such sale, which said record, in so far as it may be necessary to comply with the provisions of said law relating to his report of said sales, he prays to have considered as a part of this report, and, accordingly, submits, as a part thereof, but respectfully states that its custody in his office is indispensably necessary for the performance of the duties imposed on him by said act herein referred to, and for the greater convenience of the people and taxpayers interested in the said redemption or otherwise of the several parcels of land sold as aforesaid. He respectfully submits, however, that he is advised that, in any case in which exceptions to any sale embraced in said list may be filed, the said book or certified copies of all the entries relating to any particular parcel of land may be produced and offered in evidence as occasion and the rules and practice of the court may require."

By agreement of counsel, the original book was brought before us. From an examination of it, we find that it contains a copy of the part of the advertisement which gives the notice of sales to begin on the 7th day of March, 1892, and then follow what are claimed to be memoranda of the treasurer's sales made by him on the 7th, 8th, and 9th days of March, 1892, for taxes for the year 1891, there being about 180 in all. On the one side of the book, as it is opened, appear the name of the party against whom the taxes are levied, the amount of state and county taxes and interest, the pro rata charges for advertising, auctioneer's, clerk's, and treasurer's fees, and the sum of these...