Conner v. Bent

• Decision Date: 30 November 1822
• Citation: 1 Mo. 235
• Parties: CONNER v. BENT.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

1 Mo. 235

CONNER

v.BENT.

Supreme Court of Missouri.

November Term, 1822.

MCGIRK, C. J.

During the territorial government of Missouri, Bent, as Auditor of the then district of St. Louis, recovered a judgment against Conner, in pursuance of the law then in force respecting the collection of public money and defaulters in paying over the same, together with twenty per cent. on the amount recovered, given by law. The Legislature, in 1814, released Conner from the twenty per cent. The State Legislature released Conner, by act of the General Assembly, from the judgment entirely. This judgment was obtained by Bent, for the use of the district of St. Louis, for moneys of said district collected or pretended to have been collected, from the people of said district, as district taxes. Conner enjoined the judgment in Chancery, before the passage of the last act mentioned, and then on the passage of said last act, filed his supplemental bill, stating his release as aforesaid. The chancellor dismissed this bill, and dissolved the injunction; from which decree Conner appealed to this court.

The first question is, could the Territorial Legislature release the judgment for the twenty per cent.? and, secondly, could the State Legislature release the judgment entirely?

The power of the Territorial Legislature depends on the act of Congress of 1812, commonly called the organic law, which creates a General Assembly in the Territory of Missouri; by which act a genera powe is given to make all laws for the good government of the people, not inconsistent with the laws and constitution of the United States. Upon this power, however, there are special restrictions; but the power of releasing is not among them.

Then the question as to both acts comes to one point; had the Legislature power to pass these acts? It is objected that these acts of the Legislature are no laws; and to prove this, Blackstone's definition of law is given, which is that municipal law is a rule of civil conduct, prescribed by the supreme power in a State, commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong. Much stress is laid on the words municipal law, and it is insisted, according to 1st Bl. Com. 44, that this statute releasing Conner is not a law, but a sentence, because the force of it is spent on one individual. Mr. Blackstone says, in the same page, that the general law of England is so called in compliance with common speech, and that the word municipium strictly denotes the particular customs of one single free town.

It is contended by appellee's counsel that this act is no law, because the whole operation is spent on one individual. If the law-making power is to be confined to the point only of making general laws, it would cut off one branch of useful legislation; no legislative relief could be granted to any person where the public is concerned on one side and an individual on the other. If the doctrine of the appellee's counsel is correct, no new county can be made, for that act would not pervade the whole community; no law could be made to authorize the building a jail or court house, for the same reason.

To lay taxes is a legitimate exercise of representative legislation; this money when collected is the money of the government. The Legislature may appropriate to particular purposes, may change the destination at pleasure, at any time before it passed from its possession. And again, suppose A. undertakes to build a house for the use of the county, and his bargain, owing to things unknown to both sides, is unreasonably hard, here the law will not help him. Chancery cannot assist him; cannot the Legislature do him justice by an act for his relief? It is conceived there is nothing in the genius of our government which forbids it. The principle on which this sort of legistion depends, appears to be that the whole community, for the purposes of government, constitute one party, and each individual another, on whom the government is to operate. The community acts by its representatives. It acts in its executive affairs by its chief magistrate and inferior executive officers. It exerts its judgment by its judiciary. Its law-making power is exercised by the General Assembly. The Legislature hold the public purse-string, and as to the public funds, the Legislature is the trustee and...