Forest Cnty. v. Langlade Cnty.

• Decision Date: 29 April 1890
• Citation: 76 Wis. 605,45 N.W. 598
• Parties: FOREST COUNTY v. LANGLADE COUNTY.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

76 Wis. 605

45 N.W. 598

FOREST COUNTY

v.LANGLADE COUNTY.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

April 29, 1890.

Appeal from circuit court, Langlade county; GEORGE H. MEYERS, Judge.Geo. L. Schintz, Dist. Atty., ( Lynch & Latta, of counsel,) for appellant.

F. J. & C. F. Lamb, for respondent.

TAYLOR, J.

This appeal involves the constitutionality of the legislation in regard to the division of Langlade county, and the creation of Forest county. In 1885, by chapter 436 of the Laws of that year, Langlade county was divided, and the county of Forest was created; and section 10 of that chapter is the only part of the chapter material to this matter. Section 10 reads as follows: “The county board of Forest county, and the county board of Langlade county, shall meet in the county-house, at Antigo, on the first Tuesday in June, 1885, to adjust and settle all matters of property, debts, credits, assets, and liabilities of Langlade county on the day when this act shall take effect, and for that purpose each and both of said county boards shall have all the powers necessary to a full and complete settlement of all matters between said counties. The territory hereby detached from Lincoln county and attached to Langlade county shall be liable for and chargeable with its just proportion of all the indebtedness of Lincoln county at the date when this act shall take effect, but shall not be liable for any of the indebtedness of Langlade county incurred prior to the taking effect of this act.” At the same session the legislature enacted chapter 334, Laws 1885. Section 2 of said chapter 334 reads as follows: “When any territory shall be detached from any county, town, city, village, or school-district in this state, and the same shall be annexed to any other county, town, city, village, or school-district therein, or any new county, town, city, village, or school-district shall be in whole or in part created from such territory so detached, the county, town, village, city, or school-district to which the same shall be annexed, or which shall be in whole or in part detached therefrom, shall be liable to the county, town, city, or village, or school-district, from which the territory was so detached, for its just share of the liabilities and indebtedness, and shall receive the just share of the credits from the county, town, village, city, or school-district from which the same shall have been detached, which shall be apportioned by ascertaining what ratio the portion detached bears to the territory from which the same was detached, and the last prior assessment shall be used as the basis in determining the same.” Chapter 334 was approved April 3, 1885, and published April 15th; chapter 436 was approved April 11, 1885, and was published April 14th; and both originated in the assembly. It is evident that the legislature which enacted these two laws supposed sufficient provisions had been made by these two acts for the settlement of the rights of the counties of Langlade and Forest, growing out of the division of Langlade, and the creation of the county of Forest; but it seems the legislature was mistaken.

It appears from the record that the county boards of the two counties met at the county-house in Antigo, but they failed to settle and adjust the rights of the counties growing out of the division of Langlade, and creating Forest, as it was expected they would do under the provisions of chapters 334 and 436 of said session of 1885. There had been no settlement or adjustment of the rights of said counties when the legislature met in 1887, and thereupon the legislature of 1887 enacted chapter 537, Laws 1887. Sections 1 and 2 of said chapter read as follows: “Section 1. The judge of the tenth judicial circuit is hereby authorized and directed to appoint three commissioners, one from Langlade county, one from Forest county, and one from the state at large, for the purpose of making a settlement of all assets and liabilities between Langlade and Forest counties, according to the provisions of section 10 of chapter 436 of the Laws of 1885. Sec. 2. The said judge shall appoint said commissioners on or before June 1, 1887, and at the time of making such appointment he shall fix the compensation of such commissioners, one-half of which compensation shall be paid by each of said counties.” Section 3 of the act requires the commissioners to make and file their decision with the clerk of each of said counties within three months, and provides that either county may appeal from such decision to the circuit court, by serving a written notice, etc., within 20 days after filing the decision of the commissioners, and, if no appeal be taken, the sum awarded by said commissioners against either county shall be deemed a just claim against said county, to be collected as other claims. Section 4 provides for the appropriation of the money, if the award shall be in favor of Forest county.

Commissioners were duly appointed by the judge of the tenth judicial circuit, and such commissioners made and filed their decision, as required by said statute, with the clerks of the respective counties, as required by the act, on August 13, 1887. From this decision both counties appealed, in the manner and within the time prescribed by said act. The two appeals were consolidated, and it was stipulated that Forest county be denominated “plaintiff,” and Langlade county “defendant,” in such consolidated action, and that Langlade county be the place of trial, subject to the right of removal, as in other cases, for cause shown. On the 4th of September, Langlade county made a motion in the action, based upon the decision of the commissioners and the papers and proceedings therein, “to vacate and declare void the decision of said commissioners appointed under said chapter 537, Laws 1887, for the reason that said chapter 537, Laws 1887, is unconstitutional and void, and that they had no jurisdiction or legal authority to make said decision or to act as commissioners, and that all these acts and proceedings are null and void, and, because the commissioners who made the decision had no jurisdiction in the premises, the circuit court can take none by appeal.” The circuit court denied this motion, and from the order denying such motion the county of Langlade appeals to this court.

On this appeal the learned counsel for the appellant county contend (1) that chapter 537, Laws 1887, is void under article 4, § 23, relating to town and county government; (2) that the act is void because it attempts to establish a judicial tribunal not known to the constitution, and so is a violation of section 2 of article 7 of the constitution; (3) that the commissioners had no jurisdiction, because Forest county has not complied with the provision of sections 676 and 677, Rev. St.

The learned counsel for the appellant has made a very exhaustive and able argument upon the first two objections to the law. We think, however, that this court has in repeated decisions held that these positions taken by the learned counsel are not tenable. The contention that the act of 1887 is a violation of the uniformity of the laws establishing county government is clearly untenable. This court has held that the rights of new counties formed out of the territory of another county or counties, and the liabilities of such new counties to pay any part of the debts of the counties from which they are formed, depend entirely upon the action of the legislature as declared at the time of forming such new counties. It is clear, therefore, that one legislature cannot, by enacting a general law, bind a future legislature as to its power to determine what rights or liabilities a new county may have or shall assume at the time of its creation. It is true that by chapter 334,...