Inhabitants of Plymouth v. Inhabitants of Wareham

• Decision Date: 08 April 1879
• Citation: 126 Mass. 475
• Parties: Inhabitants of Plymouth v. Inhabitants of Wareham
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

126 Mass. 475

Inhabitants of Plymouth v. Inhabitants of Wareham

Supreme Court of Massachusetts

April 8, 1879

Argued October 15, 1878

Plymouth. Contract for supplies furnished to Daniel McLeod, a pauper in the years 1875, 1876 and 1877. At the trial in the Superior Court, before Brigham, C. J., without a jury, the plaintiff contended that McLeod had acquired a settlement in the defendant town, under the provisions of the St. of 1874 c. 274, by residing there for five years together, and paying all taxes duly assessed on his poll or estate for three years within that time.

It appeared that McLeod had lived in the defendant town for five years together, and had been duly assessed a tax upon his poll for the years 1868 and 1870, two of these years, and had paid the same. The facts bearing upon the question whether he had been duly assessed a tax for the year 1869, and had paid the same, are stated in the opinion. The judge found for the plaintiff; and the defendant alleged exceptions.

Exceptions sustained.

E Ames, for the defendant.

A Mason & A. Lord, for the plaintiff.

Lord, J. Ames, Endicott & Soule, JJ., absent.

OPINION

Lord, J.

The only question raised in this case is whether a poll-tax was legally assessed upon Donald McLeod in the defendant town for the year 1869; or, to state the question more precisely, according to the theory of the plaintiff, Is it competent, upon the facts shown in the case, for the defendant to deny that such poll-tax was duly assessed upon McLeod for that year?

The facts are these: McLeod was duly assessed a poll-tax for 1868 and 1870, which he paid; his name was not placed upon the valuation list, nor was any tax assessed upon him by the assessors of Wareham in 1869; the assessors, however, made a tax-list for that year fro the valuation list of the year, and a warrant upon such tax-list, dated July 31, 1869, and delivered the same, in a book issued by them, to Alvin Gibbs, collector of taxes of Wareham. In the list so made and delivered to the collector, the name of McLeod did not appear; the assessors had assessed no tax upon him, and had committed none to the collector. The book which was delivered to the collector contained, first, the names of all resident tax-payers, with the amount of the taxes upon polls, and real and personal estate, under the appropriate heads in the form prescribed by law. At the end of such list of resident tax-payers, there followed two blank leaves; after which was a list of non-resident tax-payers, in the usual and appropriate form. On the page following the last-named list, and at the top of it, and after its commitment to the collector, was written the word "Added," and below the word "Added" were written the names of thirteen persons, among which was "McLeod, Donald." The page upon which these words were written had upon the top of it the printed words, "Names," "No. of Polls," and "Poll-tax." Whether those printed words were all that was printed upon the page, and whether they were merely a continuation of a running title which went through the book, does not appear by the bill of exceptions, nor is it material. The name "McLeod, Donald," was written under the printed words at the top of the page, "Names" and "No. of Polls," and under the words printed at the top, "Poll-tax," was inserted against the name of McLeod "$ 2.00." These entries were written by a clerk of the collector, and on the right-hand leaf was entered a memorandum indicating that said McLeod paid the said poll-tax, less ten per cent discount, on August 31, 1869; and the court found, as matter of fact, that said sum was paid into the town treasury. None of the writing upon that page was upon it when it was delivered by the assessors to the collector, nor was it entered by their authority or consent, nor had they any knowledge of its existence until after the claim was made upon them which is the subject of the present suit; and the claim of the plaintiff is that the money thus collected as and for the poll-tax of McLeod, and paid into the town treasury, is so far a payment of a tax duly assessed as that the defendant town cannot now say that it was not duly assessed and paid by said McLeod.

It is not necessary in this case to review the authorities or to expound the principles upon which the liability of towns for the support of paupers is fixed within this Commonwealth. This has been very elaborately done by Dewey, J., in Robbins v. Townsend, 20 Pick. 345; by Morton, J., in Monson v. Chester, 22 Pick 385; and by Shaw, C. J., in Berlin v. Bolton, 10 Met. 115. By these decisions, it is settled that the liability of a town is a strict statute liability, to be fixed by positive rule. The statutes upon the subject...