Maryland Agr. College v. Atkinson

• Decision Date: 11 January 1906
• Citation: 62 A. 1035,102 Md. 557
• Parties: MARYLAND AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE v. ATKINSON, State Comptroller.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

62 A. 1035

102 Md. 557

MARYLAND AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE v. ATKINSON, State Comptroller.

Court of Appeals of Maryland

January 11, 1906

Appeal from Circuit Court, Anne Arundel County; Thomas Jones and Wm H. Thomas, Judges.

Mandamus proceedings by the Maryland Agricultural College against Gordon T. Atkinson, Comptroller. From an order dismissing the petition, petitioner appeals. Reversed.

Argued before McSHERRY, C.J., and BRISCOE, PAGE, BOYD, PEARCE SCHMUCKER, and BURKE, JJ.

Charles H. Stanley, for appellant.

Atty.Gen Bryan and Thomas A. Whelan, Jr., for appellee.

BURKE J.

This is an appeal from an order of the circuit court for Anne Arundel county dismissing a petition for a writ of mandamus to be directed against the appellee requiring him to draw his warrant upon the treasury of the state for the payment of the sums of money specified in the petition.

The Maryland Agricultural College was incorporated by Acts 1856, p. 114, c. 97. The purpose of its creation was the instruction of young men in those arts and sciences indispensable to successful agricultural pursuits. The people finding that industry greatly neglected, and believing it to be the duty and within the power of the Legislature to encourage and promote the farming interests of the state, by the act above mentioned constituted the plaintiff an agricultural college, whose duty it should be, in addition to the usual course of scholastic learning, to instruct young men attending the college, theoretically and practically, in those arts and sciences which, with good manners and morals, should enable them to become intelligent, successful, and scientific farmers, and elevate the state to the position its advantages in soil and climate and the moral and mental capacities of its citizens entitle it to occupy. By the act of incorporation $6,000 per annum was appropriated to the payment of salaries of professors, and for such other purposes as should be found reasonably necessary to promote the welfare and success of the college. The legislation of the state indicates that the people have manifested a deep and abiding interest in the welfare of the college, and have aided its work by generous appropriations, and by other measures calculated to increase its efficiency, and to enable it to accomplish more fully the useful and beneficent purpose of its foundation. Under Acts 1864, p. 109, c. 90, the state board of education became ex officio members of the board of trustees of the college. By Acts 1866, p. 103, c. 53, the state purchased a one-half undivided interest in the college property. By Acts 1868, p. 573, c. 320, the Governor, the Comptroller, the Treasurer, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and the Attorney General of the state became ex officio members of the board of trustees, and represented the state's interest in said board, which consists of 18 members. This board is constituted as follows: The six state officials mentioned above, five members elected by the private stockholders of the college, one person from each congressional district of the state, appointed by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and the United States Secretary of Agriculture. The state holds a mortgage of $15,000 on the stockholders' one-half interest. The college is controlled by the state, and is practically a state institution.

In pursuance of what appears to be a settled policy on the part of the state to contribute to the support of this institution, the General Assembly passed Acts 1902, p. 911. c. 625, and Acts 1904, p. 950, c. 557. The first of these acts set apart various sums for the use of the college, but in this case we are concerned only with sections 5 and 6 (page 912) of that act. These sections read as follows:

"Sec. 5. In order to provide for the maintenance repairs and improvements of the buildings of the experimental station, to provide for the printing of bulletins, showing the results of the work, and also to provide for the investigation in the tobacco crop, meat production, and irrigation, an appropriation of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) is hereby provided for and made.

"Sec. 6. The Comptroller be and he is hereby authorized to issue his warrant upon the treasury of the state for the several sums hereby appropriated, the same to be paid out of any funds not otherwise appropriated; that said sums of money shall be payable to the Maryland Agricultural College, and shall be expended under the direction of the board of trustees of said institution, and the first payment shall be made during the fiscal year ending September 1, 1902." By Acts 1904, p. 951, c. 557, § 4, it was provided as follows: "That the sum of six thousand dollars per annum be and the same is hereby appropriated for the formation and support of farmers' institutes in this state; and that the Comptroller be and he is hereby authorized to issue his warrant annually upon the treasury of the state for said sum of money out of any funds not otherwise appropriated; that the said sum shall be payable to

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