Ramsay's Estate v. People ex rel. Trs. of Illinois Asylum for Insane Criminals

• Decision Date: 19 June 1902
• Citation: 197 Ill. 594,64 N.E. 555
• Parties: RAMSAY'S ESTATE v. PEOPLE, for Use of TRUSTEES OF ILLINOIS ASYLUM FOR INSANE CRIMINALS.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

197 Ill. 594

64 N.E. 555

RAMSAY'S ESTATE

v.PEOPLE, for Use of TRUSTEES OF ILLINOIS ASYLUM FOR INSANE CRIMINALS.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

June 19, 1902.

Appeal from appellate court, Fourth district.

Action by the people of the state of Illinois, for the use of the trustees of the Illinois Asylum for Insane Criminals, against the estate of Rufus N. Ramsay, deceased. From a judgment of the appellate court (97 Ill. App. 296) affirming a judgment of the circuit court in favor of plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.M. P. Murray and John G. Irwin, for appellant.

Van Hoorebeke & Louden, for appellee.

CARTER, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the appellate court affirming a judgment of the circuit court of Clinton county against the estate of Rufus N. Ramsay, deceased, on a claim filed in the Clinton county court by the people, for the use of the trustees of the Illinois Asylum for Insane Criminals. The claim was for a balance of moneys of the state received by James D. Baker, as treasurer of the institution, which he failed to turn over to his successor, and recovery of such balance was sought on his official bond against the estate of Ramsay, Ramsay having been one of his sureties. The case was tried with another against the estate of Ramsay to recover on Baker's official bond given as warden of the Southern Illinois Penitentiary, upon which bond Ramsay had also been surety, and it was stipulated that the same evidence given in that case should be treated as given in this, so far as it might be applicable. Judgments were rendered against Ramsay's estate in the two cases, and these judgments were affirmed by the appellate court. Both cases have been brought to this court on appeal.

The contentions of the appellant in the two cases, in the main, are the same, and for a discussion of the reasons of our decision as to questions common to both reference may be made to the opinion in that case. Ramsay's Estate v. People, 64 N. E. 549. True, it is contended in this case that there was no statute authorizing the trustees of the asylum to appoint a treasurer and for that reason the sureties were not liable as sureties on an official bond required by law to be given, but only in case the money was lost by the negligence or bad faith of the obligor, as in a case of bailment. In this, counsel are in error. Section 1 of the act of 1889, establishing the asylum, provides that the said asylum shall be subject to the supervision and control of the board of commissioners of the penitentiary at Chester, under the same rules, regulations, and conditions, as trustees of the state charitable institutions, as now provided by law, as far as the same are applicable. Hurd's Rev. St. 1889, p. 241. And section 13 of the act of April 15, 1875 (Hurd's Rev. St. p. 233), regulating the state charitable institutions, provides that the trustees of each of such institutions shall appoint some person, not a member of the board, to be treasurer of the institution; and section 14, that such treasurer shall give bond to the people, with not less than two sureties, to be approved, etc., conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the office. Section 16 provides that the treasurer shall receive and be the custodian of all moneys due or belonging to the institution, whether derived from the state treasury or from other sources, and provision is made for disbursements and other specific duties of the treasurer. Baker had been appointed treasurer of the asylum by the commissioners of the penitentiary, as trustees of the asylum, and had entered into bond as the statute provides, and we have no doubt that these statutory provisions are, in the respect mentioned, applicable to this asylum; hence this case does not differ materially from the other, where Baker's bond as warden was involved. As in that case, the money was lost by the failure of the bank in which it was...