Stone v. Miller

Citation60 Iowa 243,14 N.W. 781
PartiesSTONE AND OTHERS v. MILLER AND OTHERS.
Decision Date12 December 1882
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Iowa

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Appeal from Delaware circuit court.

This is a proceeding by certiorari to review the action of the board of supervisors of Delaware county in submitting to the electors of said county the question of relocating the county seat of said county at the town of Manchester. The court adjudged that the action and proceedings of the board of supervisors in ordering a vote upon the question of the relocation of the county seat be affirmed. The plaintiffs appeal. The facts are stated in the opinion.J. W. Brayton and I. N. Sullivan, for appellants.

Shiras, Van Duzee, & Henderson, C. Yoran, and A. S. Blair, for appellees.

DAY, J.

1. The petition prays that a writ of certiorari may be granted commanding the board of supervisors to certify fully to the circuit court a transcript of the record and proceedings of said board, as well as the facts relating to the matters stated in the petition, and the proceedings and evidence upon which said order for said vote was made. The judge, upon the presentation of the petition, ordered that a writ of certiorari be granted as prayed; and the writ itself commands the board to certify and return a full, complete, and perfect transcript of all the matters called for by the petition and the order of the judge. In return to this writ the board caused to be certified to the circuit court the petitions and remonstrances submitted, and a complete transcript of all the proceedings had before them during the pendency of and pertaining to the matter in question.

This transcript shows that when the board acted upon the matter and ordered the vote, they found the following facts to exist respecting the petitions and remonstrances:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                ¦The whole number of votes under the last preceding census,             ¦3,662¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦The number of names appearing on the petition,                         ¦2,684¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦The number of names on both petition and remonstrance to be counted off¦500  ¦
                ¦of petition,                                                           ¦     ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Duplicates on petition,                                                ¦14   ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Number taken from petition by affidavit affecting both petition and    ¦15   ¦
                ¦remonstrance,                                                          ¦     ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Number of minors taken from petition,                                  ¦8    ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Number of aliens counted off petition,                                 ¦4    ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Number counted off by affidavit of remonstrants,                       ¦7    ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Total number counted off from petition,                                ¦548  ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Total number to be counted on petition,                                ¦2,136¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Number of names on remonstrance,                                       ¦2,250¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Number of duplicates counted off,                                      ¦44   ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Number of minors counted off,                                          ¦13   ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Number of names counted off by affidavit of petitioners,               ¦111  ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Total number counted off,                                              ¦168  ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Total number counted on remonstrance,                                  ¦2,082¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Majority for petitioners,                                              ¦54   ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                

After the writ was served upon the board they convened, and ordered that, among other things, the following be certified as a part of their return: “We further certify the fact to be that, in striking off the 500 names from the petition, as shown by the copy of record hereto attached, we acted first on comparison of signatures, viz.: While acting as a committee, as aforesaid, we compared names and signatures on both petition and remonstrance, and when we were satisfied that the signatures were alike by thus comparing, we made a list of such names, and they numbered 351, which we agreed should be stricken off from petition and remonstrance, (we were furnished by remonstrators with a list of names which it was claimed by them were signatures of same persons on both petition and remonstrance.) We next took the balance of names on such list, and which names were similar in initials, and the signatures of which we were not satisfied by comparison were made by the same person, and resorted to extrinsic evidence, such as poll-books, to see if other men by same name had ever voted in that township, the military list in assessors' books, the alien records, to see if two men by same name had been naturalized, and the comparison of signatures by others not members of the board, and inquiries of parties outside, and not being fully satisfied ourselves that the same persons both petitioned and remonstrated, but by the aid of this outside and extrinsic evidence, resolved the doubt in favor of the remonstrance; and we further say that by this method we struck off from petition as being on the remonstrance in all 500 names; and we further say that without this extrinsic evidence we would not and could not have stricken off from petition as being on the remonstrance but 351 names; and we further say that a recanvass of said names, excluding all extrinsic evidence, but acting on the petition and affidavits annexed, and the remonstrances and affidavits annexed, and the comparison of signatures, we, in order to be satisfied that the same person both petitioned and remonstrated, will be compelled to find that the number of legal voters petitioning for a relocation of county seat exceed the number of legal voters remonstrating against a removal by 113 names, and would, therefore, be compelled to order a call as we did. We further say that duplicates were stricken off by a comparison of signatures, and the minors by extrinsic evidence. The result of recanvass will be as follows:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                ¦Whole number on petition,                                              ¦2,684¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Duplicates counted off by comparison of signatures,                    ¦14   ¦
                +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-----¦
                ¦Names counted off as being on remonstrance, from a comparison of       ¦351  ¦
                ¦signatures,                                                            ¦     ¦
...

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