"To
the Chancery Court of Lee County, Mississippi:
"Your
complainant, a resident citizen of the city of Tupelo, and in
the third board of supervisors' district of the county of
Lee and state of Mississippi, would respectfully show and
represent unto the court that he is a taxpayer in and for the
third board of supervisors' district of said county and
state and sues the following named parties, defendants: The
board of supervisors of Lee county, Mississippi, comprised of
B. F. Parker, president, and Will Milam, W. T. Pound, W. D
McGaughey, and M. E. Conwill; also Norbin Jones, clerk of the
board of supervisors; O. T. Thrapp, sheriff and tax
collector; D. W. Robbins, H. B. Heard, and Emmett Whitesides
the last three being commissioners appointed by the board of
supervisors to construct and supervise highways in the third
district of said county and state. All of the defendants
above named being residents of the county of Lee and state of
Mississippi.
"Your
complainant would respectfully represent and show unto the
court as follows:
"That
on the 10th day of March, 1910, there was filed with the
clerk of the board of supervisors of said county and state a
petition, being numbered thirty-seven on the docket of the
board of supervisors, entitled 'Petition of W. D
Anderson, et al.,' signed by the said W. D. Anderson and
more than four hundred others, resident citizens and
qualified electors of the third board of supervisors'
district of Lee county, Mississippi, as shown by a copy of
said petition attached and marked 'Exhibit A.' All of
the names to said petition, however, not being copied in said
exhibit, said petition praying for the construction and
maintenance of public roads in the third supervisors'
district of said county, under and by virtue of chapter 149
of the Laws of Mississippi of 1910; same being Senate Bill
No. 66.
"That
on the 10th day of March, 1910, the board of supervisors made
an order with reference to said petition, granting the prayer
of said petition and ordering publication of notice to the
qualified electors of the third supervisors' district of
said county any state; the copy of said order containing said
notice hereto attached and marked 'Exhibit B' to this
bill.
"That
on the 6th day of April, 1910, proof of publication was made
and filed in accordance with the aforementioned order of the
board of supervisors, being the notice to the qualified
electors of the third supervisors' district, Lee county,
Mississippi, was filed with the clerk of said board, as shown
by Exhibit C.
"That
on the 2d day of April, 1910, a petition or petitions of M.
A. Reese et al. were filed with the board of supervisors as
shown by Exhibits D, E, F, and G; said petition being signed
by more than twenty per centum of the qualified electors of
said district; said petitions asking the board not to issue
bonds as contemplated for such construction and maintenance
of said public roads; said petitions being copied, excepting
that all the names signed thereto are not copied.
"That
on the 6th day of April, 1910, the board of supervisors, as
shown by a copy of said order hereto attached and marked
'Exhibit H,' recorded in minute book 10, pages 39 and
40 of the minutes of said board of supervisors of said county
and state, by the terms of which it was ordered by the board
of supervisors that an election should be held on the 29th
day of April, 1910, that the qualified electors of said
district might determine whether or not bonds of said
district should be issued for the purpose of constructing and
maintaining public roads. That on April 13, 1910, the
commissioners of election gave a notice of the election a
copy of which is filed as 'Exhibit H 1/2.'
"That
on the 5th day of May, 1910, proof of publication of notice
to the qualified electors of said district of the purpose of
submitting said question to the qualified electors was filed
with the board of supervisors, as shown by copy of same
attached hereto and marked 'Exhibit I.'
"That
a copy of said notice so ordered to be published and which
was ordered by the board on the 6th day of April, 1910, is
hereto attached and marked 'Exhibit J.'
"That
on the 5th day of May, 1910, the board of supervisors of said
county passed an order declaring the election held on April
29th to have been legally held and conducted and approving
the returns of the commissioners of said election, and
declaring the result of said election to be in favor of the
issuance of the bonds of said third supervisors'
district, and further ordering that D. W. Robbins, H. B.
Heard, and Emmett Whitesides be appointed commissioners for
said district, investing them with all the powers
appertaining to said office for the term of four years; a
copy of said order being hereto attached and marked
'Exhibit K,' said order recorded in Minute Book 10,
pp. 61-64.
"That
on June 14, 1910, the board of supervisors passed an order of
publication of notice of the bond issue contemplated, as will
be shown by copy of said order and proof of publication of
same hereto attached and marked 'Exhibit L;' said
proof being filed with the clerk of said board July 2, 1910.
"That
on the 6th day of May, 1910, the board of supervisors passed
an order, a copy of which is hereto attached and marked
'Exhibit H,' and which order is recorded in Minute
Book 10, pp. 66-70, of the board of supervisors of said
county by the terms of which it was ordered that bonds of
said third supervisors' district in the sum of one
hundred thousand dollars be issued for the purpose of
constructing public highways in said district, and further
ordering that all other matters pertaining to the manner and
form of the bond and the series, and the denomination and
date, and all other things pertaining thereto, were held up
until a subsequent meeting of this board; said order being
granted on the request and petition of H. B. Heard, D. W.
Robbins, and Emmett Whitesides, commissioners, which request
or petition is set out in said order of the board granted on
said 6th day of May, and by the terms of which request or
petition of said commissioners they asked for the sale of
only fifty thousand dollars of said bonds at the present
time, the balance to be sold from time to time as might be
needed for the construction of said highways in said
district.
"That
on the 4th day of July, 1910, the commissioners before
mentioned filed with the board of supervisors a petition
asking that the entire issue of one hundred thousand dollars
of said bonds be sold, instead of fifty thousand dollars, as
before petitioned for; said petition being copied and
exhibited herewith as 'Exhibit N.'
"That
a copy of the petition of said commissioners for the issuance
of said fifty thousand dollars bonds upon which the order of
the board of supervisors was made and granted on the 6th day
of May, as above set out and shown as 'Exhibit H,' is
hereto attached and marked 'Exhibit O.'
"That
on the 5th day of July, 1910, the board of supervisors passed
an order, being a final order or decree, which is recorded in
Minute Book 10, pp. 119-122, a copy of which is hereto
attached and marked 'Exhibit P,' by the terms of
which the form and manner of said bonds, together with their
numbers, dates, dates of maturity, and all matters pertaining
to the details as to the issuance of said one hundred
thousand dollars of bonds, was set out, together with the
details of the coupons to be attached thereto; and further
ordering that the clerk of the board be instructed to sell
said bonds at either public or private sale on the 5th day of
July, 1910, or as soon as practical thereafter, and ordering
that said bonds could not be sold for less than par value and
at as low rate of interest as could be obtained, not to
exceed six per centum per annum.
"That
on the day of September, 1910, the board of supervisors of
said county and state passed an order, a copy of which is
hereto attached and marked 'Exhibit Q,' same being
recorded in Minute Book, p. 216, of the minutes of the board
of supervisors of said county, by the terms of which a levy
of taxes was made, at the same time other levies of taxes
were made, for county purposes, said levy amounting to two
and one-half mills on the dollar, ad valorem tax on all
property in the third supervisors' district of said
county for the year 1910, for the purpose of raising funds to
pay the interest coupons for said bond issue, and that the
sheriff and tax collector of said county and state, O. T.
Thrapp, had been furnished with a certified copy of said
order and instructed to collect said tax, which he is now
proceeding to do.
"Your
complainant would respectfully show unto the court that said
bonds have not been sold by said clerk or by said board of
supervisors, but that both said clerk and said board are
negotiating for and attempting to make a sale of said bonds.
"Complainant
would show unto the court that the bond issue contemplated by
the board of supervisors herein is void, in that there is no
warrant of law by which the board of supervisors should cause
said bonds to be issued, and, if there is such warrant of
law, that the proceedings had and done thereunder are
irregular and do not...
