Verner v. Muller

• Decision Date: 25 October 1911
• Citation: 72 S.E. 393,89 S.C. 545
• Parties: VERNER et al. v. MULLER et al., Board of Com'rs of Richland County.
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

72 S.E. 393

89 S.C. 545

VERNER et al. v. MULLER et al., Board of Com'rs of Richland County.

Supreme Court of South Carolina

October 25, 1911

Supplemental petition by James S. Verner and others to enjoin W. F. Muller and others, as members of the Board of County Commissioners of Richland County, from issuing certain township bonds for bridge purposes. Injunction denied, and petition dismissed.

See also, 89 S.C. 117, 71 S.E. 654.

Weston & Aycock, for petitioners. Clarkson & Clarkson, for respondents.

JONES C.J.

Under the original petition in this case, petitioners sought to enjoin the board of county commissioners of Richland county from issuing certain bonds of Columbia township, in said county, for bridge purposes, pursuant to the act of February 20, 1908 (25 St at Large, p. 1431), and the questions then presented were decided by this court in an opinion filed June 14, 1911, reported in 89 S.C. 117, 71 S.E. 654, in which the injunction sought was denied.

Under a supplemental petition and with leave of the court, it is sought to renew the request for an injunction upon other grounds than those already considered. It is now contended that the act of 1908, construed to authorize the purchase of standing bridges, is obnoxious to section 6, art. 10, of the Constitution, which provides: "The General Assembly shall not have power to authorize any county or township to levy a tax or issue bonds for any purpose, except for educational purposes, to build and repair public roads buildings and bridges, etc." The purpose of the Constitution was to leave the Legislature free to authorize counties and townships to establish and maintain public roads, buildings, and bridges. The word "build" may be employed in the sense of obtain, secure, or acquire, as well as the ordinary meaning. In Nebraska Loan & Building Ass'n v. Perkins, 61 Neb. 254, 85 N.W. 67, 1 Words and Phrases, 887, authority to loan funds for "building" homesteads was construed to include the idea of purchasing lots and buildings. In Bascom v Oconee, 48 S.C. 55, 25 S.E. 984, authority to the county commissioners to open and establish a public road connecting with a bridge over a stream included power to purchase the bridge already constructed. In Dick v. Scarborough, 73 S.C. 153, 56 S.E. 86, it was held that authority to issue bonds for establishing municipal waterworks included the acquirement of waterworks by purchase.

It is also contended...