Board of County Commisioners of Harper County v. Rose

This was an action on 20 bonds, and a large number of interest coupons attached, issued by Harper county, Kan., December 1, 1873, for the purpose of raising the necessary funds to build a court-house. The bonds and coupons were in form like the following, differing only as to their numbers:

United States of America, State of Kansas. Number 1, Dollars, 500. Court-House Bond of Harper County, State of Kansas. Know all mem by these presents that the county of Harper, in the state of Kansas, acknowledges itself to own and promises to pay to bearer five hundred dollars, lawful money of the United States of America, on the first day of December, A. D. eighteen hundred and eighty-three, at the National (500) Park Bank, in the city of New York, with interest at the rate of ten per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually on the first days of June and December of each year, on the surrender of the annexed coupons as they become due, at said National Park Bank, in the city of New York. This bond is one of a series of fifty bonds, of five hundred dollars each, issued for the purpose of building a court-house in said county, in pursuance of and in accordance with the vote of a majority of over three-fifths of the qualified electors of said county of Harper, at an election held for that purpose, as required by law, on the 4th day of November, A. D. 1873. In testimony whereof, the board of county commissioners of said county have caused this bond to be signed by the chairman of said board and by the county clerk of said county, and to be sealed with the seal of said county, and to be registered, as required by law, at Bluff City, the county-seat of said county, this, the first day of December, A. D. 1873. [Seal.] N. W. WEAVER, Chairman Board of County Commissioners. Attest: G. H. WALKER, County Clerk of Harper County.'

'25 The County of Harper, State 25 of Kansas,

'Will pay to the bearer, at the National Park Bank, in the city of New York, on the first day of (4) December, 1875, twenty-five dollars, for six months' interest due on court-house bond. No. one. N. W. WEAVER, Chairman Board of County Commissioners. G. H. WALKER, County Clerk.'

Upon each bond was the following certificate of registration, signed and sealed by the auditor of state: 'Court House Bond of Harper County, State of Kansas. I, D. W. Wilder, auditor of the state of Kansas, do hereby certify that this bond was regularly and legally issued, that the signatures thereto are genuine, and that such bond has been duly registered in my office in accordance with an act of the legislature entitled 'An act to authorize counties, incorporated cities, and municipal townships to issue bonds for the purpose of building bridges, aiding in the construction of railroads or other works of internal improvements, and providing for the registration of such bonds, the registration of other bords, and the repealling of all laws in conflict therewith, approved March 2, 1872. Witness my hand and official seal this 12th day of March, 1874. D. W. WILDER, Auditor of State.' These bonds were purchased by the plaintiff, in open market, before maturity, for a valuable consideration, without notice of any defect in their issue, or in any of the proceedings relating to the organization of the county issuing them, and, not having been paid at maturity, this suit was brought to enfore their payment. There was a demurrer to the petition, setting up the statute of limitations of Kansas as to certain of the coupons, which the court sustained. The defendant then answered. The answer consisted of a general denial, and the following special denials and averments: It denied (1) that at the date the bonds were is sued, or at any time prior thereto, the county of Harper was a body corporate or politic capable of issuing any such bonds; (2) that at said date N. W. Weaver was chairman of the board of county commissioners, or that G. H. Walker was county clerk, of that county; (3) the execution of the bonds and coupons sued on; (4) that at the date when the bonds were issued there was any person or persons or any body corporate or politic in Harper county that had any authority to issue said bonds and coupons; and (5) that the bonds and coupons were ever registered in Harper county, as required by law, or that there was ever any election held as to their issue, as required by law. It then averred that all papers, acts, and statements relating to the attempted organization of Harper county of the 20th of August, 1873, and everything contained therein, were false, fraudulent, and forged; and that said bonds and coupons, and all ats as to their attempted issue, were false, fraudulent, and forged. The plaintiff filed a reply, and, issue being joined, and case went to trial before Judge FOSTER and a jury. On the trial, the plaintiff, to maintain the issue on his part, gave evidence, which was undisputed, to prove that he was a bona fide holder of the bonds, and coupons sued on, having purchased them before maturity, for a valuable consideration, in open market, in the city of St. Louis. He also introduced in evidence properly exemplified copies of records in the office of the secretary of state of Kansas relative to the organization of the county of Harper in 1873, showing that that organization had been officially recognized by both the executive and the legislative departments of the government of the state. The bonds and coupons sued on were also introduced in evidence by the plaintiff. To the introduction of the foregoing evidence the defendant at the time objected, but the objections were overruled, and exceptions were saved. The defendant, to maintain the issue on its part, offered to introduce certain oral evidence tending to disprove the organization of the county in 1873, or at the time prior to the issue of the bonds and coupons in suit; and also offered to prove, by the same kind of evidence, that at the date of the issue of the bonds and coupons neither N. W. Weaver, who signed them as 'chairman board of county commissioners.' nor G. H. Walker, who attested them as 'county clerk,' lived in the territory comprised in Harper county. To the introduction of this evidence the plaintiff objected, and the court sustained the objections, whereupon exceptions were taken. The jury, under the direction of the court, found a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of $17,645, upon which judgment was rendered. A motion for a new trial having been overruled, this writ or error was sued out.

''Wm. E. Earle and W. T. S.C.urtis'', for plaintiff in error.

W. H. Rossington, C. B. Smith, and E. J. Dallas, for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice LAMAR, after state the facts as above, delivered the opinion of the court.