Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 5.djvu/569

 ONITED STATES ». COUNTT OF KNOZ. 657 �oi mandamus, commanding said county court of Knox county to levy a sufficient sum to pay said judgment and costs, as prayed in the information, or show cause to the contrary. To said alternative writ the county court made the foUowing retum : That they had annually levied a tax of one-twentieh of 1 per cent, ever since the issuing of said bonds ; that they had no authority to levy any other or greater tax than one- half of 1 per cent, to pay the current expensea of administering the county govemment, and said special tax of one-twentieth of 1 per cent. ; that said one-half of 1 per cent, fund was ail consumed in the administration of the county govemment, so that there was nothing left out of which to pay said judgment, or any part thereof, from the fund derived from said levy of one-half of 1 per cent., after paying said current expenses ; that, by the constitution of the state, the maximum amount which said county was authorized to levy for county purposes was one-half of 1 per cent., and the statute which was in force at the time when said bonds were issued likewise im- posed the same limitation upon the county court. They f ur- ther set up that if they were to draw a warrant upon the fuiid derived from said levy of one-half of 1 per cent., andthe sarde ahould be paid, there would be nothing left in the treasury with which to pay the current expenses of administering thô county govemment, and the resuit would be that it might effect the disorganization of the county govemment,— at ail events that it would operate a suspension; and they denied the right of the relator to have a warrant drawn upon said fund, and also denied its right to have a special tax levied to pay its judgment. �To said retum the relator interposed a demurrer. �Sleeper d Whiton, for relator. �James Carr, for respondent. �Tbeat, D. J. The points presented arise on a demurrer to the return to the alternative writ of mandamus. The only point not heretofore settied by the decisions of the United States supreme court is whether, since the recent state stat- ute concerning classification of funds, a mandamus can be awarded so that the warrant demanded may reach the gen- ����