Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 7.djvu/331

 TINITED BTATBS V* LABETtE COUNTY. 31& �seirved upon them, and which does not name them, or'commaad theni in terms to do anything. �(4) That the court might issue an order compelling the board to institute proceedings in mandamus to compel the county clerk and treasurer to go on and collect and pay over the taxes, or to shoW cause why the board had not d^ne so. �The relator is plaintiff in a judgment recovered in this court in June, 1S77, against Oswego Township, in the coijnty of Labette, Kansas, for $9,221.34. By a peremptory wrif of mandamus, issued August 2, 1878, the respondents, the Board of County Commissioners of Labette County, were commanded to "levy and collect a suffieient tax upon all the taxable property in Oswego township, in the county of La- bette and state of Kansas, to pay the above-mentioned judg: ment, interest, and costs," and "to cause the said moneys to be paid over to the said Cl9.rence F. Moulton upon the said judgment." The return to this wri^ showed that the re- spondents had levied a tax suffieient to pay off the relator's judgment, but did not show that the same had been collected or paid over. Thereupon, on motion of relator, a rule was issued requiring the respondents to show cause why they should not be committed for contempt in not obeying the writ. In answer to this rule the respondents say : �"That, as commanded by the peremptory writ of mandamus allowed herein, they levied, as provided by law, the tax thcrein directed to be levied, as will fully appear by their return to such writ heretofore flled herein and made part hereof, and by a stipulation signed and entered into by the parties hereto and made part hereof. They further say that they did not collect and pay over to the relator herein the taxes so levied, because they have no power, process, or authority by which they can col- lect or control the disposition of the taxes collected, except so much as may be collected for county purposes; that under the statutes of Eansas it becomes the duty of the county clerk to make out the tax rolls each year, and to enter thereon in proper form the several tax charges against each tract of land or item of personal property in the county ; and it becomes the duty of the county treasurer to collect these taxes, and to disburse them as provided by law, and in the discharge of these duties those offl- cers are supreme, — answerable, however, upon their officiai bonds for any shortcomings or derelictions in the discharge of these powers ; and your respondents say they are not in the law, and should not in fact be, held fesponsible for the conduct of other county officiais ; that in good faith they did everything that under the law they could do, as commanded by ��� �