Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 1).pdf/115

 Sixth. That the act of the legislative assembly aforesaid, under which said respondent claims its right to issue said bonds, is in contravention of § 185 of the constitution of the state of North Dakota, which said section reads as follows: ‘§185. Neither the state, nor any county, city, township, town, school-district, or any other political subdivision, shall loan or give its credit, or make donations to or in aid of any individual, association or corporation, except for necessary support of the poor, nor subscribe to or become the owner of the capital stock of any association or corporation, nor shall the state engage in work of internal improvement, unless authorized by a two-thirds vote of the people.’ Wherefore your complainants pray your honorable court that an order in the nature of a rule to show cause be issued to the said respondent, its officers, agents, and servants, to be and appear before your honors, at Fargo, in the county of Cass and state of North Dakota, at the opening of court thereof on Wednesday, the 2d day of April, A. D. 1890, and then and there show cause, if any reason it has, why an injunction should not be issued restraining respondent from issuing the bonds aforesaid.”

It clearly appears from the complaint that the county of Nelson has, under the provisions of the seed-grain act in question, taken all of the requisite preliminary steps, and is about to issue the bonds of the county, and sell the same; and will apply the proceeds of such sale to the purchase of seed-grain for such farmers of that county, as come within the terms of the seed-grain law, and who make application for the seed-grain under oath, and in manner and form as prescribed by the law. It is conceded that all action taken by the defendants is warranted by the express terms of the law; nor is it pretended that the bonds if issued, will create a county indebtedness exceeding in amount the limit prescribed by the constitution of the state. Under such circumstances, the writ of injunction will be refused, as a matter of course, unless the statute under which the bonds are intended to be issued is itself unconstitutional or void for some reason. The question presented must turn upon the validity of the seed-grain statute.

The statute has twenty sections, but it will suffice to give the substance of such of its provisions as bear upon its validity as