Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 1).pdf/136

 or object of such levy. The levy of such special tax is authorized by statutes under different conditions, which may or may not have existed. The burden was upon plaintiff, and the record contains no evidence showing such special levy to have been illegal or unauthorized. There was also levied, for “county road and bridge tax, 1 mill.” It is objected that no such tax is known to the law. The law authorizes a road tax of two mills, and a bridge tax of two mills. What possible injury could flow from a levy of one mill for both taxes is not apparent to us. This objection, in an equity case, seems hypercritical in the extreme. Section 1751 of the Compiled Laws directs the county clerk, in making up the taxes, to levy a tax of two mills on the dollar for school purposes. It seems the county commissioners included this tax in their levy. The finding of the trial court, however, expressly excludes from the tax for which plaintiff's lands were sold any school tax other than two mills. The law would admit of no less, and the point need not be further considered. No other objection is made to the levy, and we hold that neither the county assessment nor county levy is shown to be invalid. We need, therefore, follow the alleged irregularities and omissions no further; for, whatever may be their character, they can effect only the question of the legality of the sale, and that question is not, under the authorities hereinafter cited, properly in the case.

The facts relating to the city assessment, in addition to those stated in the eleventh and twelfth findings, below, were as follows: One Coolin was the duly elected city assessor of Devil’s Lake in the year 1885. One Ferguson—the same who subsequently succeeded Reed as county assessor—purporting to act as deputy city assessor, made an assessment of the taxable property of the city of Devil’s Lake, and completed an assessment roll, and returned it to the city council. The statute requires that the assessment shall be made by the assessor. There is no provision in our statutes under which the city assessor of Devil's Lake could have any authority for the appointment of a deputy. It is reasonably certain from the evidence that City Assessor Coolin never adopted the assessment made by Ferguson as his assessment, or had any knowledge or information concerning it