Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 1).pdf/41

 adopted an amendment to the constitution which added to the language before quoted the following: "But the credit of no county, city, or town shall be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any person, company, association, or corporation, except, upon an election to be first held by the qualified voters of such county, city, or town, and the assent of three-fourths of the votes cast at said election." The constitution also contained the provision similar to § 2 of the schedule of our constitution. The supreme court of the United States, by Chief Justice Fuller, said: "It is clear that the inhibition imposed by § 29 of the constitution of 1870 operates directly upon municipalities themselves, and is absolute and self-executing; and, although power is reserved to the legislature to enable them to give or loan their credit, and to become stockholders, upon the assent of three-fourths of the votes cast at an election to be held by the qualified voters; the county, city, or town is destitute of the power to do so until legislation authorizing such election, and action-thereupon is had." Then, after citing various authorities, he says: "These cases sufficiently illustrate the distinction between the operation of a constitutional limitation upon the power of the legislature and of a constitutional inhibition upon the municipality itself. In the former case past legislative action is not necessarily affected, while in the latter it is annulled * * * * * The inhibition being self-executing, and operating directly upon the municipality, and not in itself enabling the latter to proceed in accordance with the prescribed limitation, further legislation is necessary before the municipality can act." In this case it is apparent that the Constitution of 1870 acted directly upon the municipalities themselves, and was self-executing, because there then existed, in full force, all the legal machinery necessary to compel obedience on the part of the city. Any tax-payer of the city could go into a court of equity and restrain the issuance of any bonds contrary to the provisions of the new constitution. Hence, being effective, the old law was repealed, not amended, and no bonds would issue under the old law; and the power of the city to issue bonds was in abeyance, and so far not self-executing, until the legislature should give the power in accordance