Weaver v. Cherry
Weaver v. Cherry
Opinion of the Court
The only authority possessed by the trustees to negotiate a purchase of a cemetery, and issue orders binding upon the township, is derived from the foregoing statute.
The 29th section, taken by itself, would seem to have invested them with all the authority which they have assumed to exercise, by their purchase, and issuing of township orders. And, doubtless, the trustees regarded that section as containing the only provisions of the statute conferring upon them power to act in the premises, and to which they ought to have reference in making the purchase. Indeed, it is claimed by their counsel, that the object of the statute was to give the trustees of a township absolute and unconditional power to make the purchase in their own discretion, and that section 30 has only respect to the levying a tax for the payment thereof.
It is true, section 30 only requires that a vote of the township shall be duly taken before any assessment shall be made, for the purpose of the purchase and improvement of such cemetery or burying ground; but we think a rea
Upon looking at the provisions of section 29, it is seen that it not only empowers the trustees to make a purchase and improvements, but also provides the means, by authorizing them to levy and assess a tax for such objects. But section 30 provides, expressly, that such means shall only be used upon permission to that effect being first given by the township, to be expressed by a majority vote, at an election previously held, upon notice duly given. Nor can it make any difference that the provisions of section 30 are in a distinct and subsequent section from those of section 29. The provisions of section 30 are entitled to the same respect in qualifying those of section 29 that they would, be entitled to if they preceded them, or were all incorporated in one section.
But if such transposition were made of the provision for an election and vote, contained in section 30, there would be no difference of opinion, I apprehend, as to the fact of the election and vote being conditions precedent 'to the exercise, by the trustees, of the powers conferred by section 29. By giving full effect to the provisions of both sections, then, as required by a reasonable rule of construction, the provisions of the statute under which the trustees acted, and the authority given to them by the sections taken together, amount only to this, that the trustees should have power to raise a sufficient amount of money, by tax to be levied upon the property of the township for the purpose, to purchase and improve a cemetery or burying ground for the township, provided, that upon an election first held for that purpose, a majority of the voters should vote in favor of levying such tax.
It is, therefore, evident that the contract of purchase, and the resolution for the issuing of township orders, on the part of the trustees, have not been in accordance with the provisions of the statute. And their authority being derivable solely from the statute, the trustees would only be clothed with authority when their acts were strictly within its provisions. The condition precedent to their being invested with the authority under which they acted, not having been performed, it is evident that the trustees had ¿o more acquired such authority, by virtue of the statute, than they would have done if the statute had
It is urged, however, that even if the contract of purchase, so made by the trustees, and the township orders so issued, be unauthorized by the statute, still the petition should be dismissed, upon the ground that the application for relief is premature and unnecessary. It is said that the facts set forth in the petition, if sufficient to entitle the township to'any relief, could be made available in defense whenever suit shall be instituted upon the contract or orders. We do not think this obj ection to the petition well founded in law or reason. It is not a cause for demurrer, nor is it a reasonable objection, if the plaintiffs have a good cause for relief, that they are too prompt, rather than remiss, in the application for relief.
We think the petition shows a state of facts sufficient to constitute a good cause for relief. The demurrer must, therefore, be overruled, and the case remanded for further proceedings.
This case was decided before Peck, J., came on to the bench, but the decision was announced afterward.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.