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FORREST COUNTY MAY LEVY SPECIAL TAX FOR ITS SCHOOLS Attorney General Fletcher Renders An Opinion to County Attor ney Hartfield. NEW COUNTY ENJOYS RIGHTS OE OLD ONE Creation of New County of Forrest Did Not Change the Meaning of the Law. Decision Means Much to the Schools of the County. One of the most important questions that was before the board of super visors at its last meeting in an inform al way, was whether the new county of Forrest had the right to levy an ad ditional tax to secure an extension of the school term. This question has been decided la the affirmative by the attorney general and as the matter is of such vital importance to the en tire people of Forrest county, the Daily News publishes the decision in full. preceding it by the inquiries pro pounded by Hon. George Hartfield: Department of Justice State of Mississippi. September 17th, 1908. "The Board of Supervisors of For-J 1 - ■ ~- - = Hon. George Hartfield, Attorney Forrest County, Hattisburg, Mis. Dear Sir: — I have your inquiry as follows: FYF DFFFfTS IN L,1L * UU1J in TUF SfHOOT ROOM! * \ v & I 10 E Pine St The greater per cent, of eye trouble is acquired or developed during school days. Neglect at this time is respon sible for much of the present-day eye trouble. Twenty-five per cent, of all school children suffer from defective, eyes. They fall back in their classes and are often taken out of school through ignorance of the cause, when a 'half hour with an expert optician would have remedied the whole diffi culty. Many so-called "dull scholars" are so because of some defect of the eye. Don't neglect the eyes of your children. No charge for consultation; F. W. QUEEN Optical Specialist. Polk Bldg. I I | j j Come Where Pleasure Reigns and Spend a Pleasant Hour i I 5' Efte 5' Casino Theatre Best Moving Pictures and Illustrated Song's Hear Miss Dumont Sing Tonight New Songs and New Pictures Every Night | I- ■ ftLk-taafehfc. .<,,5 rest County direct me to request your opinion regarding their power to levy additional school taxes to extend the school term beyond the time covered by the state distribution. See Code of 1892 Section 4047. See Code of 1906 Section 4572, also Notice particularly the addition to the first section above cited shown in the second section above cited. Under the Code of 1892 the board | of supervisors of Perry county levied 2Vi mills additional school tax, and afterwards continued to do so under out an election, or Is an election a j prerequisite to the levying of an ad-1 ; the code of 1905 without an election, as they might do under the provision contained in Section 4572. On the first Monday in January, 1908 the County of Forrest was organized out of a part of the County of Perry. Now can the rights of Perry County be imputed to Forrest County so as to authorize Forest county to continue the 2>4 mill additional school tax with , ditional school tax? Also— See Chapter 72 Laws of 1908. Is this section to be construed independently of Section 4572, Code of 190S, or are the two to be taken to gether, so as to authorize the levy nien ^ one< ^ the Acts of 1908 for purposes subject to the elec ^ on condition mentioned in the Code Section cited? Again— Construing Chapter 72, Laws of 1908, can only two mills be levied for ad ditional school tax, or can a school tax be included in the 16 mills county |levy, and then two mills added thereto, thus making three, four or five mills, [ To restate the entire proposition in I another form—• or more, for additional school tax? ^' ount ^ Superintendent of Pub- [ [lie Education of Forrest County de- j SireS an additionaI s(dl00 l levy of be tween S'i and 4 mills for chool pur Waiving the question of the j expediency of so large an additional me that the point is one of first im poses. school levy, can it be done under the law? And if so, can it be done by Forrest County without an election?" The first question you propound is by no means free from difficulty, and the most diligent research convinces pression at least in Mississippi if not in the United States. a , veie alieady making the levy at .he time the statute became oper-1 a ' P ' el ' 5 Count} s territory, For i's otmn was created, no territory i ■being included in the new county ex-! c. pt sin i as had foimally belonged j \ n ' '' y ' Tll ° sl,< ' c ' a ' -^ ct - Chapter 16a of the laws of 1906, authorizing v he , Creati °" ° f F ° r rf C ° Unty ' 18 Sl - Ilent up on ,he Uvular question be-' , The statute, Section 4572 of the Code ot 1906, reads; "provided that boards of super visors in those counties where the tax is now being levied shall have the pow er to continue levying the tax with out an election.'* The word "now" in this statute manifestly refers to the date when the Code of 1906 became operative, to-wit: October 1st, 1906. Its effect is to exempt from the neces sity of an election all those counties which fore us, but by numerous provisions of the act, it is evident that it was the general purpose of the legislature to secure to the citizens of the new coun ty all the rights and privileges which pertained to the old. But disregard ing the provisions of this special act and looking at the question in the light of principles fairly well estab lished by the authoriites I reach the conclusion that the privilege Which the statute secured to Perry County, can now be extended to Forrest Coun ty and that two and a half mills tax j can be extended to the new county j without an election. For, it seems to me, the privilege thus conferred upon certain counties stands upon the same basis as though it had been granted by a special act of the legislature. 1 hat is to say, the construction would be the same as if a special act had been conferred upon Perry County, by name the right to dispense with an election, assuming, of course, that such an act would be constitutional, in this State. Now, it is stated by a respect able authority that: "A special statute applicabie to the territory of a certain county continues applicable to the part of such territory afterward set off for the formation of another coun ty, in the absence of a repeal express or implied of such statute." 11 Cyc. 353. Thus statement of the text rests up on the case of Lackawanna Co. vs. Stevens, 105, Pa. St. 465. Turning now to this case, it will be seen that this decision in turn rests upon the earlier Pennsylvania case of Parsons vs. Winslow, 1 Grant 160, where it is said: "Territory or men once made the objects of legislation remain subject to the laws imposed however the names by which they are designated may be changed." I do not think the authority of these Penn s.vlvania cases is destroyed by the fact that our Court in Chickasaw Coun ty vs. Sumner County, 58 Miss. 619 declined to follow the Pennsylvania Court in its holding as to the liabil ity of the newly created county for the debts of the parent county. That is quite a different question from the one before us now. In my judgment the quoted statement from Parsons vs. Winslow, Supra, is sound and I advise that it be followed. Coming now to the question of the effect of that part of Chapter 72 of the Laws of 1908 which reads: "Pro vided. that counties may levy an ad ditional tax of not exceeding two mills on the dollar, to provide funds to maintain the public schools," I find no [difficulty in reaching the conclusion that this statute was not designed as substitute for Section 4572 of the Code, in the sense that the Code pro visions may be disregarded in levying the tax, but that it was designated merely to place a limit upon the amount of )ax whlch the board can levy acting in accord with the machin ery and methods se t ou t ] n Section 4572 Surely , thc Legislature did not n4end j n a rPve inic measure to repeal or disregard the elaborate system pro v , ded the Codp . Thp brlef state . ment in this revenue act, lacking t does a „ dlrectlon8 as to how the tax shall be levied and collected, and what property shall be subject to it can not furnish a complete scheme in itself and when resort is had to the Code provisions for direction in one particular, necessarily all the stipula tions therein contained would be ap plicable. as The interesting question presents it self as to whether by reason of this clause in the act of 1908, above refer red to, the board of supervisors has authority, provided the right has been obtained by an election or by the fact' that the tax was already being levied when the code became operative, to levy more than two mills for school pitrpbaes. It is clear, of course, that In !<ase>as much as sixteen mills have been levied, for state and county pur poses other than school purposes, the school levy could not exceed two mills. In other words the State, and County tax can not he greater than sixteen mills unless this amount Is not suffi cient for school pu case, the total levy mills, provided the additional two mills Is needed for the support of the schools and Is in fact devoted to this purpose. s in which $r be eighteen The statute ■.manifestly means this much, and X think this is all that it does menu. You will ob serve that the langu levy an additional t two mills etc." It is used is "may T not .exceeding manifest that without this proviso, the board could levy In accordance with Section 4572, what soever tax is neoeaaarrv to ex tend the school term provided the total levy did not excesjj' sixteen mills. This proviso is cle arly not yestrlctive, rH but is rather designed to enlarge the power ot the board, and has In my Judgment no effect to limit the school tax to two mills,b ut only tol lmit the total amount which may be levied, and to make sure that the excess over sixteen mills Is devoted to school pur I therefore, advise that the poses. board may levy more than two mills, if otherwise authorized to do so, pro vided the total levy does not exceed eighteen mills. Another question is submitted, which may be thus stated: In case a county is exempt from the necesity of an election because a certain school tax is being levied at the time the code went into effect, Is it empowered to increase the levy without an elec tion, or is it restricted to a levy no greater than the one In efTect when the statute became operative? The exact language of the stautute is "provided, that boards of supervis er to continue levying the tax l8 now belng Ievled ' shall have the power t0 continue levying the tax without an election." Shall have pow re ( n continue levying levying the tax what tax is mpant ? i can not es C ape the conclusion that it means the sa me tax, as to amount, that was being levied when the law became effective, u | s clear from a consideration of a former part of the statute that when a certain tax is authorized by the electors voting in an election for that purpose, the board must continue to levy the same tax until another elec f] 0 n is held. Clearly without an elec tion, in such a case, there can be no increase of the tax levy. I do not think a county which has secured the right to continue the levy without an election by reason of the tax having been levied at the time the law be came operative has any greater power in the premises than a county which has had its rate fixed by an election. In other words thee ounty does not, by reason of the fact that it has been levying a certain tax secure a perpet ual exemption from the people's right to veto an increased tax. The right of the county to tax is limited to the rate heretofore in effect. I conclude that the County of For rest can not, without an election, levy a greater tax for school purposes than the amount previously levied, to-wit: two and one half mills. Very respectfully, R. V. FLETCHER, Attorney Genera.1 ''1 k m i i Mrs. Jerome Elmer P. Murphy, of ! Los Angeles, Cal., who was Miss Pa tricia Egan, daughter of Morris F Egan, American minister to Denmark. Their recent marriage at Copenhagen was a notable social event. TRAVELING MAN'S EXPERIENCE. "I must tell you my experience on j an East bound O. R. & N. R. R. train j from Pendleton to LeGrande, Ore., j writes Sam A. Garber, a well known ! traveling man. "I was in the smoking j department with some other traveling I men when one of them went out into a coach and came back and said, 'There is a woman sick unto death in the car.' at once got up and went out,found j her very ill with cramp colic; her hands and arms were drawn up so you could not straighten them, and, with a deathlike look on her face. Two or three ladies were working with her and giving her whisky, to my suit case and got my bottle of Chamberlain's Colic, Cholera and Diar rhoea Remedy (I never travel without it), ran to the water tank, put a double dose of the medicine in the glass, poured some water into it and stirred I went i it with a pencil; then I had quite a time to get the ladies to let me give it to her, hot I socceeded. I could at once see the effect and I worked with her, rubbing her hands, and in twenty minutes I gave her another dose. By this time we were almost to LeGrande where I was to leave the train. I gave the bottle to the husband to be used in case another dose should be needed, but by the time the train ran into Le Grande she was all right, and I ceived the thanks of every passenger in the car." n For sale by Hays & Field and The Yellow Pine Pharmacy. Old subscribers to the Daily News can get the famous White Cook Book by paying six months advance at the office only. S*w in If there Is anything busier than Idle curiosity, will some one please chase It across the stage. P. P. Pitcher PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT HATTIESBURG. - MISS1SSIPP Best Work at Reasonable Price* Drop mh a Postal If It Is MONEY You want to borrow on jewelry call at our of fice Mo. 128 Front St M. S. Haisfield. Piano and Guitar Lessons 917 River JIvenue Cumberland phone 176 I Am Going To Advertise The Regent $3.50 Shoe For Men Vice, Patent Leather and Gun Metal, for TEN DAYS ONLY $ 3.00 NATHANS Shoe Factory . East Pine Street A Cure For Rental - Worries ^ This plan gives you the profit, but saves you all the trouble. 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