Opinion of the Court. or until they shall be reclaimed." In 1855 this section was repealed, but prior thereto McGee had become the owner of certain of these lands lying in Chicot County. In 1857 an act of the legislature, local in its nature, provided for the making of levees and drains in Chicot County, and authorized a special tax to meet the cost. This special tax was assessed upon the unreclaimed swamp lands of McGee as well as other lands, and the question was, whether this special tax impaired the contract of exemption provided by the 14th section of the act of 1851, and it was held that it did. The argument is thus stated by the Chief Justice, in delivering the opinion of the court, on page 157: "It was strenuously urged for the defendant that the exemption contemplated by the statute was exemption from general taxation, and not from special taxation for local improvements benefiting the land, such as the making of levees, and many authorities were cited in support of this view. The argument would have great force if the provision for exemption had been contained in a general tax law, or in a law in framing which the legislature might reasonably be supposed to have in view general taxation only. But the provision under consideration is found in a law providing for the construction of levees and drains, and devoting to that object funds supposed to be more than adequate, derived from the very lands exempted, and the exemption is for ten years or until reclaimed, and is offered as an inducement to take up the lands and thus furnish those funds. It is impossible to say that this exemption was not from taxation for the purpose of making these levees and drains as well as from taxation in general. Any other construction would ascribe to the legislature an intention to take the whole land for the purposes of the improvement, and then to load it with taxation for the same object in the hands of purchasers whom it had led to expect exemption from all taxation, at least until the land should be reclaimed." In other words, the general rule which we have been considering was recognized, but its applicability was denied by the court, and properly so. In order to create a fund to reclaim these lands from overflow, the State sold them exempted Opinion of the Court. from taxation. To turn around after such sale and charge the cost of reclamation upon the same lands would nullify the purpose for which they were sold. It is precisely as though the State had sold a body of lands for the specific purpose of raising funds to build a state house, and, then, after the sale and receipt of the money, had turned around and charged the cost of building such state house upon the very lands sold. By the sale the land was once appropriated to a given purpose, and could not be burdened a second time for the same purpose. It would be practically a second appropriation, which nullified that created by the sale. There is nothing in this case, therefore, which announces a doctrine in conflict with that we have been considering, and which has been recognized in all the States. But, finally, it is urged that if this exemption does not include special assessments, the constitution of Illinois of 1870 recognizes a distinction between special taxes and special assessments, and that in this case the charges are special taxes rather than special assessments, and therefore to be included within the exemption of the charter. Section 2 of article 9 of the constitution of 1848, which was in force at the time of the charter of the railroad company, is as follows: "The general assembly shall provide for levying a tax by valuation, so that every person or corporation shall pay a tax in proportion to his or her property." Section 5 of the same article contained this as to local taxation: "The corporate authorities of counties, townships, school districts, cities, towns and villages may be vested with power to assess and collect taxes for corporate purposes; such taxes to be uniform in respect to persons and property within the jurisdiction of the body imposing the same"; while in section 11 of article 3 was the ordinary provision that no property should be taken or applied to public use without just compensation. And under that constitution it was ruled, in the case of Chicago v. Larned, 34 Illinois, 203, that "an assessment for improvements made on the basis of the frontage of lots upon the street to be improved is invalid, containing neither the element of equality nor uniformity if assessed under the taxing powers, Opinion of the Court. and equally invalid if in the exercise of the right of eminent domain, no compensation being provided." In quite an elaborate opinion the court held substantially that special assessments could only be imposed in proportion to the benefits actually received by the property upon which they were charged, and that in the absence of an ascertainment of such special benefits the expense must be borne by the entire. property of the city. This decision was reaffirmed in Ottawa v. Spencer, 40 Illinois, 211. Subsequently, and in 1870, a new constitution was adopted, section 9 of article 9 of which is as follows: "The general assembly may vest the corporate authorities of cities, towns and villages with power to make local improvements by special assessment, or by special taxation of contiguous property or otherwise. For all corporate purposes, all municipal corporations may be vested with authority to assess and collect taxes, but such taxes shall be uniform, in respect to persons and property, within the jurisdiction of the body imposing the same.' And this came before the Supreme Court in the case of White v. The People ex rel., 94 Illinois, 604, and it was held that the city council had power to charge the cost of a sidewalk upon the lots touching it, in proportion to their frontage thereon; that whether or not the special tax exceeded the actual benefit to the lots taxed, was not material; that it may be supposed to be based upon a presumed equivalent; and that where the proper authorities determine the frontage to be the proper measure of benefits, this determination could be neither disputed nor disproved, and the cases in 34 and 40 Illinois, supra, were held to be inapplicable. This decision has been reaffirmed in Craw v. Tolono, 96 Illinois, 255; Enos v. Springfield, 113 Illinois, 65; Sterling v. Galt, 117 Illinois, 11; Springfield v. Green, 120 Illinois, 269. But the difference between the two constitutions is simply in the mode of ascertaining the benefits, and does not change the essential fact that a charge like the one here in controversy is for the cost of a local improvement, and is charged upon the contiguous property upon the theory that it is benefited. thereby. This is the interpretation put upon the matter by Opinion of the Court. the Supreme Court of Illinois. In White v. People, 94 Illinois, 604, 613, it was said: "Whether or not the special tax exceeds the actual benefit to the lot, is not material. It may be supposed to be based on a presumed equivalent. The city council have determined the frontage to be the proper measure of probable benefits. That is generally considered as a very reasonable measure of benefits in the case of such an improvement." So also in Craw v. Tolono, 96 Illinois, 255, it is said: "Special taxation as spoken of in our constitution is based upon the supposed benefit to the contiguous property, and differs from special assessments only in the mode of ascertaining the benefits. In the case of special taxation, the imposition of the tax by the corporate authorities is of itself a determination that the benefits to the contiguous property will be as great as the burden of the expense of, the improvement, and that such benefits will be so nearly limited, or confined in their effect, to contiguous property, that no serious injustice will be done by imposing the whole expense upon such property." And in Sterling v. Galt, 117 Illinois, 11, in which the difference between special assessment and special taxation was noticed, it was held that the whole of the burden in case of special taxation was imposed upon the contiguous property upon the hypothesis that the benefits will be equal to the burden. We do not suppose that the company had by its charter any contract with the State that the matter of special benefit resulting from a local improvement should be ascertained and determined only in the then existing way. There was nothing in the terms of that contract to prevent the State from committing the final determination of the question of benefits to the city council rather than leaving the matter of ascertainment to a jury. And whether the charges are called special taxes or special assessments, and by whatever tribunal or by whatever mode the question of benefits may be determined, the fact remains that the charges are for a local improvement, and cast upon the contiguous property, upon the assumption that it has received a benefit from such improvement, which benefit justifies the charge. The charges here are not taxes Syllabus. proper, are not contributions to the State or to the city for the purpose of enabling either to carry on its general administration of affairs, but are a charge only and specially for the cost for a local improvement, supposed to have resulted in an enhancement of the value of the railroad company's property. It is not in lieu of such charges that the company pays annually the stipulated per cent of its gross revenues into the state treasury. We see no error in the rulings of the Supreme Court of Illinois, and its judgment is Affirmed. MR. JUSTICE BLATCHFORD took no part in the decision of this case. DE LA VERGNE REFRIGERATING MACHINE COMPANY v. FEATHERSTONE.. CERTIFICATE FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT. No. 1099. Argued November 16, 17, 1892. - Decided January 9, 1893. A patent for an invention issued to the inventor, "his heirs or assigns," after his death, is a valid patent, and should be construed in the alternative as a grant to him, or his heirs or assigns. Such a construction would include a grantee or grantees in being, capable of taking the patent and to whose benefit the grant would enure. In such case an executor de son tort may, in Texas, make an assignment of an interest in the patent which will convey a valid title to the assignee, if not repudiated by the executor or administrator of the inventor when duly appointed, or by his children. An inventor agreed with an associate to give him an interest in a patent for the invention when issued, and the associate agreed to procure its issue. The patent was issued after the inventor's death to the inventor by name, his heirs or assigns." His administratrix conveyed to the associate the promised interest, and subsequently the remaining interest, and all persons interested in the estate acquiesced in the conveyances. Held, that the patent should be construed as a grant to the associate as assignee, and should be held to have been obtained by the authority of the administratrix as well as of the associate. Failure, in such case, to record title papers in the Patent Office, it appearing that the administratrix and the in-part equitable owner had obtained the patent, cannot make the patent void. VOL. CXLVII-14 |