Board of Commissioners v. Hammond

83 Ind. 453
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedMay 15, 1882
DocketNo. 9234
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 83 Ind. 453 (Board of Commissioners v. Hammond) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Board of Commissioners v. Hammond, 83 Ind. 453 (Ind. 1882).

Opinion

Bicknell, C. C.

The President of the United States, on the 17th of October, 1863, had called for 300,000 soldiers; and the county board of Vermillion county, in order to fill its quota by volunteers and avoid a draft, made an order on the 23d of November, 1863,'offering $100 bounty to every able-bodied male citizen of said county, who should enter into the service of the United States as a soldier, to fill the quota, being 104 men, of volunteers apportioned to said county under said call, the bounty to be paid by an order of the county auditor, on presentation to him of a certificate that the applicant had been received into the service of the United States, signed by the applicant’s captain and by the colonel and principal surgeon of his regiment: “Provided, [455]*455however, that no private shall be entitled to the above bounty who shall, at the time the company is organized, accept of a commission to any office in said company or in any regiment in the service of the United States.”

The amended complaint of the appellee stated the making ■of the foregoing order, and that the appellee, in accordance ■therewith, had volunteered and was mustered into the mili-tary service of the United States as a private in company C ■of the Eighteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteers, and had been duly credited to said county upon said call, on the date •of his muster, to wit, on January 1st, 1864; “that he had in :all things complied with the terms of the said offered bounty,” ■and was a citizen of the said county when he thus enlisted; that he had demanded said bounty from the county auditor, which demand had been refused. Wherefore, etc.

A demurrer to this complaint was overruled and this is the first error assigned by the appellant.

The objection made to the complaint is, that acceptance of .a commission was a matter subsequent, which would have defeated the right to the bounty, and that the complaint is bad for want of an averment that no such commission was accepted.

In general, a condition subsequent, which defeats a prima facie right of action, is matter of defence, but where the sub■■sequent matter is really a condition precedent and its affirmation or denial is essential to the prima facie right asserted, it -ought to be affirmed or denied in the first instance. Hyer v. Norton, 26 Ind. 269; Steph. Pl. 352. Under section 84 •of our code, however, such matter need not be specifically .averred; the pleader may allege that all the conditions on his part have been performed, and this is equivalent to an averment of the performance of each condition. Home Ins. Co. v. Duke, 43 Ind. 418.

In the case at bar, it was essential to the right of action, that the plaintiff should not have accepted a commission, but as the complaint states compliance in all things Avith the .terms of said offered bounty, that is equivalent, under sec[456]*456tion 84, supra, to a specific averment that no such commission: was accepted. There was no error in overruling the demurrer to the complaint. Board, etc., v. Wood, 39 Ind. 345; Harson v. Pike, 16 Ind. 140; Dawkins v. Sappington, 26 Ind. 199.

The defendant answered in six paragraphs:

1. The general denial.

2. That the President, on October 17th, 1863, had called.for 300,000 soldiers, and declared that all volunteers under-said call should be credited on the next draft, and that if any State should fail to raise her quota, there should be a draft-for such deficiency, commencing on January 5th, 1864; that the quota of said county of Vermillion, under said call, was-104 men; that the said bounty was offered to avoid said draft; for which purpose it was necessary that enlisting soldiers, should, before January 5th, 1864, have had themselves credited as volunteers upon the quota of said county, and should have notified the proper State officers thereof, so as to prevent,.to that extent, a deficiency in said quota; that although the-plaintiff, at a place remote from said county, had re-enlisted as a veteran, yet the defendant and the State authorities were-not notified thereof until long after January 5th, 1864, so-that the county, in order to prevent the draft, had to accept other citizens who enlisted, and credit them on said quota,, to the number of 104 men; and that said county paid $100-to each of said 104 men and so prevented a draft before January 5th, 1864, and plaintiff’s enlistment was not credited to said county until after said January 5th, 1864, and when it was so credited it was upon the quota of said county under a, subsequent call for 200,000 men, issued February 19th, 1864..

3. That before the plaintiff enlisted and was credited, other 104 citizens had enlisted and were credited on the quota of said county under said call for 300,000 men.

4. That before plaintiff enlisted more than 104 men, citizens, etc., had enlisted, some of them before the call for 300,000 men, some afterwards and before November 21st,. 1863, and others after November 21st, 1863, but before the-[457]*457plaintiff had enlisted, all of whom, by consent of the defendant and of the United States, were duly credited upon said call and upon said quota of 104 men.

5. That the county had no power or authority by law to offer said bounty, and that the Legislature had no power to legalize it; that the act of March 3d, 1865, for that purpose,, was unconstitutional.

6. That, before the plaintiff enlisted, 135 citizens of said' county had enlisted, twelve of them before October 17th, 1863, the date of said call for 300,000 men, others after that date and before November 23d, 1863, and others after November 23d, 1863, but all of them before the plaintiff enlisted, and that all of them, by the proper authorities of the United States- and of the State of Indiana, and by consent of the defendant, were credited upon the said quota of said county under said call for 300,000 men.

Demurrers were sustained to the fourth, fifth and sixth of these paragraphs of answer, and these rulings are assigned as errors. All of these paragraphs were insufficient, and the demurrers to them were properly sustained. Sithin v. Board of Commissioners of Shelby County, 66 Ind. 109, and the cases there cited; Board of Commissioners, etc., v. Woods, 69 Ind. 356. The plaintiff replied in denial of the second and third paragraphs of the answer. The issues were tried by the court, who found for the plaintiff in the sum of $100. A motion for a new trial was overruled, and the defendant appealed.

The only error assigned, besides those .already considered, is the overruling of this motion. The reasons assigned for a new trial were as follows:

1. Admitting in evidence a writing, purporting to be a. certified copy of parts of the records of the office of the adjutant general of the State of Indiana, George W. Russ, whose certificate to said writing bears date April 26th, 1880.

2. Eefusing to admit in evidence the 104 certificates of enlistment and muster of 104 men into the military service of the United States, by which certificates the defendant offered [458]

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Bluebook (online)
83 Ind. 453, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/board-of-commissioners-v-hammond-ind-1882.