City of Hannibal v. Guyott

18 Mo. 515
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedOctober 15, 1853
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 18 Mo. 515 (City of Hannibal v. Guyott) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Hannibal v. Guyott, 18 Mo. 515 (Mo. 1853).

Opinion

RyiaND, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court.

This action was brought before the recorder of the city of Hannibal, to recover the penalty for a violation of the city ordinance concerning the sale of intoxicating liquors. The city [517]*517obtained judgment for one hundred dollars, the amount of the penalty, and the defendant appealed to the Hannibal Court of Common Pleas. The plaintiff again recovered judgment for the penalty, and the defendant having failed in his motion for a new trial, prosecutes his appeal in this court.

From the bill of exceptions it appears that the city of Hannibal passed an ordinance on the 6th of April, 1853, to regulate the sale of intoxicating liquors within the city. There is no question about the making and publishing of the ordinance, the incorporation of the city, or the sale of the liquors, as charged. The defendant below admitted, that he had sold intoxicating liquors at a house on Front street, within the city of Hannibal, at the times and in the quantity and to the person as charged by the plaintiff, and admitted that the ordinance on which the proceedings in this case were founded, had been duly passed and published, as required by the charter of the city. The plaintiff read the original act of incorporation of the city and the act amendatory thereof ; then offered to read the ordinance to regulate the sale of intoxicating liquors within the city of Hannibal, approved April 6th, 1853, which is as follows :

Be it ordained by the city council of the city of Hannibal: Sec. 1. No person shall, directly or indirectly, sell intoxicating liquors in this city who has not been licensed as a grocer or dram-shop keeper, under the provisions of the statute law of the state, and paid a license tax to the city.

Sec. 2. A grocer or dram-shop keeper is such as he is defined to be by the existing statute of this state.

Sec. 3. A grocer, before he shall directly or indirectly sell or vend intoxicating liquors in this city, shall pay a license tax to the city of two hundred and fifty dollars for every six months.

Sec. 4. A dram-shop keeper, before he shall sell intoxicating liquors in this .city, shall pay a license tax to the city of five hundred dollars for every six months.

Sec. 5. The term “intoxicating liquor,” as used in this ordinance, shall be construed to mean wine and spirituous li[518]*518quors, and any composition of which wine or spirituous liquor is a part.

Sec. 6. Whoever in this city, being a merchant, confectioner, beer-house keeper, dealer in provisions, or any other species of merchandise, and occupying a place or stand for that purpose, shall, at that place or stand, deal out, distribute or give away to another, intoxicating liquor, shall be deemed to have sold it, as much as if compensation were directly paid for it, and upon conviction, shall forfeit and pay for every such offence, a fine of one hundred dollars.

Sec. 7. No person in this city shall, directly or indirectly, sell or deliver to another, any intoxica,ting liquor on the day of the week commonly called Sunday, except for medicinal purposes.

Sec. 8. No grocer or dram-shop keeper shall sell intoxicating liquor in more than one place in the city at a time, nor shall the license of a grocer or dram-shop keeper be assignable or transferable.

Sec. 9. This ordinance shall not be so construed as to prevent a druggist from selling wine and spirituous liquors for sacramental and medicinal purposes, in quantities not exceeding one quart, if directed to do so by the prescription of a practising physician.

Sec. 10. Whoever shall violate any provision of this ordinance shall, upon conviction, forfeit and pay afine of one hundred dollars for the first offence, and one hundred and fifty dollars for each subsequent offence, to be collected by action of debt as other fines are collected.

Sec. 11. This ordinance shall take effect from and after its publication, but shall not be so construed as to affect the rights of any person who is licensed as a grocer or dram-shop keeper at the time of its passage, during the unexpired term of such license.

The defendant objected to the giving of this ordinance in evidence ; his objection being overruled, he excepted.

The defendant then offered in evidence a tavern license, [519]*519granted to bim by the county court of Marion county, in proper form under the statute, for one year from the third day of January, 1853 ; to the giving of which in evidence before the jury, the plaintiff objected. The Court of Common Pleas sustained the objection, and refused to permit the defendant to give in evidence his tavern license. To this act of the court the defendant excepted. It was admitted by the plaintiff, that the license to keep the tavern offered to be read in evidence, was for the tavern house occupied by the defendant in the city of Hannibal during the .time he was charged with violating the city ordinance. It was also admitted, that the defendant had applied to the city authorities for a license to keep a tavern within the corporation, which was denied him.

1. The main question here presented is, does the license to keep a tavern authorize the person to whom it is granted, to sell intoxicating liquors in less quantity than a quart? If this question be answered in the affirmative, then another arises as to the effect of the ordinance of the city of Hannibal upon the license of the defendant in this case to keep a tavern.'

In 1835, the legislature passed a statute concerning inns and taverns. This act was, in 1845, again inserted in the digest of the laws passed at that session. The sections one and two of which are as follows :

Sec. 1. “Hereafter no person within this state shall, without a tavern license continuing in force, directly or indirectly sell, barter or deliver, or knowingly permit to be sold, bartered or delivered, for or on his or her account, any wine or spirituous liquor by less quantity than one quart, or any composition of which wine or spirituous liquor shall be a part, by less quantity than one gallon, to be delivered to one person at one time, without collusion or fraud.”

See. 2. “ No person, without such tavern license shall, under any color or pretence, keep a tavern, or knowingly suffer or permit any wine or spirituous liquor, or any composition of which wine or spirituous liquor forms a part, to be sold, bartered or delivered by him or her, or on his or her account, to [520]*520be used or drank in his or her house, shop, store or out-house, shed, booth, stall, shelter, boat, yard, plantation, lot or other premises occupied by him or her, or under his or her control.”

Under these provisions, tavern-keepers with license were permitted to sell liquors in less quantities than one quart, and might permit the liquors thus sold to be drank at the place where the same were sold.

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Bluebook (online)
18 Mo. 515, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-hannibal-v-guyott-mo-1853.