Rice v. State ex rel. Drapier

95 Ind. 33, 1884 Ind. LEXIS 132
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 12, 1884
DocketNo. 11,260
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 95 Ind. 33 (Rice v. State ex rel. Drapier) 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
Rice v. State ex rel. Drapier, 95 Ind. 33, 1884 Ind. LEXIS 132 (Ind. 1884).

Opinion

Niblack, J.

Complaint by William H. Drapier as relator, styling himself plaintiff, against James H. Rice, auditor of State, for a mandate, in two paragraphs.

The first paragraph charged that on the 9th day of January, A. D. 1883, the General Assembly of the State of Indiana appropriated for legislative expenses the sum of $125,-000, by an act entitled “An act appropriating $125,000 to de’fray the expenses of the regular session of the Fifty-Third General Assembly of the State of Indiana, and other matters connected therewith, and declaring an emergency,” approved January 9th, 1883; that at the beginning of said session, by reason of said appropriation to the respective houses thereof, the House of Representatives and Senate of said Assembly, and agreeably to the usage and practice heretofore observed by preceding Assemblies of said State, and of the orders and allowances heretofore made by the respective houses in that behalf, and for the better preservation of, and to secure greater accuracy in, the reports of debates, votes and proceedings thereof, it became and was necessary to employ some suitable, competent and skilled person' to faithfully and accurately report said proceedings, and reduce the same to writing in proper form for the use of said Senate and House, and the information and benefit of the citizens of the State; that in obedience [35]*35to this usage and practice plaintiff was authorized, employed and permitted by said Senate, as well as said House, the privileges of the floors thereof, whereby he should so report said debates, votes and proceedings thereof, and reduce the same to writing; that in and during the whole time of said session of said Assembly, plaintiff was so-recognized by said Senate and House as the stenographic Assembly reporter, and as such, by their sanction and direction, did make, prepare and publish, and did cause to be made, prepared and published, for the Senate and House, and such use as they-might sec ■ proper to make thereof, said debates, votes, reports and proceedings thereof, and did print, publish and bind the same in the ascertained form and style of the “Brevier Legislative Reports,” of the Fifty-Third General Assembly of the State of Indiana, being volume twenty-one; that in pursuance of said employment said services became and were a legislative expense, and in consideration of said services so rendered, and to obtain and secure copies of said reports of their proceedings, the Senate did, on the 5th day of March, A. D. 1883, being a legislative day, allow and direct to be paid to said plaintiff the sum of two-thirds of a cent per page per copy for said Brevier Legislative Reports, so made and published by plaintiff, of said proceedings, votes and debates, and for payment therefor at the same time passed a resolution, in the words and figures following:

“Resolved, That the auditor of state be and is hereby directed to issue his warrant on the State treasury, at the end of the present session, in favor of W. H. Drapier, stenographic Assembly reporter, for what may be due him for the Brevier Legislative Reports, at the same price paid per page per copy I as uniformly paid since 1857, to be paid out of the funds ap- j propriated for legislative expenses; the number of copies for the current session to be the same as heretofore published, ten copies of each to be forwarded, as soon as published, to each member of the General Assembly.”

That on the same day, by reason of said action of the Sen[36]*36ate granting unto plaintiff, as the stenographic Assembly reporter, an order for the payment of said reports, and because of said reports being made and published, and containing likewise the debates, votes, reports and proceedings of the House of Representatives during and for said session, and to procure the same upon their own order, the said House accepted said official reports, and passed the following order in relation thereto :

“ By Me. Mosiee — Mr. Speaker: I move that the secretary of State is hereby directed to send to each member of this House, officers and clerks thereof, five copies of the Brevier Reports, and each of the House and Senate Journals, as soon as they are printed and bound, and the Acts of the present session, and the motion was adopted by the House.”

That the plaintiff caused said Brevier Legislative Reports to be printed and bound, and to be accordingly deposited with the secretary of state for distribution, as more particularly is shown by the certificate hereto attached, and made part hereof; that, by reason of the premises, the State of Indiana, by her Legislature, became and is indebted to plaintiff in the sum of $3,797.26, for said Brevier Legislative Reports so taken, made and published by plaintiff, at and during the regular session of said Fifty-Third General Assembly of the State of Indiana, as more fully appears by said account filed herewith and also made part hereof.

Whereby and by means whereof plaintiff became and was entitled to receive from the State of Indiana the sum of $3,797.26, for the payment of which there is money in the State treasury belonging to the fund upon which said order is made, and upon which the defendant should draw his warrant in favor of plaintiff for said amount; that, in obedience to the authority and direction in said resolution contained, it became and was the duty of defendant, auditor of state, upon the presentation thereof, together with the verified account, of plaintiff for the amount then and there shown to be due him for said reports of the regular session of the Fifty-Third General Assembly of the State of Indiana, to draw his war[37]*37rant in favor of plaintiff on said fund on the treasurer of state for the amount so then and there found to be due him, which said auditor of state was so requested to do; and upon said account, duly acknowledged and verified, said plaintiff did then and there, on the 1st day of August, 1883, demand of the defendant Rice, auditor of state, at the office of the auditor of state'in the city of Indianapolis, that he draw his warrant as such auditor of state in favor of the plaintiff on the treasurer of state for the said sum of $3,797.26, due and owing and payable to him out of the State treasury by said ’act, approved January 9th, 1883 ; that said Rice, as such auditor of state, utterly refused to issue or draw said warrant, and still withholds compliance with said demand although there is money in said treasury especially appropriated to pay the same; that no cause or facts exist to constitute an excuse for said refusal, and plaintiff without this has no other adequate and specific remedy by way of action or distress for the recovery of said money. Wherefore plaintiff prayed that a writ of mandate be issued to said Rice, as such auditor of state, commanding him to draw a warrant upon the treasurer of state in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of $3,797.26.

The account accompanying this paragraph of the complaint was as follows :

“ The State op Indiana, Dr.,
, To W. H. Deapiee, Stenographic Assembly Reporter:
For 1,750 copies of the Brevier Legislative Reports of the debates and proceedings of the regular session of the Fifty-Third General Assembly of the State, volume 21, at the price uniformly paid heretofore by the State, two-thirds of a cent per page per copy, 316 pages, in compliance with Senate and House resolutions, both passed March 5th, 1883 ................$3,686 66

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
95 Ind. 33, 1884 Ind. LEXIS 132, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rice-v-state-ex-rel-drapier-ind-1884.