Olcott v. the Supervisors

ERROR to the Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin; in which court Olcott sued the supervisors of the county of Fond du Lac, Michigan, upon certain county orders issued by the county February the 15th, 1869, in pursuance of an act of Assembly of the State, approved on the 10th of April, 1867, and entitled 'An act to authorize the county of Fond du Lac to aid the completion of the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Railroad, and to aid the building of a railroad from the city of Fond du Lac to the city of Ripon.' This act authorized the people of the county to vote upon the question whether they would aid the building of the railroads named; and provided, in case the vote should be in favor of granting aid, that 'county orders' should be issued as the roads should be completed. The sixth section of the act was thus: 'If, under the provisions of this act, the said county of Fond du Lac shall furnish the aid contemplated in this act, then the railroad companies, or their successors and assigns, shall transport wheat upon the said roads upon the following terms for ten years: Wheat by the car-load from the city of Fond du Lac, and from stations east thereof within the county of Fond du Lac, to the city of Sheboygan, at a price not exceeding five cents per bushel; and from the city of Ripon to the city of Sheboygan, at a price not exceeding seven cents per bushel; and from all stations between the cities of Fond du Lac and Ripon to Sheboygan, at a rate pro rata with the freight from Fond du Lac to Sheboygan; and the companies or corporations owning and building the said roads, their successors and assigns, shall make such arrangements between themselves as shall give full effect to the provisions of this section, and the rates of freight above limited shall also apply to the companies owning or operating the said roads over and upon all other railroads where said companies respectively run their cars for the transportation of freight.' A vote was taken under the act, and was in favor of granting the aid. The county orders were accordingly issued in conformity with the act. They were all made payable to the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Railroad Company, or bearer, and those now sued on had passed, bon a fide, into the hands of Olcott.