Creighton v. Board of Supervisors

By the Court, Wallace, J.: It appears by the petition here, praying a writ of mandamus against the Board of Supervisors, that Creighton, in April, 1861, entered into certain contracts, in writing, with the Superintendent of Public Streets and Highways of the City and County of San Francisco, for the time being, to grade Union street, from Taylor to Larkin, and to grade the crossing of Union and Jones streets, according to specifications, in the usual form in which such contracts were accustomed to be made, under the provisions of the statute in that behalf; and thereafter, in due time and manner, he fully performed the contract upon his part, and the assessment roll and warrants were thereupon delivered by said Superintendent to the petitioner, who collected something less than twenty thousand dollars assessments thereon, leaving a balance of upwards of thirteen thousand dollars of said assessments still unpaid. He attempted to enforce the payment of this aggregate balance by actions brought against the persons severally assessed, for their respective portions thereof. These actions failed, however, because the resolution of intention to do the work had not been “ presented to the President of the Board for approval, according to the requirements of section sixty-eight of the Consolidation Act.” (Creighton v. Manson, 27 Cal. 629.)

The petition further sets forth that he thereupon made application to the Legislature of the State for relief in the premises, and that that body having made a careful and complete examination of all and singular the terms and conditions of said contracts, and of all the facts in connection therewith, thereupon passed an Act for his relief. This statute is set out in the petition (Chap. 210, p. 309, Acts 1869-70), and it enacts that the Board of Supervisors are thereby “ authorized and directed to order paid to Patrick Creighton the sum of thirteen thousand five hundred and six dollars, [449]with legal interest on the said amount from July, A. D. 1862, until paid, in United States gold coin, which said amount of principal remains due and unpaid to the said Patrick Creighton on the contract for grading Union street, from Taylor to Larkin, including the crossing thereof, in the City and County of San Francisco, as per assessment on record in Volume VIII of Street Assessments, in the office of the Superintendent of Public Streets and Highways in the said City and County of San Francisco.” In a subsequent section of the Act, the Auditor of the city and county is directed to audit this sum, with interest thereon, and to issue his warrant therefor to Creighton, and the Treasurer of the city and county is directed, upon presentation of such warrant, to pay the same, “ as other indebtedness of the said City and County of- San Francisco, in United States gold coin, to the above said Patrick Creighton,” etc.