City of Galveston v. Loonie

Citations

• 54 Tex. 517
• 1881 Tex. LEXIS 58

Syllabus

<p>1. City charter — Construction of sidewalks.— The city charter of the city of Galveston of 1871 prohibited the borrowing for general purposes of more than fifty thousand dollars. Held,, that this prohibition did not limit the power of the city to borrow money, or create a debt for a larger amount for the improvement of its sidewalks, because:</p> <p>1. Improvements of sidewalks, the ultimate cost of which must be defrayed by the lot owner whose property is benefited, are made for a special, and not a general purpose.</p> <p>2. The intention of the city charter was to empower the council to cause the improvement of sidewalks to be made at the expense of the city, which was ultimately to be assessed against the lots benefited.</p> <p>3. The express power being granted to construct sidewalks, for which the lot was ultimately responsible, the city had the implied authority to contract such obligations as were necessary to execute the power.</p> <p>2. Cases approved.—Hitchcock v. Galveston, 6 Otto, 349, approved.</p> <p>3. Limitation.—Limitation on a coupon attached to a bond begins to run from the date when the coupon is due, and not from the maturity of the bond.</p>