New Castle v. Cutler

Citations

• 15 Pa. Super. 612
• 1901 Pa. Super. LEXIS 400

Syllabus

<p>Case stated — Summary conviction — Appeal to common pleas.</p> <p>Where, after a summary conviction for selling goods without a peddler’s license before a mayor of a city, no appeal is taken to the quarter-sessions, but an appeal is allowed by the common pleas, and taken to that court, and the parties subsequently agree upon a case stated which sets forth the facts in controversy, but does not set forth that the defendant was fined by the mayor, or that he took an appeal, the Superior Court will be confined to the facts presented by the case stated, and cannot treat the case as an appeal from the judgment of the court of quarter sessions in a case of summary conviction. The case will be disposed of as a civil action by the city to recover the amount of the license tax for which the defendant was alleged to be liable.</p> <p>Hawkers and peddlers — License tax — Act of May 23, 1889, P. L. 274.</p> <p>Article 5, section 4 of the act of May 23, 1889, authorizing cities to levy a license tax, is broad enough in its terms to cover an ordinance of a city imposing a license tax upon “ all peddlers, hucksters and persons traveling from house to house with goods, wares, merchandise or produce of any kind for sale,” and “ all persons soliciting orders for goods, wares, merchandise, works of art, or any other kind of articles for sale.”</p> <p>Constitutional law — Taxation—Classification—Province of the legistature and of the courts.</p> <p>The power to impose taxes belongs to the legislature; the selection of the subjects, their classification, and the method of collection are purely legislative matters, and the courts will not interfere except in a case of the grossest inequality. All that is required is that the classification shall be made according to some reasonable, practicable rule, drawn from experience, which will prevent gross inequalities in the burdens of taxation. ,</p> <p>Constitutional law — Hawkers and peddlers — License tax — Classification— Act of May 23,