People ex rel. Harts v. Lippincott

Citations

• 72 Ill. 578

Syllabus

<p>1. Constitution op 1870—construction. The first fiscal quarter contemplated hy the provisions of section 18, article 4, of the constitution of 1870, did not end until the adjournment of the session of the General Assembly whose members were elected at the regular election in 1873, that being the next regular session after the adoption of the constitution.</p> <p>3. Sections 3 and 4 of the act of February 13,1849 (Sess. Laws 1849, p. 77), are in the nature of standing appropriations for the purposes therein specified, and they did not expire by constitutional limitation until the end of the first fiscal quarter after the adjournment of the regular session of the General Assembly which commenced in January, 1873.</p> <p>3. State indebtedness.—right of creditor to Auditor’s warrant. If the State has received the services or property of an individual under a contract, there would seem to be no doubt that it would be the duty of the Auditor to draw a warrant for the sum due, and of the Treasurer to countersign it and deliver it to the person entitled to receive it, whether there be money in the treasury or not. Hence it is not a sufficient answer to a petition for a mandamus to compel the Auditor to issue such warrant, to say that there is no money in the treasury with which to pay it if issued.</p>