Reese v. Board of Mine Examiners

Citations

• 248 Pa. 617
• 94 A. 246
• 1915 Pa. LEXIS 626

Syllabus

<p>Practice, O. P. — Mandamus — Ministerial act — Petition — Defects in substance — Motion to quash — Act of June 8, 1898, P. L. 845.</p> <p>1. While mandamus lies to compel the performance of a ministerial act, the writ will not issue where a body clothed with deliberative and discretionary powers has acted, to compel a revision or modification of its decision.</p> <p>2. A motion to quash a writ.of alternative mandamus is properly granted where the motion calls attention to defects in substance in the petition for the writ, as the Mandamus Act of June 8, 1893, P. L. 345, expressly provides that defects in substance in an alternative writ may be taken advantage of at any stage of the proceeding.</p> <p>Mines and mining — Board of mine examiners — Act of June 8, 1901, P. L. 585, Art. II, Sec. 5 — Mine inspectors — Certificate of qualification — Discretion.</p> <p>3. The board of mine examiners, constituted by the Act of June 8, 1901, P. L. 535, is vested with discretion to issue certificates of qualification to mine inspectors and an applicant, who after examination, has been refused a certificate, cannot compel the board by mandamus to issue such certificate, where he does not allege any fraud or conspiracy to deprive him of his rights and particularly where he does not allege that he correctly answered ninety per centum of the questions propounded in his written examination or that he passed a successful examination as required by the act.</p>