State ex rel. Port Royal Mining Co. v. Hagood

Citations

• 30 S.C. 519
• 3 L.R.A. 841
• 9 S.E. 686
• 1889 S.C. LEXIS 138

Syllabus

<p>1. The writ of mandamus is the highest judicial writ known to the law, and issues only in cases where there is a specific legal right to be enforced, or a positive possible duty to be performed, and when there is no other adequate remedy.</p> <p>2. The legislature gave to the Board of Agriculture power to grant or refuse license to mine for phosphate rook in the property of the State, as the board in its discretion may deem best for the interests of the State. The board agreed to issue a license to relators on the perform-, anee of certain conditions. Held, that the duty imposed upon this board involved discretion, and therefore mandamus would not issue. The expression of a willingness to grant the license on conditions, did not so exhaust their discretion as to make it their ministerial duty to issue the license without regard to the conditions.</p> <p>3. The board wrere not bound by representations made by a special assistant of that board.</p> <p>4. It is not the province of the Board of Agriculture to determine the constitutionality of an act defining their powers, nor will the courts, by mandamus, decide as to the constitutionality of statutes aifeeting the rights of third persons.</p> <p>5. But this statute was neither a delegation of legislative power to the Board of Agriculture, nor in violation of the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States.</p>