Schley County GaArchives History .....Legal Opinion Re Town Council Of Ellaville February 18, 1870 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: M.J. Weaver MtnMaJane@webtv.net October 22, 2007, 9:59 pm State of Georgia Schley County We, Wm. Allen, H.H. Allen, Aurelius Allen as principles & M(arion) J(ackson) Wall as security, all of said county & state and held and bound unto Robt. Burton, W.J. Sears, J.C. Lasseter, S.E. Eason (&) W. Allen, Commissioners for the Town of Ellaville in said county for the time being, & their successors in office in the sum of five hundred dollars subject to the following conditions: The condition of the above obligation is as follows: Whereas the said firm (known & distinguished as the firm of Allen Brothers) has this day applied for license to retail spirituous liquors, which license is about to be issued. Now, should the said firm, well & truly, during the continuance of said license keep & maintain an orderly & decent house, then this obligation to be void; otherwise of force. This Feb. 18th 1870 Allen Bros., Principles M.J. Wall, Sec'ty Approved, W.J. Sears, Clk., Town Council To the Commissioners of the Town of Ellaville: Gentlemen, In accordance with your request that we should investigate and report on the legal status of your body and the extent of your authority under the charter granted you in 1859, we have the honor to submit the following opinion: 1st-The election held in the Town of Ellaville on the first Saturday in January last past for five commissioners of said town was informal, but legal (see Code section 1361 & 1362). We are not informed as to whether the managers of the late election issued Certificates of Election to the parties receiving the greatest number of votes, (in accordance with the 4th sec. of the Act incorporating the Town of Ellaville) but if they did not we respectfully suggest that such certificates be issued "nunc pro tunc", this is "now for then". 2nd-The Commissioners have no power other than is given them by the Act incorporating the Town which powers are enumerated in the 5th section of said Act. They may tax retailers of spirituous liquors, within the incorporated limits of the town provided the fees and licenses are at least as much in said town as are required by law in the county (see sec. 1435 Code). The sale of spirituous liquors in less quantities than one quart make the seller a retailer (code 1437). But we find nowhere in said act that the commissioners are empowered to require license of vendors of spirituous liquors who sell in quantities not less than a quart. Your satisfactory proof that any person or persons are engaged within the corporate limits of Ellaville in retailing spirituous liquors without a license from the Commissioners, so to do (unless license had been obtained prior to the late election of commissioners) an ordinance of the Commissioners prohibiting said act would reach him or them. 3rd-Any person selling or retailing spirituous liquors within the corporate limits of Ellaville without first obtaining license from the commissioners, or the Ordinary are subject (for each violation) to the fine set forth in ordinance 16, but which we think should be modified so as to conform to section 566 of the code, and that you instruct your Marshal in any and all such cases known to him to go before the proper authority and make the necessary affidavit in accordance with the 571 section of the Code, in order that all those who live within the corporate limits of the town, and violate section 566, may pray to the county the forfeit named therein, or procure retail license from the Town Commissioners, or such other license as is required by law. C(harles) B(ritton) Hudson C(harles) F(redrick) Crisp attys at law Rec'd Ellaville, Geo., May 14th 1870 of John N. Cheney, clk. & treas. Twelve dollars & fifty cents for professional services rendered Town Council of Ellaville. Chas. F. Crisp (signed) Atty. at Law Additional Comments: The above transcription is actually 3 separate documents, in impeccable condition, considering their age, that were a part of the estate of Harris C. Manning, student of Schley history, and now are in the possession of his half- sister Martha Jane Manning Weaver. These documents have been so very well preserved as to rival something written yesterday, let alone something penned 137 years ago. The documents are all related and as the legal opinion is not dated, I have guessed as to their proper sequence. The last one, a receipt for payment for the legal opinion rendered, I feel confident, bears the actual signature of Charles Frederick Crisp, atty., judge, U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representative and although I can not prove it, I feel certain that the legal opinion written for the Town Council of Ellaville was penned by the same Chas. Frederick Crisp. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/schley/history/other/legalopi312ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 5.3 Kb