Craven County, NC - Charles Stewart v. Thomas H. Davis, 1819

                           From Craven

The plaintiff occupied a lot in the town of New Bern, as lessee of the
Trustee of the New Bern Academy, and the Defendant being Sheriff of
Craven County, seized the Plaintiff's goods by distress for a tax alleged 
to be due upon part of the lot. The lot was granted for the use of the
Academy before the revolution. It does not adjoin the lot on which the
Academy is erected. This lot is not exempted from taxes by the act of
1806, ch. 3, which declares that "all houses and lots, or other real or
personal estate appertaining thereto, set apart and appropriated to
divine worship, or for the education of youth, shall be exempted from
all taxes." For

It was the design of this act to exempt from taxes only that property
which was specially and exclusively set apart and appropriated to divine
worship and education, and directly employed for either of these purposes;
as the lot on which the Church or Academy stands and the ground appurtenant,
if employed as a church yard, minister's residence, or for the recreation
or nourishment of youth.

This was an action of trespass for taking away the Plaintiff's goods. The
Defendant being Sheriff of Craven, seized the said goods by distress, for
a tax alleged to be due upon a part of a lot in the town of New Bern,
occupied by the Plaintiff as lessee of the New Bern Academy. The Trustees
of the New Bern Academy are a corporation created by law for the education
of youth, and the lot in question is part of funds granted to the said
corporation before the revolution, to enable the same more effectually
to answer the ends of its institution. The lot does not adjoin that on
which the Academy itself is erected. It was agreed, that if the Court
should be of opinion that the premises in occupation of the Plaintiff, 
were liable to taxaxtion, judgment should be rendered for the Defendant;
if otherwise, then for the Plaintiff, with six-pence damages and costs.
The case was ordered to be sent to this Court.

Taylor, Chief-Justice. It is contended by the Plaintiff that the lot
which he occupies as lessee of the Trustees of the New Bern Academy, is
exempted from taxation by the words of the act of 1806, ch. 3. The tenth
section of the act is in these words: "All houses and lots or other real
or personal estate appertaining thereto, set apart and appropriated to
divine worship, or for the education of youth, shall be, and the same
are hereby exempted from all taxes whatsoever." It was the design of this
law to exempt from taxes only that property, which was specially and
exclusively set apart and appropriated to divine worship or education,
and directly employed for either of these purposes; as the lot on which
a church stands, which would include the church yard, and the minister's
residence, if the latter be an appurtenance to the principle lot; or an
Academy and the lot on which it is built, and the grounds appurtenant
to it, if employed in the purposes of education, as for the residence of
the teachers, or towards the recreation or nourishment of the youth. If
the Academy lot and its appurtenances were sold, whatever would pass 
under the name of an appurtenance, comes within the fair scope of its
exemption. But a corporation may own, and in point of fact some do own,
real property, which is rented out for sums more than sufficient to meet
any demands arising from the objects of their incorporation; and if the
Legislature intended to exempt all the property of a corporation from
taxation, they would probably have used words of larger compass than
those contained in this law. It is most clear, that if the trustees 
were to grant the Academy lot, the lot occupied by the Plaintiff would
not pass with it; because it does not appertain to the lot which is set
apart and appropriated for the education of youth. The Defendant is 
entitled to judgment.


Source:
NC Reports
May Term, 1819
NC Supreme Court
Pg 188-189

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This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by
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