Tax Sale Is Set Aside

Monday afternoon Judge Kinne entered an order on the petition of Mrs. Lucy D. S. Parker, setting aside the annual tax sale in this county set for tomorrow on the ground that the total amounts due on the lands advertised not on the rolls while the rolls were in the hands of the register of the circuit court.

The petition set forth that County Treasurer Mann was about to sell certain parcels of real estate at tax sale, on which she had tax titles, which if the tax sales were valid she wished to bid in, that on two parcels the assessment gave wrong descriptions which were changed after the roll had passed out of the hands of the assessor, another description was for a drain tax which the petitioner claimed was invalid. The petition further alleged that the decree signed March 31, 1899, was incomplete in that the total amount of taxes assessed against the lands had not been extended and that at no time after the signing of the decree, and while the rolls were in the hands of the register had the amounts been extended and that on Saturday, April 29, there were no figures what  ever in the total column.

Prosecuting Attorney Kirk argued that the court might make an amended decree directing the register to inset the figures. He said the recent decision of the supreme court in the Bay county case indicated in the opinion that the court did not attempt to say what the effect of such a correction would be, that the proceedings in that case were to set aside a sale already made, while in this case there was a chance to correct the decree before a sale was made.

Mr. Butterfield argued that the rolls had passed out of the hands of the register and he could not now recall thern. That the decree of March 31 was void and a decree correcting it, if valid would be a new decree and would not conform to the law in that it must be made 10 days before the sale. Judge Kinne didn't think it wise to take any chances on the sale being valid. To set it aside meant nearly that the state should carry the amount of the tax another year, when the sale would include the taxes for this year. Consequntly the sale has been set aside.