County Commissioners v. County Commissioners

Grason, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This case was tried before the Circuit Court for Allegany County, without a jury, on an agreed statement of facts; all errors of pleading were waived and a right of appeal to this Court was reserved. The judgment having been rendered in fávor of the plaintiffs, the defendants appealed. The suit was brought to recover ninety-eight dollars, which amount was paid by the appellees for meals furnished the jurors empanelled to try the case of Boyden vs. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, which was begun in Allegany County, and tried in the Circuit Court for Howard County, and to the bailiff who had them in charge, and for the further sum of two dollars, being one day’s per diem, paid by the appellees to the sheriff of Howard County, for attendance at Court during the trial of the suit of McNamee vs. Minke, which was also removed from Allegany County to Howard County, and tried in the last named county.

It was admitted that both these sums had been paid by the appellees before this suit was begun. Sec. 1 of Art. 21, of the Code provides, that “ the costs and expenses incident to the trial of actions, issues and presentments removed from one county to another, which ³⁹⁵ are properly chargeable to the county, shall be borne and paid by the county from which the same are removed.” The question presented by this record, therefore, is, whether the items sued for are costs and expenses which are properly chargeable to the county. This Court has said in the case of The County Commis sioners of Howard County vs. The County Commissioners of Frederick County, 30 Md., 432 , that “the plain meaning of the language of the section under consideration,” (it being the section now under consideration) “ is, that all costs and expenses incurred during the time occupied in the trial of a removed case, either civil or criminal, or occasioned by, or resulting from such trial, which the county is, by law, required to pay, shall ho paid by the county where the case originated.” In ancient times, after a case was submitted to the jury and the bailiff had been sworn, the jury were kept locked in their room, without meat or drink, until they had