implication, rescinded the votes passed at the first, and that they were legal and binding. George v. School District in Mendon, 6 Metcalf's Rep. 497. 74. Where a school district accepted the proposals of a builder to erect a schoolhouse for a certain sum, with liberty to build a public hall over the same as the builder's property, he allowing the district to have the use of the hall, free of charge, for meetings of the district, for examination of the schools, &c.; and the house was so built; it was held that the district had not exceeded its authority, and that a tax to pay for the house was legally assessed. Ib. SCHOOL DISTRICT TAXES. 75. Whatever moneys a school district has legally voted to raise by tax, must be certified by the clerk of the district to the assessors of the town. Within thirty days after the receipt of the certificate, the assessors are required to assess the moneys so certified, in the same manner as town taxes are assessed, upon the polls and estates of the tax-payers in the district and on all lands liable to be taxed therein. Rev. St., ch. 23, § 37. Williams v. Lunenburg, 21 Pick. 75. 76. Having made the assessment, the assessors must issue their warrant and direct it to one of the collectors of the town, requiring him to collect the tax so assessed, and to pay the same to the treasurer of the town, within a time to be limited in the warrant. A certificate of the assessment must also be made by the assessors, and delivered to the treasurer of the town. Rev. St., ch. 23, § 38. 77. This last provision, in relation to the certificate of the assessment to be delivered to the treasurer, is necessary, because, if the moneys are not collected and paid over to said treasurer at the time specified in the warrant, he is authorized to enforce their collection and payment in the same manner as in the case of moneys raised by the town for its own use. Rev. Stat., ch. 23, § 41. 78. Every collector has the same powers, in regard to the collection of a district tax; all assessors have the same power in regard to the abatement, in whole or in part, of the same; and the collector, assessors, and treasurer are respectively enti 1 tled to the same compensation for services performed in relation to a district tax, as for the like services in respect to town taxes. Rev. Stat., ch. 23, §§ 40, 43, 42. 79. In raising and assessing money, in the several school districts, every inhabitant of the district must be taxed, in the district in which he lives, for all his personal estate, (see below, 81,) and for all the real estate which he holds in the town, being under his own actual improvement; and all other of his real estate, in the same town, shall be taxed in the district in which it lies. Rev. Stat., ch. 23, § 33. 80. In the assessment of all taxes, pursuant to the preceding paragraph, all real estate and machinery, belonging to manufacturing corporations, must be taxed in the districts where the same are situated, (see below, 81;) and in assessing the shares in such corporation, for the like purposes, the value of said machinery and real estate shall be first deducted from the value of such shares. Rev. Stat., ch. 23, § 34. 81. All stocks in trade, including stock employed in the business of manufacturing, or of any of the mechanic arts, in towns within the State, other than where the owners reside, must be taxed in those towns, if the owners hire or occupy manufactories, stores, shops, or wharves therein, whether the said stocks in trade, or the goods, wares, and merchandise, or other property composing the same, are within said towns, on the first day of May, of the year when the tax is made, or elsewhere. St. 1839, ch. 139, § 1. 82. Whenever the real estate of a non-resident owner shall be taxed to such owner, it may be taxed in such district as the assessors of the town shall determine; and the said assessors, before they assess a tax for any district, must determine in which district the lands of any such non-resident shall be taxed, and certify their determination to the clerk of the town, who shall record the same; and such land, while owned by any person resident without the limits of the town, shall be taxed in such district accordingly, until the town shall be districted anew. Rev. St., ch. 23, § 35. St. 1849, ch. 206. 83. All the lands, within any town, owned by the same person, not living therein, must be taxed in the same district. Rev. St., ch. 23, § 36. 84. The moneys collected and paid over to the town treasurer, in the manner above described, for the use of any district, are then at the disposal of any committee appointed by the district, to be by them applied to the building or repairing of schoolhouses, or to the purchase of buildings to be used as schoolhouses, or to the purchase of land for the sites of schoolhouses, or to any other purpose for which the district may lawfully raise money, according to the votes or directions of the inhabitants of the same. Rev. St., ch. 23, § 39. 85. If, after a tax has been voted and assessed on the inhabitants of a school district, part of the district is set off to another district, the inhabitants of such part still remain liable to pay the tax. Waldron v. Lee, 5 Pick. 323. 86. But if, after the inhabitants of a school district have voted to raise money for building a schoolhouse, and before the same is assessed, the limits of the district be altered, and a new district be formed by the town, the vote to raise the money is annulled, and the assessment cannot be legally made. Richards v. Daggett, 4 Mass. 534. 87. Moneys voted to be raised by a school district, for the building and repairing of a schoolhouse, pursuant to statute 1799, ch. 66, were held to be legally assessed by assessors chosen after such vote. Pond v. Negus, 3 Mass. 230. 88. It was held not necessary that such vote should be certified by the district clerk, to the assessors in office at the time the vote passed, but that it might be certified to assessors chosen afterwards. Ib. 89. It was also held unnecessary for the assessors to make the assessment within thirty days from the date of the certificate of the district clerk; the naming of the time for the assessment being directory to the assessors, and not a limitation of their authority. Ib. Williams v. Lunenburg, 21 Pick. 75. 90. Should the assessors make an illegal assessment, and issue their warrant to collect the money, they may revoke their doings, and make a new assessment and issue a new warrant, without a second certificate from the district clerk; or, if their office should expire before making such new assessment, or, if they should neglect, or have no time to make any assessment, the district clerk may make a second certificate to their successors, who may make the assessment. Pond v. Negus, 3 Mass. 230. 91. If a school district vote that the money raised by them, for the purpose of building or repairing a schoolhouse, shall be paid within a certain time, the assessors may, notwithstanding such vote, make the assessment after the expiration of the time of payment expressed in the vote. Ib. 92. Should assessors omit, through error of judgment, or mistake of law, to assess on an individual a school district tax, such omission would not invalidate the assessment as against other persons. Williams v. Lunenburg, 21 Pick. 75. 93. Nor would a tax assessed upon the inhabitants of a school district be rendered void by the omission of the assessors, through misinformation, mistake of fact, or error of judgment, to assign the real estate of one or more non-resident owners to any school district. George v. School District in Mendon, 6 Metcalf's Rep. 497. 94. But, where stat. 1826, ch. 143, § 11, (Rev. St., ch, 23, § 35,) required assessors, before assessing any school district tax, to determine in which district the lands of persons residing out of the limits of the town, should be taxed, and to certify in writing, their determination to the clerk of the town whose duty it was to record the same, and a school district tax was asssessed, and the assessors failed to comply with the above directions, the assessment was held invalid. Taft v. Wood, 14 Pick. 362. 95. In an action against a school district, to recover back a tax which had been paid to a collector de facto of the town, it was held that it was not open to the plaintiff to object that the officer had not been duly elected and sworn. Williams v. Lunenburg, 21 Pick. 75. 96. In an action against a school district, to recover back money paid for a school district tax, the plaintiff objected that the meeting at which the tax was voted, was called by a prudential committee, elected at a meeting warned under an irregular warrant. It was held that the question of the regularity of this warrant was not open; it was sufficient that the committee was a committee de facto. Ib. 97. It seems, in general, that an inhabitant of a school district cannot bring an action against the town for money collected on an illegal assessment upon the district, but the money is received by the town treasurer when paid over to him, as agent of the district. Perry v. Dover, 12 Pick. 206. 98. All property belonging to Common School districts, the income of which is appropriated to the purposes of education, is exempt from taxation. St. 1843, ch. 85. CONTIGUOUS SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN ADJOINING TOWNS. 99. In treating of the territorial division of the State for school purposes, it was mentioned, that any two or more contiguous school districts, in adjoining towns, may, with the consent of each district, and of the respective towns to which they belong, unite and form one district. St., ch. 23, 49. Ante, p. 38. 100. But no districts can be so united unless the inhabitants of each, at a legal meeting called for the purpose, shall agree thereto; nor unless the towns to which such districts belong, shall, at legal town meetings, called for the purpose, assent to such union. When any such vote shall be passed by any school district, the clerk of the district must forthwith send a certified copy of the vote to the clerk of his town. Rev. St., ch. 23, § 50. 101. Whenever the voters of such united districts shall, at any legal meeting called for the purpose, deem it expedient to separate, and again resolve themselves into their original districts, they may do so, first obtaining the consent of their respective towns. Rev. Stat., ch. 23, § 51. 102. The first meeting of such united district shall be called in such manner as may be agreed upon by the respective districts, at the time of forming the union; and the united district may, from time to time thereafter, prescribe the mode of calling and warning the meetings, in like manner as other school districts may do. Rev. St., ch. 23, § 52. 103. Such district, at its first meeting, and annually thereafter, must choose a prudential committee, who shall receive and expend the money, raised and appropriated in each town, |