George Shiras, Jr.

“ The purpose of the bill is to restrain certain tax assessors and tax collectors from collecting taxes for specific years, and, if the amount of such taxes does not confer jurisdiction, it is, from the nature of things, impossible for a court to foresee what, if any, taxes may be assessed in the future. ”

“ Error is assigned to the action of the court decreeing that the complainant should pay the costs, including a fee of upwards of $300 to the defendants' counsel.
As a general rule, an appeal will not lie in a matter of costs alone. But such appeals have been sustained in particular circumstances, as, for instance, where the costs have been directed to be paid out of a trust fund. In Trustees v. Greenough, 105 U.S. 528, this court said, through Mr. Justice Bradley, that the objection to an appeal on the ground of its being from a decree for costs only is untenable. ”