Horace Gray

“ It thus appears that the supreme court of Pennsylvania has taken the same view as the supreme court of Indiana, as already shown, holding it to be against public policy to permit municipal corporations, in the administration of their affairs relating to the construction of public works to be embarrassed by subcontracts between their contractors and third persons, to which they have never assented. ”

“ The plaintiff claims under no such assignment. Those statutes, and the judicial exposition, of them by the supreme court of the state, as well as the terms of the contract itself, are quite inconsistent with the theory that the original contractors can, at their pleasure, and without the assent of the county commissioners, split up the contract, and assign it in parts, so as to transfer to different persons or corporations the duty of furnishing different kinds of material and labor, and the right of recovering compensation for such material and labor from the county commissioners. ”

“ It has been held by the supreme court of Indiana that the only remedy of laborers and material-men is against the contractor, or upon his bond, and that they have no lien upon the building, or right of action against the county, as well as that a county cannot be charged by process in the nature of garnishment or foreign attachment for the debts of its creditors to third persons ”