90 Seventeenth Anneal Report of the 



tory writ of mandamus, requiring the Hoard of Supervisors to audit his 

 claim. The application was denied at special term upon the ground that 

 the claim was a charge against the Stale, and not against the county. 

 From the order denying the application this appeal is taken. 



The sheriff receives a stated annual salary and certain fees, besides his 

 necessary disbursements. (Laws of 1891, chapter 10S; Matter of Beck, 

 157 N. Y., 151.) That he was required to thus aid the Commissioner of 

 Agriculture am! appeint deputies, and that the services so rendered were 

 necessary and the amount paid therefor reasonable, is not controverted. 

 The sheriff is therefore entitled to be reimbursed for the moneys so expended 

 by him, and if a county charge, it must he paid by the county. Section 240 

 of the County Law defines what are county charges, among others, money 

 necessarily expended by any county officer in executing the duties of his 

 olfice in cases in which no specific compensation for such services is pro- 

 vided by law. Section 185 of the County Law provides, however, that when 

 a sheriff shall he required by any statute to perform any service in behalf 

 of the people of this State, and for their benefit, which shall not be made 

 chargeable by law to his county, or to some officer, body or person, his 

 account for such services shall he audited by the Comptroller and paid out 

 of the State treasury. Section 70b of the Agricultural Law, as it was, when 

 the services were rendered and this proceeding was commenced, provided 

 that all expenses incurred by the commissioner in carrying out the pro- 

 visions of the article (under which the commissioner acted) and in per- 

 forming the duties therein devolved upon him, shall be audited by the 

 Comptroller as extraordinary expenses of the •Department of Agriculture, 

 and paid out of any moneys in the treasury appropriated for such purposes, 

 in 1908 an appropriation of .$7, Odd was made by the Legislature for enforc- 

 ing the provisions relating to the diseases of domestic animals. (Laws of 

 1908, chapter 400.) During the present year the Agricultural Law has been 

 amended so as to specifically provide that the expenses incurred by the 

 sheriff in carrying out and enforcing any notice, order or regulation of the 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, in a case like this, shall he a county charge. 

 ( Laws of 1909, chapter 9, section 90, as amended by chapter 352 of the 

 Laws of 1909.) 



It seems clear that until this amendment was passed, expenses such as 

 the relator incurred were chargeable to the State and not to the county. 



The order should, therefore, he affirmed, with costs. 



Subsequent to the decision by the Appellate Division, as above 

 given, the Attorney-General of the stale of New York, gave the 

 Commissioner of Agriculture his opinion as Mo his rights and 

 duties in view of thai decision. The following is a copy of the 

 said communication from the Attorney-General: 



August 11, 1909. 



To the Honorable, the Commissioner of Agriculture, Albany, N. Y.: 



Dear Sir. — Some time since, when' the proceedings brought to compel the 

 supervisors of Erie County to pay (he expenses of the sheriff in enforcing 



