130 ESSENTIALS OF VETERINARY LAW 
habilities to which he exposes himself. An error 
of the representative of a city government may 
possibly involve the city in a liability; for the city 
is a corporation which may be sued. Exactly the 
same kind of an error by one employed by the 
state or nation would not involve the liability of 
either state or nation, for they are supposed to 
do no wrong, and therefore they cannot be sued. 
But if a man occupying the position of an officer 
or employee of the state or nation does an act 
which is wrong, in so far he is really a private 
wrongdoer, just like any other, and his official 
position does not protect him from suffering the 
penalty. If any one has been injured by his un- 
lawful act, civil suit may be brought against him. 
It. does not matter that he acted in good faith, 
that he supposed that he was within his authority, 
or that he thought his act for the common good. 
Relying upon the purity of his motives, he finds 
that good intentions pave the way to—trouble. 
It is the duty of a public officer or employee to 
know what he is doing, and that his act is within 
his legal power. Intentions don’t count. Impres- 
sions are misleading. Knowledge is important. 
This knowledge is not difficult to obtain. It is 
within easy reach, but the trouble is that too 
frequently the officer is content with certain gen- 
eral ideas, very loosely comprehended, until he 
is suddenly brought into court to suffer for his 
well intentioned misdeeds. Very frequently it is 
more the manner in which a thing has been done, 
than the thing itself, which is objectionable. 
96. Liability of Officers. Whatever is required 
of an officer by law should be done, and if he fails 
