Woodbridge v. Mayor & Aldermen of Cambridge

This is a petition for a writ of certiorari to quash the proceedings of the mayor and aldermen of Cambridge, assess*484ing upon the estates of the petitioners a proportion of the cost of constructing common sewers in Oxford Street and in North Avenue in that city.

The principal question in the case is, whether the mayor and aldermen were authorized by the St. of 1869, c. 111, to lay these assessments without the concurrence of the common council.

Before the passage of this statute, the power of making and repairing drains and common sewers in Cambridge, and of laying assessments upon the estates…