Branch v. . Saunders

Drainage assessments unmatured or not due are not liens or encumbrances within the meaning of the law. They are “charges” attaching to the land, as they fall due from time to time and follow the land until all have been liquidated. Thus in Taylor v. Commissioners, 176 N. C., 217, this Court held: “The drainage tax becomes a lien, just as the benefits accrue, i. e., annually. . . . It is a lien in rem, accruing annually and resting upon the land into whosoever bands it may be at that time.” So, also, in Pate v. Banks, 178 N. C., p. 141, the Court said: “The lien of the charges for drainage is…