Negligence — Liability of State — Negligent Acts of Officers. —In the absence of a statute voluntarily assuming such liability the state is not liable in damages for the negligent acts of its officers while engaged in discharging ordinary official duties pertaining to the administration of the government of the states.

Id. — Bower of Legislature — Constitutional Law — Gift.—Under section 31 of article IV of the constitution of this state, forbidding the legislature to make any gift of public money, the legislature has no power to create a liability against the state for any past acts of negligence on the part of its officers.

Id. — Breach of Contract — Liability of State — Neglect of Harbor Commissioners to Repair Wharf — Damages for Loss of Coal. — A cause of action for damages for the loss of coal received at a public wharf, under the jurisdiction of the state harbor commissioners, in consideration of wharfage and dockage paid to them, and which was agreed to be delivered on such wharf for removal therefrom, and which was lost by the breaking away of the wharf, through neglect of the harbor commissioners to keep the wharf in repair, is grounded in breach of contract, and not merely upon the negligence of the harbor commissioners; and the state is liable for the loss of the coal.

Id. — State When Bound as an Individual. — The state, in all of its contracts and dealings with individuals, must be governed by the same rules which govern in determining the rights of private citizens contracting and dealing with each other.

Id. — Duty and Liability of Wharfinger — Neglect of Ordinary Care. A wharfinger is bound to return or deliver the goods according to his contract, and is impliedly bound by his contract as such to exercise ordinary care for their preservation and safety, and is liable for breach of his contract in case of loss of the goods by reason of an unsafe condition of the wharf, which ordinary care would have enabled him to ascertain and remedy.

Id. — Assumpsit—Action upon Contract — Damages for Negligence.— The liability of the wharfinger for breach of contract by negligence, causing the loss of the goods intrusted to him, was enforceable at common law by an action of assumpsit; and, under our practice, the owner or consignee may sue upon the contract for the damages sustained by such negligence.

Id. — Right to Sue State upon Contract — New Remedy for Previous Liability — Constitutional Law. — The liability of the state upon the contract of the harbor commissioners safely to deliver goods at a public wharf accrued at the time of its breach, when the goods were lost; and though the only remedy then existing was to present the claim to the state board of examiners for allowance, or to appeal to the legislature for an appropriation to pay the same, if the right to sue the state is afterwards given by law as a new remedy upon its contracts the legislature does not thereby create any liability or cause of action against the state where none existed before, and its legislation giving the remedy by action is not unconstitutional.

Id. — CONCLUSIVENESS OF ACTION OF BOARD OF EXAMINERS. — The action of the board of examiners in rejecting a claim for breach of contract on the part of the state is not conclusive in an action allowed by law to be instituted upon the contract, and such rejection is no bar to an action upon the rejected claim.

Construction of Decisions — General Language. — The general language found in the opinion rendered in the decision of a case must be construed with reference to the particular facts then before the court.