behalf of the said board of supervisors of Jackson county, are to cause to be paid to the said party of the first part for the said bridge the sum of one thousand dollars on the execution. of these presents, and the bond being given for the faithful execution of said work hereto annexed, and the residue of the money now being, to-wit, the sum of $, on the 15th day of December, 1867, and the residue of $9,000, (nine thousand dollars) the whole contract price to be paid as follows, to-wit: $3,500 (three thousand five hundred dollars) out of the levy of 1868, to be paid by certificates of indebtedness to be issued by said board of supervisors from time to time as the work progresses, or in cash if in the county treasury ap plicable thereto, and the residue, to-wit, the sum of $3,500 (three thousand five hundred dollars) out of the county levy of 1869, which last payment shall be by certificate of indebtedness drawn by said board of supervisors, and to bear interest from the time when said bridge shall be completed and received. Said work to be begun at once and prosecuted diligently as the weather may permit until completed; and said commissioners may estimate the work done and materials for the same on the ground at the end of each month, and certify the same to said board; and upon such certificate the said board are to pay the installments aforesaid, as the work progresses as aforesaid, from time to time as aforesaid, except said last installment which is not to be paid until the whole work is completed and received as aforesaid." At the same time, to-wit, Oct. 29, 1867, the said George K. Leonard and A. G. Leonard, Thompson Leach, W. B. Caswell and Alfred Foster as his sureties executed to said commissioners their joint and several bond in the penalty of $10,000 with the following condition thereto: "The condition of the above obligation is such that whereas, the above bound George K. Leonard did, on the 29th day of October, 1867, make and enter into a contract with R. S. Brown, Charles Harpold, John Rawling, Deming Wagner and Isiah Morgan, commissioners acting for and on behalf of said board of supervisors, whereby the said Leonard agreed to build, erect and complete a good and substantial bridge, with solid stone abutments and good and durable superstructure, to be in all respects erected, built and completed according to said contract in writing to be attached to these presents, and reference is here given thereto for more full particulars of the way and manner said bridge is to be completed: Now, if the said George K. Leonard shall erect and complete the said bridge at the place within the time and in manner prescribed in the said contract hereunto annexed as aforesaid, and shall in all respects comply with the said contract on his part, then this obligation to be void, else to remain in full force and virtue." Subsequently, the commissioners made their report to the board of supervisors in these words: "The undersigned commissioners appointed by the board of supervisors of Jackson county, West Virginia, to contract for and superintend the building of a bridge over Big Sandy creek near Ravenswood in said county, do hereby certify that said contract was made with G. K. Leonard, of Parkersburg, and that he has built and completed said bridge in accord ance to the contract so far as we can see and to our satisfaction, except the north abutment, which seems to us to be cracking and settling, and within the time specified, but we do hereby recommend and direct that the president and clerk of the board of supervisors do issue to the said Leonard the county certificates of indebtedness for $3,500, payable out of the county levey of 1869, with interest from date, as specified in the contract, which amount is the balance in full of the contract price for said work, but we do not intend to release said contractor from any warranty expressed or implied, in said contract. "Given under our hands this 10th day of November, 1868." On November 16, 1868, the board of supervisors entered this report on their order-book and made and entered thereunder this order: "The board of supervisors of Jackson county do hereby receieve the Sandy creek bridge near Ravenswood in this county from G. K. Leonard, contractors, as recommended by the commissioners, and order that he receive certificates of indebtedness, $3,500, in denominations as follows: (2) two two hundred and twenty-five certificates.. $1,000 2,000 450 (1) fiftyAggregate... certificate, 50 $3,500." Afterward, on July 24, 1871, the supervisors instituted an action of covenant in the circuit court of Wood county against said George K. Leonard and his sureties on said bond of Oct. 29, 1867 for an alleged breach of the condition thereof by the said George K. Leonard. The declaration in this action, after averring generally the breaches complained of, states that the said George K. Leonard failed to build said bridge in the manner and of the material specified in the said contract and that by reason of such failure, "in a very short time after the bridge was put up both of the abutments and all of the wing-walls gave way, and the whole structure from these causes and by reason of many other breaches in said contract, gave way and settled in such a manner that it had to be propped up, and the plaintiff was put to great trouble and expense, to-wit, to the expense of $3,000 in repairing the said bridge so as to make it at all safe for the public to pass over it." The damages claimed are $10,000. For the full text of this declaration as originally filed see Supervisors v. Leonard, 16 W. Va., 472. This action, after sundry proceedings had in it, was finally removed to the circuit court of Jackson county where it is still pending and undetermined. On August 15, 1883, the county court of Jackson, successor of the supervisors of said county, brought an action of debt in the circuit court of said county on said bond of October 29, 1869, against A. G. Leonard, Thompson Leach and W. B. Caswell, surviving obligors therein, the said coobligors, George K. Leonard and Alfred Foster, being then dead. The plaintiff's alleging as a breach of the condition of said bond, that the said George K. Leonard, in his lifetime, failed to build and construct said bridge in the manner and of the materials specified in said contract and that by reason of such failure, "in a very short time after the said bridge was put up, to-wit, after the 24th day of July, 1871, towit, on the day of January, 1880, the wing walls of the abutment of said bridge on the north side of said creek gave way, and the said wing walls and abutments of the said bridge, built, erected and constructed by said George K. Leonard, on the north side of said creek, fell down, and the whole superstructure, from these and by reason of many other breaches in said contract, gave way and became and was for a long space of time, to-wit, from the day and year last aforesaid until the date of the institution of this suit, impassable and unsafe for the ordinary public use and travel, and the plaintiff was thereby put to great trouble and expense, to-wit, to the expense of $2,500, in rebuilding the said abutment and wing walls and a pier for said bridge on the north side of the said creek, and in putting in braces in said bridge and repairing the floor thereof and making other necessary repairs therein so as to make said bridge at all safe for the public to travel and pass over it." This action is, also, pending and undetermined in the said court. On the first day of November, 1883, the said A. G. Leonard, Thompson Leach and W. B. Caswell exhibited their bill in the circuit court of Jackson county against the county court of said county and the administrator of George K. Leonard deceased, in which the plaintiffs after setting forth, in substance, the orders, contract, bond, the pending of the actions at law and the declarations filed therein, which are hereinbefore set forth, aver that the said supervisors of Jackson county did in fact receive said bridge from the said George K. Leonard, and without their consent did issue and deliver to him certificates for the total amount of $3,500, in full of the balance of the contract price of the bridge, which have been paid off; and they insist that the supervisors, by paying the said sum to said Leonard or by delivering to him said certificates with full notice of the premises and the condition of said bridge without their consent, did thereby materially change the said contract, which provided that the said last installment was not due nor to be paid to said Leonard until the whole work of building said bridge was completed and received by said supervisors, and the said supervisors thereby did, without their consent, surrender to said Leonard the fund which was to remain in their hands for the completion of said bridge if it was not completed, and they did thereby deprive the plaintiffs, as sureties of said Leonard, of the said $3,500 which was to protect and save them as well as 51 said supervisors harmless against any failure or default of said Leonard in building and completing said bridge according to said contract; and that by said payment in the manner and at the time aforesaid, the said supervisors changed the said contract as well as their relation to the said Leonard from that of debtor to that of creditor, and they thereby did release and have discharged the plaintiffs, as sureties, from all liability by reason of the obligation of said bond. The plaintiffs, thereupon, pray that said county court may be perpetually enjoined from prosecuting said actions at law or any others against them as sureties upon said bond, &c. The injunction, as prayed for, was granted September 21, 1883, the defendant, the county court, appeared and demurred to and answered the bill, and gave notice of a motion to dissolve the injunction. The said answer does not deny the material averments of the bill, but does deny the legal conclusions asserted by the plaintiffs, or that said defendant has done anything to change the liability of, or to release, the plaintiffs in any manner or respect. There was a general replication to the answer, and the cause having been set for hearing, the court, on November 9, 1883, entered a decree sustaining the defendant's motion to dissolve the injunction and without passing, in terms, upon the demurrer, dissolved the injunction and dismissed the bill with costs. From this decree the plaintiffs have obtained the appeal to this Court. J. A. Hutchinson, for appellant. R. S. & C. L. Brown, for appellee. The counsel for the appellants, to sustain this appeal, has referred to and relies upon the following legal propositions: The contract of suretyship imports entire good faith and confidence between the parties in regard to the whole transaction. The creditor is bound to observe good faith with the surety. He must withhold nothing, conceal nothing, release nothing which may possibly benefit the surety. If any stipulations, therefore, are made between the creditor and the debtor, which are not communicated to the surety, and are |