In McMillan v. Robeson Cty., 262 N.C. 413, 137 S.E.2d 105 (1964), the Court evaluated a statute that permitted county clerks of court "to invest or reinvest any moneys representing unclaimed court costs, fees received, and judgment payments and all moneys received and held by him by color of his office." Id. at 415, 137 S.E.2d at 107. The statute provided further that "the interest and revenues received upon such securities and any profit from the sale thereof shall be deposited in and become a part of the general fund of the county." Id. When the Robeson County Board of Commissioners instructed the County's clerk to deposit into the County's general fund the interest which had accumulated on such invested funds, the clerk sought a declaratory judgment to determine the constitutionality of the statute. The trial court held the statute valid and directed the clerk to deposit the accumulated interest into the general fund. The Supreme Court reversed, stating that "earnings on the fund are a mere incident of ownership of the fund itself," and "the constitutional provision . . . that no person shall be deprived of his property 'but by the law of the land,' applies to the earnings in the same manner, and with the same force, it applies to the principal." Id. at 417, 137 S.E.2d at 108. Noting that no one with an interest in the funds had been afforded an opportunity to challenge the right of the County to take the earnings on the funds, the Court remanded the case to the trial court for compliance with the statutory mandate that "'when declaratory relief is sought, all persons shall be made parties who have, or claim, any interest which would be affected by the declaration, and no declaration shall prejudice the rights of persons not parties to the proceedings.' G.S. s 1-260." Id. at 418, 137 S.E.2d at 109.