The weekly Arizona miner., 1869-08-07
Governor Stafford on the Status of the
 Territory, County Officials, Etc.

We print, below, certain questions recently propounded by John B. Allen, to Governor safTord, and the Governors reply thereto:
 To His Ercellency 4. P K. Sd61ri, Govsrnor |
 of Arizona.
 Sir: Having recently come among us as Governor of the Territory, to "Take care | that the laws are faithfully executed" the | people will feel an interest in knowing your views of the decisions of Judge Backus in the cases of Attorney General vs. Buckaew, and Attorney General vs McCaiirey, and if such decisions in your opinion, inyslidate any oi the laws of the Territory
 2d No proclamation was issued by the Acting Governor of the Territory, and with one or two exceptions, no election was held in the Territory in the month of June last.
 When, in your judgment, will the terms of the county and precinct officers expire; and what remedy do you propose to keep the Territorial Government in motion ?
 JOHN B. ALLEN. am in receipt of your letter of this date, and in reply, would say that l have exam | ined the decisions of Judge Backus, referred | to. The merits of the question involved in | the decision are these: The Organic law of the Territory provides for apportioning the 1 representation in the several counties or dis | tricts, to the Council and House of Represen-
 tatives. in the following words
 | And the persons thus elected to the Leg | islative Assembly, shall meet at such place ! and on such day as the Governor may ap- | point; but, thereafter, the time, place and
 manner of holding and conducting all cleo
 tions, by the people, and the apportioning
 the representation in the several counties or
 districts to the Council and House of Repres-
 entatives, according to population, shall be
 prescribed by law"
 The Legislature of 1866 provides for the l apportionment of the members of the Legis- lature in the following words
 "Members of the Legislature shall be elected by counties, according to the appor-
 tionment of the Governor; Provided, That
 members of the Council shall in all cases be elected for two years"
 The Judge, in tho decision referred to, de- cided that the manner of making the appor-
 tionment was illegal, for the reason that the Legislature had no right to delegate the pow
 CT to the Governor to make the apportion-
 ment; that the Legislature that assembled
 in pursuance of said apportionment was an
 illegal body, and that all legislative acts since
 that time are illegal and void.
 The decision of Judge Bsckus is entitled to the same respect as that of any other judi lEs
 the parties to the shit that was tried before
 him, and nobody else. It would have tho same force and effect as a decision of Justice of the Peace in a case that was legally before l him, and no more. Either could determine the rights of the parties in the suits before
 him, for the time being, and that is all eithe 7 could do. The people, through their repres
 entatives enact certain laws; these law
 must be enforced and obeyed until declared
 illegal and void by the highest courts of th'
 country, or snnuiied or amended by the Leg o islature or Congress. It will be plain tha . no other course could be pursued without re T sultiug in ruin or anarchy. If, upon the mer 0 opinion of District Judge, Justice of tn r Peace, or other judicial officer, years of legis :, lation could be plotted from the statutes, tn : lives and security of the people would han Il upon a very slender thread indeed. Such a n interpretation in the present case would a a once leave us without county officers through l. out the Territory; all the acts of said officer wauld have been usurpations, consequent : void all criminals under indictment, or tha g have been convicted, would be immediate d turned loose. The Judge who made thes l. decisions was holding court in pursuance 1T these illegal laws; Gf they were illegal, a :. claimed by him) many of his decisions wer '' effected by amendments to the civil an IF criminal practice made by the same illegl ,e bodies. The Sheriff whom he directed to ca ,o ecute his mandates, even to the extent
 taking the life of fellow being, had no leg,
 existence. deem it unnecessary to pursu n- this branch of the subject further-the cas 1t is too plain for arguments statement of th st facts is sufficient.
 ia With regard to your second inquiry wi ', say that had arrived here in time I shoul u have certainly issued a proclamation callin es an election, as provided by law; to have pu ,e sued any other course, upon the ground thu
 the law was illegal, before the highest cour i, of the country had decided the question 7" would have been plain usurpation of jud ie cial power which the Executive has no rigl st to encroach upon; but, on the contrary, 1t he made his duty, by the organic law of u n. Territory, "to take care that the laws . faithfully executed"
 ," believe the people ought to have the pri
 ilegs Of changing their public servants as
 ten, certainly, as they express desire te their laws, passed by their representatives sn the Legislature. Acting upon this conyi rd tion should call special election, but I fir
 from a careful examination that the Governs s' has DO power to call a special election excel ne to fill vacancies in the Legislature and Del e. gate to Congress. deem it useless to call Id special election for the purpose of electir st only members of the Legislature, for the re - son that Congress has made no apnopriatit
 to defray the expenses of holding a sessiC
 this year. Congress has enacted that her .. after sessions of the Legislature in the SC " eral Territories shall be biennial, and it VI sn the evident expectation that no session wou e. be held in any of the Territories this yea