The new daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1872-1873, 1873-01-12
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NEEDED LEGISLATION CONCERN
ING POPULAR ELECTIONS AND
THE MODE OF DETERMINING
THE SAME.

When the sage brush law givers
were engaged in that elaborate spe-
cimen of law tinkering, the Nevada
Constitution, they did something else
besides perplexing all future genera
lions with the net work of riddles
therein propounded; for it becomes
lamentably evident. as time progress
SEES and incidents arise, that they not
only undertook to perform too
much. but that they failed to perfect
in all instances, the work which they
did undertake. For instance, in
their prescribing the structure of
our judicial system, while they were
commercially solicitous to make
that system simple and free from
cumbersome proportions, they failed.
occasionally, to perfect the various
parts of it as fully as might have been
done had there been more care be-
slowed upon the work by fewer law
cobblers. One prime trouble arose
from the fact that the trainers of our
Constitution were never enabled to
dismiss from their minds eye the
Constitution and laws of California;
for the fact is we'll known that very
many of the Solons who had hand
in building the organic Act upon
which Nevada established her Sow
ereignity" had never read any Con
stitution but that of California and
were, therefore, much impressed
with the ingenuity and wisdom of
that instrument; and the further
fact is not to be denied that our Con-
stitutional Convention was quite lib
orally supplied with the stalwart
limbs of the law whose schools were
in the gulches of California and
whose diplomas were conspicuously
displayed in the convenient form of
"cheek;" and the wonder is that the
said organic Act is as flee from blum
ders and omissions as it is
The case, lately brought before the
District Court of this district,
wherein Mr.. C. G. Chase, of Washoe
county brought suit to compel re
counting Of the ballots cast at the
last election in said county illus
tratos one of these constitutional de-
fects. In the case referred to, Mr.
Chase who was q candidate for the
Office of Sheriff of Washoe county
and who, as he alleged, had been de
prived of his commission as such
Sheriff by reason of certain inform
alities or fraudulent doings by ar
election Board, was thrown out OF
Court upon the plea, thought to
have been we'll taken, that the Dis
trict Courts of this State are denied
original jurisdiction by the terms of
the Sixth Section of Article Six of
the Constitution.
Now, here is something relative
to the history of our District Court
system-all the time bearing in mind
the judicial system of California to
which our Courts are continually
related. In California there used to
be various Courts-quite a number
in excess of the three which form
our law gradients. There used to
be q Court of Sessions (now abol-
ished, we believe.) and County
Court tno~ existing) with original
jurisdiction in certain cases, and 3
Court of probate, and SO on. Now
it was proposed to empower our Dis
riot Courts with the combined func-
tions of all the Courts whose powers
lie between those of California JUS
tice of the Peace and the Supreme
Court of that State; but in this i'm
portant matter of the deprivation of
original jurisdiction in such cases as
that of Chase vs.. Jones, above re-
ferred to, not only do our District
Courts fall short of the possession of
. power which is vested in one of the
Courts whose functions our District
Courts are supposed to combine 1.-THE
California County Court, which has
original jurisdiction in such cases)
but such original jurisdiction is
vested nowhere; and the astonishing
fact stares us in the face that there
i no immediate and indnbitable L.
Ral cure for a fraudulent or defect
We counting of the ballots cast at |
INV popular election. Here is some
hing in the nature of legal vacu-
am which ought to he supplied by
he present Legislature. Perhaps
he most direct way to supply the
aid deficiency and prescribe a