Arizona citizen., 1876-10-14
TIE CITIZEN.
The Little Joker.

lcnCt OI HIS lCgdl power III tlic LdOC Oi
 notorious attempt at crime and fraud,
 we have seen the opinion of a proml-
 nent limb of the law to the following
 effect:
 If the census returns from Yavapai
 county are fraudulent, or if there be
 gross error in such returns, the show
 ing should be made to the Secretary of
 the Territory, who III the last re
 sort is alone authorized tO yerliy,-
 that is. to canvass, the returns. As the
 law does not point out in what manner
 he shall verify or canvass the returns,
 he would probably be at liberty to pur-
 sue any reasonable and convenient
 method for that purpose. He might
 perhaps send the returns back to the
 board of supervisors in 1ayapai county for correction, or correct them himself upon such showing as might be made before him. l am conildentl that until the Secretary of the TerrltO- " shall refuse tO act upon such re- turns, the Judiciary has nothing to do. with the matter If the Secretary should refuse to verify,-that Is to can
 vaSs the returns, he could be cOmpell- ed to do so by mandamus.
 There is the little joker, men of Yuma, Pinal and Pima, and isn't it a nice little thimble rigging game. Att the commencement of the game wei thought we saw the little joker under the Secretary's hat, but legal gentle men laughed Us to ScOn. The Secre- ! tary, according to them, was merely an animated machine. He had no dis cretionary power. If Nohave county should report to him population of 999,000,000, { not including J. WI Leonard,) he, the Secretary, would sim
 ply have to go on and apportion them corresponding representation. No, no; the joker wasn't under the Secretary's ! hat; the Judge on tbe bench was our man. Well, we applied to the judge to save us from crime and fraud of such
 glaring nOtoriousness that everybody Tn Yavapai county was laughing about it and the originatOrs thereof were themselves perfectly astOunded at the endorsement they were receiving from their more honest but weakly selfish and short-sighted fellow citizens. Had the great exponent of law any power to restrain this fraud which, but for its infamy, would be supremely ri diculousg Not much. Courts on these far frontiers weren't made to re- strain crime; they were created to sus- lain and nourish breed of paupers , who would otherwise starve to death and in their dissolution enrich and |, benefit the soil. And now the joker is back under the Secretary's hat.
 Herein is a wonderful thing. Look at it, fellow citizens We have great Governor and a Secretary of the Territory and Judges three, and courts of high and low degree,-all at great expense,-and q county makes farcical-criniinal return of its pOpula- tinn with the intent to defraud the s rest of us of our most sacred rights, | and upon appeal for relief, the suave Governor and the seductive Secretary ! and the top heavy Judges can't for the l. life of them discover that they have anything to do in the premises. Why it is ridiculous and almost an insult to suppose they have. "They know what belongs to the watch" The chief end and aim of their existence D is to draw their salaries and feather | their nests and to wax and grow fat in c the land New York has population of some 100000, all told. If as Il basis for appOrtionment of representa- ton she should tomorrow return a ! census enumeration of 3,000,000 peO- | pie, do you suppose for one moment that the Governor and Secretary of T State and the Judges all, would simul- ( taneously smack their lips and united f ly sit down in their respective seats, a and, swinging with one accord thelr V right leg over the left and waving in c unison thclr right arm, would put the l whole matter behind and away from l them with all the mclion of workable l Podsnaps? Or if they should do any | such lazy or cowardly thing would I not such storm of popular indigna- | ton fall upon their devoted heads as T would make them think that all hell { had broken loose? The case is exact l ly parallel.
 Our officials and judges may bandy this great crime from hand to hand, ! they may by their ignorance or imbe- a cility or with criminal intent force the ( people of these southern counties in-. to great expense to defeat the ,esulls 1 of a wrong that should have been i crushed at the beginning. But it. a might be well for them to recollect I that the evil which mon do not only { lives after them bur blots out even the good part of their life. You cant occupy a high office, and while draw ! ing its salary and perquisitcs with re- q ligious regularity, shirk and trife ( with every weighty matter of law without just retribution pursuing < you to ultimate damnation. >
 lN the rejoicings al Prescott over the decision of Judge French thu thei