The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1879-08-26
THE SUPREME COURT RULING.

In our last we could make but brief refer
ence to the Supreme Court ruling in the
Parks hdbeas corpus case, the dispatch com.
ing to hand at So late an hour that we were
constrained to limit our mention to a mere
statement of the fact that Galbraith's decision
was affirmed, and that consequently the Pc.
lice Court of Butte is a ,e-aIly constituted
is what the Supreme Court directly says, but
indirectly it says a great deal more. The
Congressional statute declares "Justices of
the Peace shall be elected by the people," adj
ding another clause which very plainly proves
that "shall be in the above means " must
be" not "may be-" So much for Congress
s%ional, now for Montana legislation. Our
Territorial statute provides as follows: First,
it provides for a municipal corporation, in
which as a measure of security, "a very good
one too, it bestows the right of municipal
suffrage only on those who have something at
stake in the municipality; allows only those
who nay the taxes to vote in deciding what
those taxes are to be, and what disposition is
to be made of them. This was the intention.
but by an unleard of blu der the suffrage is
bestowed only on ''tax-paying householders,'
where the word householder" is int p =
ell to mean the head of a family. A Cord
ingly the town of Butte was Incorporated by
the vote of less than $50 househnlIers. Now
those householders are unquestionahly Of the
people, they are a portion. a small portion of
II l. .a--I, 8 g .I, -, ,l., ....
sent, but to say they are The people is absurd.
If they are " the people," what becomes Of
the vastly greater number of American citi-
zens living within the tow limits and dis
franchised by the charter provisions? Who
are those outsiders? What are they if the
"householders ~ constitute the whole people?
The householders ale not "the people," that
is plain, therefore an election by them wonld
not haze been All election conducted accord
ing to the provisions of the Con-:esai"n.i
statute, whose words are quoted above, ami
consequently had they undertaken to elect IA
Justice of the Peace that election would have
been void, because a great many voters quail
fed to vote for any county officer would lav"
been disqualified to vote under the charter.
the householders did more than this.
They elected eight Aldermen aud one Mayo
and those nine gentlemen proceed to appoint
a Justice of the Peace. Now, to say that
such appointment is an election by the peo-
pie is absurd, therefore, by its ruling the
Court indirectly ~aftirIns the
power possessed by the Montana Leg
to repeal the laws of Coz
yrcss. Since our Legislators possess this
and on no other supposition can We
understand the Supreme Court ruling, it be,
looves our people to be a little careful as to
whom they select to represent them in Our
legislative halls, else there is no telling what
havoc may be made with the Congressional
Besides, when this repeating power
S once admitted, 1t is extremely hard to say
what is to limit its operation. Rejecting on
his aspect of the case, all who remember how
narrowly a certain bill at the last session fail
ID TO become a law, will tremble at the ex-
,eedingly close escape we made. Had thai
dill passed its first effect would have been TO
,epeal the Constitution of the United States,
IN instrument for which our reverence Is so
sincere, our respect so genuine that we rejoice
exceedingly in its ortunate escape.