The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-01-27
THE COURT.

The more consideration is given to the re-
cent refusal of the Supreme Court to grant the
petition of numerous citizens of Butte, asking
for the assignment of two terms of the district
court to this city, the more does it become
evident that the honorable body was not &C
tuated by good ana sufficient reasons in re-
fusing favorable action. 1t was conclusively
ty is centered in Butte, that we have ten
times the population of Deer Lodge, and that
nine tenths of the litigation brought before
the Second district court has its origin i'll this
city. Nor is this all. By reference to the
jury list recently published, it will be seen
that IA large majority of the jurors are resi-
dents of this immediate vicinity, and it is no
eXaggeration to state that thousands of dol
lars We're unnecessarily expended in paying
mileage for jurors disqualified to serve, as well
as to procure the attendance of witnesses. At
one time during the recent session no less
than one hundred men were mmon to
Deer Lodge as jurors on various criminal
cases. Having expressed opinions, they
were rejected on examination and another
levy wasmade to complete the panels. In this
way nearly every male resident of the town
was compelled to appear in Deer Lodge, and
the cost entailed was simply
Had the court been held in Butte, in or
near which city an overwhelming majority of
the men reside who are liable to jury service,
a large amount of public money would have
been saved and the majority of litiSants,
jurors and witnesses would have been spared
much unnecessary trouble. But there is still
another hardship which the present assign
ment works upon the public interest In
cases of attachment the jurisdiction of the
Justice of the peace is limited to amounts not
exceeding one hundred dollars, so that if the
creditors Of a man owing bills for more than
that amount become aware of the debtors
dishonest intententions, and il, from any
other cause it becomes necessary to attach his
property. two and sometimes three days must
elapse before the papers can be served. The
advantage thus u~njustlv rests with the small
creditors, who, if their bills against tie party
he less than one hundred dollars, can at any
tllllt GulSC PROCESS " loSttC HUN Jilc COlll VI
the justice Of the peace, and thus secure
themselves from loss, while the heavier cred
itols are compelled to suffer a delay which is
not unlikely to result in the entire loss of
their accounts. If Butte had the court and a
clerks office the creditors, both great and
small. would be placed on an equal footing
and thus Justice would be done to all parties.
1t may be urged, that in the event of the
assignment prayed FOR, Deer Lodge would
suffer the same Inconvenience in regard to
attachments as that with which Butte is now
afflicted: but il should be remembered that
the population Of Butte is almost ten times
thai OF the county seat that there is far more
tlau ten times the amour of capital invested
here than Deer Lodge can boast. and that
therefore the necessity for quick legal reme-
dies to protect the public from loss is ten
times more urgent in Butte than in the
county seat. When the benefits Of the courts
can not be evenly distributed they should be
exercised to promote the greatest good to the
greatest number.