The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1881-02-11
THE SILVER BOW BILL.
ITS coNSIDs RATION IN THE COUNCIL
COMMITTEES 81 riS WIoLE.
Recommended to Pass with Section Protect
ing Incumbent officers.


COUNCIL.
HELENA. Feb. S.-The Council being in
committee of the whole, Aiken moved that
the reading of Ii ID u, to create the county OF
Silver Bow be dispensed with and that the
committee recommend that the bill pass.
Mitchell stated that he desired to offer an
amendment and the motion was Withdrawn.
III b was then read; section was read and
adopted Mitchell moved that section = be
amended by striking out 'March lst' and
inserting in its place "May lst;" amendment
adopted; section as amended was adopted.
Mitchell offered the following amendment
to section 4, ..strike out all thereof and ill
sert the following:''
Section four, That all of the county Off
GERS now qualified and acting as such for the
county of Deer Lodge, with the exception OF
the Board of County Commissioners, upon
complying with the provisions hereof, he
and they are hereby constituted eX-officio
officers of their respective offices for the sald
county of Silver Bow, until their successors
shall be duly elected and. qualified at the
next general election in 1882; that before
entering upon their respective duties as such
ex-otico officers they shall execute . bond
as now provided by the general laws OF the
territory of Montana i'll reference to the
qualification of county officers to be APPROX
ed by the Board of County Commissioners
of Silver Bow county, and shall take and
subscribe to the necessary oath which with
bond aforesaid shall be filed in the proper
office; that the said eX otficio officers shall
have and keep all office at the county seat OF
Silver Bow county and shall keep all neces-
sary records of their acts and proceedings
thereof as amply and fully as if they were
the officers regularly elected and qualified
as such for SAID county of Silver Bow; And
it is further provided that the probate judge
of said county of Deer Lodge shall hold al
least five terms of said court al the county
seat of said county of Silver Bow i'll the fol-
lowing named months, January, March, July
September and November of each year, to
commence on the third Mondays thereof, for
the transaction of any and all business that
NAV come before him as such ex-otiicIo OIL
Ger for said county of Silver Bow, and shall
keep and preserve full and complete record
of such business at such place as may be pro
vded by the Board of County Commission
ers of said county OF Silver Bow.
Morris thought that, while by the pro-
posed change some of the present officers OF
| Deer Lodge county might suffer, the passage
of the amendment would endanser the bill
and for that reason he should not vote fol-
the amendment.
Toole said there was some justice in the
amendment. All of the gentlemen who
were affected by it were his political friends
| and many of them were personal friends
| but he thought with the gentleman from
Madison that the amendment would serious
| ly jeopardize the interests of the people o
| Butte. He thought it was impracticabl'
that one set of officers should attend to the
| duties of two different counties. 1t NIGH
be done perhaps by deputies, but there wer'
| many serious objections to such all arrange
ment, which the speaker very ably illustra
ted to the Council. He was opposed to it a:
| it would, besides the objections mentioned
act as an incubus to the passage OF the
bill.
| Mitchell stated that he had not introduced
| the amendment for the purpose OF retardins
| the passage of the bill, but as a simple mat
ter of justice to the officers of Deer Lodge
| County.
| Hays considered that 1t would be unfai
TO legislate the officers of Deer Lodge Coun
| ty out of office, and for that reason he favor
| ed the amendment.
| Ford was of the opinion that countie
were made for the benefit of the people an'
| not for Office holders. There were severa
thousand people whose interests would b.
put in jeopardy by the amendment, and hi
should oppose it.
| A division of the House was called 70
and the amendment was lost by the follow
| ing vote: Ayes-Mitchell, Hays, Browne
and Kerley, 4. Noes-Aiken, Ford, Humid
| ley, Morris and Toole, 5. (Feb. 9th, in TIN
| afternoon session the action of the Councl
| was reconsidered and the amendment car
| ried.) The remaining sections of the bill
were read and adopted as they passed thu
| House.