The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-01-25

enormous amongst our people and no
civil action, involving more than n
hundred dollars, can be instituted and
prosecuted TO Judgment even upon de-
fault of defendent, without mourning
the useless expense of $16, and this ex-
pense, in case issue is Joined and cause
comes to trial, is increased to SIG mile
age for each witness, besides sheriff's
fees in making service, and numerous
other expenses. In fact, the expense is
so enormous that it is virtually a denial
of the rights of the enforcement of
claims between one hundred and four
hundred dollars in amount where the
action will probably be contested, and
where claims are at all doubtful,
parties in moderate circumstance are
prohibited from instituting actions,
realizing the ruin that must inevitably
follow from such an expensive character
of litigation, in case of defeat, while
cases involving n greater amount are liti-
gated at an expense that would be as
founding. The cause of Cary VS.. Hirseh
ct al. involving the title to mining
ground near Butte, was tried at the last
December term of the court at Deer
Lodge. The costs in this cause, on both
sides, involving many items of expense
which could uot be taxed as legal costs,
aggregated about sc 5000. The mileage
" "lCllCSSCS III VIC CdttSS ilOIlC, dlllOulllcu
to about $1,000. Many witnesses re-
manned in Deer Lodge for two weeks, at
an expense of So per day, when, had
the cause been tried in Butte, one days
attendance would have been sufficient
1t is asserted-how truly we cannot
say-that the livery bill of the de-
fendents, which could not be taxed as
costs, but which was necessarily incurred
amounted to about $500. This cause of
of course was one of the most expensive
kind, but the costs in the most ineXpen-
sive actions rarely fall below 5000. Again
u population is new and u%nprincipled
persons often become indebted to our
people and with sufficient money to pay
their liabilities, deliberately leave the
territory and before process can be OBJ
tanned, are beyond the jurisdiction of
our courts. The near approach of the
railroad will only aggravate this griev-
ance, as it furnishes more rapid means
Of egress than now exist. The incon-
%venience of the present state of affairs
has caused great delay in the determina-
ton of causes in our courts n there are
now upon the calendar of the court of
this county, causes which were COM
menced more than two years since and
in which issue has been joined and the
cause ready for trial more than II year.
In several causes witnesses had
been subpoened and in attendance
upon the court during the last two terms.
of court, and these causes are yet unde-
termined, having never come to trials.
This delay is, in many cases, %ruinous, as
the property in litigation is often de-
stroyed or wasted, and witnesses materi-
al on the trial die or leave the territory,
and thus defeat the ends of Justice:
whereas, if the causes could be tried in
the neighborhood of where the witnesses
reside, short periods of time in which
the court is not engaged could be occu-
pied in the trial of these more unimport-
ant class of cases. But under the present
state of affairs the same preparation and
notice is required for a cause to be tried
before the court as one tried by Jury.
Our business men-and this class of men
are always least able to be away from
their places of business-are summoned
to Deer Lodge for jury service and de-
tanned at least one month, and often
longer, when, if court was held in Butte
the evenings and reccsses of the court
would furnish sufficient opportunity to
attend to International interests, and the
!, inconvenience OF this duty of citizens
would not be nearly SO severe.
The foregoing IRE statements of facts
as they exist aud are incontrovertible.
3 They are suggested by every day occur
renccs. Many more objections might be
urged, which, for the sake of brevity, are
omitted, believing as we do that YOU. as
representative men, will readily perceive
the Inconvenience which are too nu-
merOus to be rccOunted.
Our remedy is exclusively in the legis-
lature. We appeal to you to favorably
consider q matter of such vital import
ance to this portion of the territory. We
, know Of no people in the United States
: OF equal numbers and representing equal
= wealth that are subjected to the incon-
= venience Of being placed 40 miles from
: their county seat, to which they must go
: to try a cause or examine a record. We
l. believe 1t to be the theory of American
institutions to provide every person, as
nearly as possible, with conveniences of
. courts, records and other machinery OF
= government with the least inconven.
' fence and expense, and this is done by
the organization of a county whenever a
: community is capable of sustaining the
u burdens of taxation which are requisite
7 for the administration of laws. If sew.
i cred from Deer Lodge county, our county
! would have a population and assessment
, roll second only to one county in Mon
tana, with a smaller area within which
' to administer laws. This we consider 6
sufficient assurance of our ability to adj
minister a county government. AnG
. those who assert to the contrary arr
U either ignorant of the facts as they exis1
u or are influenced by motives of self-in
u ~terest, and assert to be untrue that which
; is self-evident.
e We ask in justice to ourselves, and il
y justice to u neighbors in the northern
portion of this county, that the southern
+ portion of Deer Lodge county be organ
u lied into a new and separate county, Civ
/ ing Is an equitable division of the same
5 But if our neighbors insist that the tim,
for division is not yet come, which the,
g will not except they be influenced by pc
e cuniary interests, and you believe this t,
e be the fact, then we assert that the prin