Arizona weekly citizen., 1882-11-26


 pear to me to be desirable.
 Iadopt this somewhat novel method of securing much needed legislation, not only to bring the measures l advocate to tine personal attention of our mem bers elect, but also, if possible, to incite others to make similar suggestions and to discuss those offered by me.
 That some change III our present Court system Is much needed and will be attempted this winter, IS foregone l conclusion; what that change will be re- mains to be seen; but since that ques- ton has been pretty well discussed Tn vour columns, and as I know of no good renson tu change my opinion then eA- | pressed, I will pass it over at least for the present.
 The abolishment of the Grand Jury system, and the substitution therefor of examination before a magistrate has also been suggested by myself and oth- CTS, not only as relieving the counties Of a great and unnecessary expense, but also as both eXpedlting and simplifying the administration of criminal justice. | Change of venue should be provided for in criminal cases before Justices of | the Peace.
 Our Statutes should provide for the payment of witnesses Tn criminal cases, 1 both for the prosecution and the defense, without their being compelled, as IS now the law, to plead the 'pauper act
 before the Court.
 The District Attorney should be sub iected to severe penalties for neglecting to secure the attendance of witnesses in | criminal cases in the manner now re-
 quired by Statute.
 Malicious mischief in the wilfull | breaking and destruction Of personal property. the tearing down and obllt- e-atlon of monuments and other inning and land marks and the removal of | mining and other notices from such | monuments and land marks, should be | made the subject of Statutory punish | ment.
 \ Statute is much needed providing | punishment for the use of abusive, of- | feusive and obscene language caIculat- | ed to provoke a breach of the peace.
 The Forcible Entry and Detainer Act | should be amended so as to extend the | jurisdiction in such cases to Justices of the Peace in precincts where no Pro | bate Judge or Court Commissioner re- | sides, and also providing for change of | venue.
 Our attachment laws are disgrace to | civilization, an outrage on society and a | stumbling block to commercial prog
 ress. As those laws now stand, 1t ls m
 the power of any creditor holding an
 overdue debt, payable in this Territory
 to close up and ruin the business of his
 debtor and sacrifice his property, re-
 gardless of his good faith and willing.
 ness to pay and the ample extent of hIz assets for that purpose; and on the
 other hand, these laws are unjust to the creditor in giving no power to secure his debt before due by attachment
 aCalnst his debtors property, however great the danger may he of his losing his debt through the bad faith and
 fraudulent actions of hIs debtor. Nc | attachment should be made to lie ex l =. i-- --i--~---. i,.l -af5i.i aUIt tbat thu
 debtor, and then should be granted
 whether the debt be due or not. Tb,
 debtor should be allowed to traverse
 the affidavit, by plea in abatement
 and recover damages in the event oI
 failure to sustain the grounds of the
 attachment.
 The law authorizing the arrest and
 imprisonment of debtors III certain
 cases IS imperative in the absence of ar,
 lnsolyent act under which the debtor
 may obtain his release in the event of
 hls inability to pay the debt, or give
 bal. An act ls needed requiring the
 organic acts of mining districts to be
 recorded ID the County Recorders of- nee, and also directing the filing for rec ord n such office of copy of all location notices within certain period after lo- cation. lt would afford a much needed protection to investors m mining prop- erty and prove troublesome stumbling block to the genus jumper" if law were enacted providing that each copy of location notice, before beng entitled to record, should have attached thereto the affidavit of one Of the locators set ting forth the previous history of the claim, dates of all previous locations thereof, the names under which located and the names of locatOrs, or if no pre- vlous location, so state; false statements therein to be punished as perjury.
 It might be beneficial to authorize by law the recording of afiidavits, concern Ing the performance of annual assess ment work by the parties employed to | do the same, and to make such record l competent evidence in Court, and ii | would be most assuredly a at con ven ence to the public generally If the | recorders were required to index min Ing claims by the names of the locators as well as the names of the mines.
 The law which disqualifies a wife as n witness for or against her husband and the husband for or against his wife. should be amended by providing that where the wife Is the agent of her bus band or the husband the agent of his wife, the agent may testify to the ex- eluslon of the principal as to all facts testified to by the agent.
 The act concerning appeals from ustIces Court should be amended so as 10 authorize the appellate Court to affirm the judgment of the Justice when Inc appellant fails to prosecute bis ap- peal, thus avoiding the expense of a | .ral de novO in cases where an appeal s only taken for delay. An affidavit should also be required of the apellant Q the effect that his appeal is not taken or veIation or delay, but because he C eels himself aggrieved by the judg- 8 nent of the Justice. The are many other amendments and a additions to our laws which occur to [ ne as conductive of the public good in | imp!lfying and facilitating litigation, { ut as this article is, l fear, already V onSer than its interest will warrant, | m defer mention of them until another P ccaslon. H. B. LIGHTHIzER. I