The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1884-02-06
OUR HELENA LETTER,
'ecial Correspondence Of the MINER.

Inc COQVeQClOu IN COmmltteo @
the whole having devoted all Of yes
terday to the consideration of Gen
eral File No. Is, an article in relation
to the Legislative Department., ,hi
morning, the Chairman, Mr.. Penn
berton reported the file to the con
vention, with the amendments mad
in committee. The changes mad
were unimportant, except in Sector
4, where the age mentioned Us years
as a necessary qualification for cleo
ton to the Legislative Assembly was
on motion of Mr.. Hunt (the young
est member in the Convention) re.
duced to 81 years. In discussing
this motion Mr.. Dixon said he knew
a great deal more now than he dld
when lie was twenty-one, and it was
a fact that youth of that age lacked
exp 4rience and knew nothing more
than they had learned from their
books. Mr.. Hunt said he was op.
posed to the Legislative Assembly
being filled up by mossbacks, and
cOntended that if q person at q was
competent to vote Ior officers. he was
also capable to perform official du.
ties. The amendment was adopted.
On the re dug of the report Mr..
Proctor, from Yellowstone, moved
that Section % be stricken cut. 1t
declares the Legislature shall not
pass local or special laws in a num-
ber of enumerated cases, such as
granting divorces, laying open or ex-
tending highways, locating or chang
Ing county seats, the chartering or
licensing of firms, toll bridges or toll
roads, and number of others. The
general clause follows this amend
ment, ''In all other cases, where a
general law can he applicable, no
special law should be made"
Mr.. Proctor's objection to this was
that it would lead to endless liti.
cation, as the enumeration of a GER
tain number of cases where special
laws should not he passed, by re-
cent decision of the United States
Supreme Court, excluded all other
cases not enumerated. II that Sec
ton was retained he said he could
not vote for the adoption of the Con-
stitution.
Mr.. Dixon pointed out that the
general clause at the end of the Sec
tion saved it from any such objec-
tion. It was the custom in provisions
of this nature to set down all the
cases that could be thought of, and
leave room for any others that might
arise by general exemption clause.
The motion to strike out was re-
jected.
During the consideration of the
report yesterday, an interesting de-
bate grew out of a motion to expunge
1.-The protection Of game and fish"
from the subject Of special laws. Mr..
Clark mentioned that the game and
fish of this Territory, which had
been so great an attraction to our
own citizens aud sporJsmen from a
distance, were rapidly disappearing.
The vast herds of buffalo which for
laerly peoDled our ranges to the num-
ber of millions were now reduced to
)ne small band. THIS noble game
had been slaughtered by white men
merely to obtain their hides. As
result the Indians were deprived of i
heir hereditary support, and were
lriven to raid upon our stock
:ais ers.
Mr.. Cooper. from Gallatin, said the
axes in that section until recently
abounded with trout, but the use of |
dynamite had almost emptied those
waters. Miners, he said, who wanted
a few fish for breakfast, would ex-
olode stick of dynamite; they
you'd gather few pounds for their
'wn use and leave tons to rot.
It was contendei by number of
peakers that certain streams depop-
Hated of fish, and even counties
where the game is disappearing,
onld properly be made the subject of
peclal LEGISLATION, which should not
e extended to the entire State.
The protection of game and fish
'as expung ed from the list.
To-day the AFTERNOON session was
evoted to discuss ny the resp .ctlve
l-rits Of the m tjority and minority
eports presented by the judiciary
mmittee. The first nam ID report !
rovides for judicial system framed
l ac ,ordance with the existing one
, this Territory, to ne comp osad Of a
upreme Court, District Courts,
ounty Courts, aud Justices of the
eace. But ,hs districts are to be
lcreased to five, in order that there
lay be less delay in irving cases, and
over is left to the L 4gislature to
polish county courts aud transfer
leir probate and other jurisdiction .
} the district courts.
The minority report proposes the ,
production Of the California iu-
Icial system, which in addition to
'preme court and justices courts,
ontains superior courts, one for each
,unty The reading of the first
,ction brought the question before
IL Convention on all fours, (as the
wyers say), and the comparative
erits of the two systems were ably
scussed by the legal talent in the
The majority report {
as sustained by Messrs. Dixon;
onl.. Callauav Smith and HINT | q