Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1884-09-20
THE CAPITAL CASE.
The Majority and Minority
Opinions by the Su-
preme Court.
A Synopsis of Judge Church's
Opinion and Judge Ed
gerton's Dissenting
Opinion,

In the supreme court of Dakota, to-
day, the opinions in the capital commits
sion case we're given. We place them
before the public, the opinion of the
majority being by Associate Justice
Church and the dissenting opinion by
Chief Justice Edgerton:
Tho Majority Opinion.
Yankton, Dak., Sept 20, l884-Fol.
lowing is synopsis of the majority
opinion Of the supreme court of Dakota
IN the case of the territory against the
capital commissioners, involving the
aocstion Of tho seat OF government. The
opinion is written by Justice Church. of
the sDeadwood district, and covers sixty
three pages of closely written legal cap.
Judge Church says:
This was'an action in the nature of a
proceeding quo soa1ranto brought to pre-.
vent the defendants from exercising GER
tain duties as commissioners for select.
ing . site for the permanent seat of gov
eminent and erecting the capitol build
ing Of the territory of Dakota under ap.
pointment OF an act of the legislature of
the territory, approved March 9th, 1888.
After citing the several counts in the
complaint which alleges the act in ques.
tion is IN conflict with the organic act
OF the territory, and after. recitinR the
points in the answer OF the defendants,
the Judge passes over certain questions
of practice involved in bringing the
action, quotes the provisions of the bill
itself, and sets out the points in dispute,
He then goes on to say:
The first inquiry which suggests itself
is as to the nature and extent of the gem
eral powers conferred upon the terri
torial Legislature by tho organic act,
since upon this foundation rests what
ever claim to validity may be possessed
by the act in question. * We
think it must be regarded as q settled
principal of ofconstitutional Interpretation
in this country that the people are the
sovereigns and that in the people re-
sides ultimate sovereignty. If we con.
slider the several state Organizations it is
evident that the legislature is
nor the executive, nor are all combined
the state. The people organ1zed iuto q
political society are the state! and the
soaA0No w Rht IkAOuSO ACutlOuCu dT0 UuL
the machinery through which the popu-
lar Will finds expression, Interpretation
and execution. To these several depart
ments the people have committed. or in
! other q her, words, delegated the
powers and duties appropriate to each
and as Limitations thereupon have for
mulated and adopted those organic in
a 70 mi h Snk,
= Passing now to the federal
government we find here like COM
mission or delegation of power from
the sovereign, to wit the people; only
hero it is the people of the United
States who are sovereign. =
The only true view of our system of
government both state and national is
that which regards the people as still
the sovereigns, and every lawful act of
every department OF any of these
governments, state ,or national, as but
the will of the sovereign expressed by
and through their chosen instruments.
After citing authorities to show that
from the formation of the government
and the framing of the constitution all
power has been delegated and re.dele-
gated, and that local. self government
has been given to territories from the
first, Judge Church continues:
ut was never the intention of the
trainers Of our federal union that any
portion of the public domain should
forever continue to be but political
subdivisions Of the outlying dominion
OF the United States. bearinga relation
to the general government much the
same as that which counties bear to the
respective states."+ After quot
ing from various authorities on the DUES
tion OF powers Of territories under their
organic acts he goes on to say: I'VE
have quoted these words y
merely for the purpose of showing
that not every cleatlon by the legisla-
ture of subordinate legislative bodies
is to be regarded as delegation of law
making power, although for reasons
already stated We think that the analogy
between the relations borne by counties
and other municipal organizations to the
state legislatures, and those borne by
the territories to tho congress of the
Unified States is by no means complete.
There 10 wide and essential difference
in the conditions and purposes of their
existence, The relations between the
territories and the general government
may indeed be said to be SUI seneris
having no complete analogy in
any other political organization. So
then We must either boldly affirm that
tho whole scheme of territorial govern.
ment is unlawful and that the established
policy OF congress in this regard is an
abdication of the trust committed to it
by the people, or, taking broader and
more comprehensive view, We shall con.
clude that the power reposed in congress
to make needful rules and regulations for
the government of tho territories comes
fairly within the scope of those admin.
istrative functions of legislative bodies
winch it IS generally conceded they may
either exercise themselves in detail, or
by statutes containing general provi-
sions only; and that in erecting within
the prospective state, the full machinery
F-of state government with all its de-
partments, congress has discharged to
that extent the trust reposed in it in a
mode which was not only demanded by
the exigenoies of the situation, but
which is also in entire harmony with
our republican system OF government.
"And since the investiture Of the ter
ritorial Legislature with legislative
powers is as We have seen general ID its
terms, extending to all rightiul subjects
Of legislation. We think this 10 to be re.
garded as delegation Of authority in
the same general sense only in which
the powers Of congress are considered tc
ba delC0ated tn Il by the n4,onle and