Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-01-30

needed in Montana at the present time, al
| though q law which allowed the Clerk to
have such plats made as we're necessary TO
ascertain if all the land in any section was
correctly assessed and described would be
| advisable.
In Minnesota the County Auditor, who
performs many OF the duties OF the County
Clerk in this Territory, has the authority,
where property is badly cut up aud trans
ferrsd, by mete and bound descriptions, to
order the same to be plated, and there.
after the different pieces are described on
! the tax list as lots No. LIZ, 3, etc., OF Audi
tors subdivision No. There are over
forty Of these Auditors subdivisions now
| plated in Hennepin county.
The cost of such plating is assessed as a
tax on the property.
PLATs OF TowNsITEs AND ADDITIONS.
While many of the plats OF townsites
and additions on file in the different couh-
ties are passably good Others are .extreme-
ly bad end hardly n is perfect. The law
is very loose ia its wording and require
| ments. The most common errors are in
| the forms of certificates. Many OF the
| plats contain errors of omission and some
even it would be difficult to locate in the
Territory of Montana.
The law should state plainly the form OF
certificate 20 be used by the surveyor and
by the parties owning the land by which
they dedicate the streets and alleys to the
public use, usually known as the "dedica-
| ton certificate" Each plat should show
plainly the ground intended to be plated,
| which should also be described in the dedl-
cation certificate.
All dimensions OF every lot should be
plainly marked on the plat. Also the widths
of all streets and alleys, and the distances
and courses OF the exterior boundaries;
also all angles.
Each plat should be carefully inspected
by the County Clerk before he receives 1T
for record, INC it should be his duty to re-
fuse to record any plat that is not complete
according to law. The surveyor should
set at least two monuments on every street
which should be correctly located on the
plat.
In cities the plats OF additions should
first be submitted to the City Engineer,
who should examine them carefully and
certify that they conform to the adjoining
additions and parts OF the town already
plated. They should then be approved by
the City Council and the City Clerk should
certify 20 such approval. The last two
certificates should be on the plat before II
is received Tor record by the County Olerk'
The plat5 filed for record should then be
copied in a plat book OF a convenient size,
for the public Use, and the originals should
be deposited in the clerks safe, and only re.
ferred to by him to check the correctness OF
the copied plats.
As the plats are TO- kept it would be an
easy matter for any pei son, were he so dis
posed, to make erasures and changes on
the originals, or to carry any plat away
from the office and destroy it.
The law should provide a sufficient lee
for recording a plat in the manner sug-
gested.
ROAD PLATS.
The record OF the roads in the Territory
is very i~ncompleta. A law was once passed
making all Travelled roads legal highways,
but not providing for their survey. This
law has since been repealed, 50 that only q
few OF the roads now travelled are legal, and
the only record existing is OF new roads
opened in the last few years. The County
commissioners should be required to have
surveys made and legal roads established
throughout each county, and a plat ofeach
road entered in the p~lat-boOk provided for
| that uurDOse.