St. Paul daily globe., 1891-12-11

report of Attorney General Miller was
submitted to congress to-day. 1t re-
views the business of the United States
supreme court and devotes a chapter to
the circuit court of appeals, which, he
says, has been organized in each lis
trict! and is ready for business, although
the additional circuit Judge in each cir
cult has not yet been appointed. 1t is
necessary, he says, that some provision
be made for the care of the business
of the government in the circuit court
of Minneapolis. In each circuit there
are several districts, and. Of course,
enough cases will he carried by writ of
error or appeal from each of such dis
trictS in the circuit court of appeals.
Ihe law as it stands authorizes and re-
quireS no one to appear for the govern
ment III such court. He suggests that
each district attorney be required to
follow and care for the cases from his
district in the court of appeals. He also
faVOrS the appointment of deputy clerks
of these courts.
In regard to the business of the
court of claims, the attorney general
says that the business has increased
twenty-fOld since 1880, and yet the force
has not increased at all. and he there
fore advises that the working capacity
of the court he largely increased On
the subject of United States prisons,
the attorney general says: "In pur- u
ance of recommendations in the annual
report OF this department for the
years of 1889 and 1890, bill was
passed by the last congress author
iZing the construction of three United
States prisons, to be located, one north
and another south OF the thirty-ninth
degree of north latitude, and east of the
Rockies. and the third west of the Rock
les, bnt, by an evident inadYertence
failed 10 make any appropriation for the
purchase of such sites and the erection
or such buildings. l recommend that
the appropriations evidently eontem-
plated by that act be made 50 that this
work may go forward
After speaking OF the we'll known diff
ficulties in the enforcement OF the
Chinese exclusion act, he says: "If it
is desired that these laws shall be made
effective, they should be SO changed
that they cannot be misunderstood. To
arrest and try such persons, and as the
result. simply send them back across the
British line, is shown to by an idle eX-
Denditure OF time, labor and money by
th9 fact that. as might we'll be expected,
the same persons have to be arrested
and tried over and over again. More
over, 1T is quite uncertain whether an
order requiring Chinese prisoners to be
sent back into the British dominionS
cOnld be made effective. In a recent
case, originating at Fargo. the author
tiles of British Columbia refused to per-
nit two Cinnamon to be returned across
hOTliPe. IF
$50 per head for each. which, of course,
the marshal refused TO pay. These per-
sons we now have on our hands, and
have no way of dispOSing of them ac-
cordlng to law. This subject demands
prompt consideration"
From information, official and unoffi-
cial, in regard to the administration of
the laws of Alaska, the attorney general
is impressed that such administration is
not satisfactory and that it can only be
made satisfactory by new legislation.
The attorney general calls attention to
the evils of the fee" system and ad-
vises tbs substitution OF stipulated
salaries in all cases. He reviews the
legal proceedings in the case of the
Chilian steamship Itata. and sums up as
follows:
Upon trial Of sthiS indictment, COM
mencing on the 20th of October last, 1t
was held by the district court that these
proceedings were not in violation of the
neutrality laws of the United States;
first. because the enterprise was q
legitimate commercial transaction,
and second, because the Congress
Sional party Of Chilli, not nav
ing at that time received recognition
from the government of the United
States as government de jure, or as a
lNsall IL.
Sentatiyes of and III the interest of that
party in the way of hOstilities against
the Chiiian government were not in
violation Of any statute of the United
StateS-in short, that only in the inter
est of government recognized as such
de jure or as belligerent, can the stat
uteS of the United States be violated. If
the construction given to these statutes
by the trial court shall be sustained on
appeal. the statute Should, ! think, be
amended" He reports that five suits
have been commenced under the act OF
Aug. z, 1888, requiring all telegraph
lines subsidized by the government by
and through their own respective cor
p0rate officers and employees, to main
tain and operate for railroad,
governmental. commercial and all
other purposes, such telegraph
lines. and requiring the attorney gem
eral by proper proceedings to prevent
any unlawful Interference with the
rights and equities Of the United States
in relation to such telegraph lines. On
this subject the attorney general saws:
The suits of the United States against
the Central Pacific Railroad company
and the Western Union Telegraph com
pany, against the Southern Pacf fic rail
road and the Western Union Telegraph
company are both pending upon demur-
rerS and motions to dismiss for want of
jurisdiction. 1t being claimed on behalf
Of the Western Union Telegraph COM
pany and other corporations, necessary
parties defendant, having charters from
other states than California, that they
cannot be sued in the United States
circuit court. in any district court other
than that from which they derive their
respective charters. The attorney gen
eral suggests an amendment to the law
to facilitate such suits.