Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-11-05

11
Bank.
The total amount OF money SO
far placed to the credit Of this
fund is s15, 45l.7 ~, against which
warrants have been drawn and
paid to the amount of S14, 108. so,
leaving a cash balance on hand ST.
343.13. Under the law each of
the Judicial districts Of the terri.
tory is entitled to draw S6,175
against this fund, no provision
being made for distributing the
actual cash as paid in pro rata
among the different districts, and
it has hence happened that the
money has been drawn out on the
principle Of FIRST come first served
as follows:
First judicial district, S6,067.26;
End district, 2,10O.4s; Bird district,
$4,000; 9th district, 50, $40. 75. 1t
will be perceived that the 4th or
Chief Justice Smiths district has
not drawn a cent of the money,
while, owing to the extraordinary
ly long and costly terms of court,
Judge Laughlin's district lacks
$107.H of having drawn its entire
share of the fund.
PROFESSIONALLY future divi-
dends will SO increase the fund
that all the other districts will get
their full share and the fact that
some of the districts may have to
wait a few month for the actual
cash is the only possible cause of
complaint in the premises.
In view of the fact that his dis
trlct had not drawn a dollar of the
fund, Chief Justice Smith mott
fed the auditor of his intention
to draw $1,000 for holding court
in Mora County, and at the re-
quest of Judge Collier, Of the I'd
district, the matter was referred
by the auditor to the chief law Of
fee of the territory with the fol-.
lowing result:
OPINION OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL
In response to an inquiry, Solic-.
itor General Victory has trans
mitted the following written opin-
ion to Auditor Marcelino Garcia:
Referring to the matter of the
distribution of the Albuquerque
National bank funds for court
purposes, as to which you have
requested my official opinion, I
beg to say: Under the provisions
of chapter % of the laws of 1895,
it is the duty of the clerk of the
district court to issue certificates
of indebtedness against the fund
for "such expenses as shall be APP
proved by an order of the court
in which such expenses shall be
incurred"
The clerk is required thereupon
to transmit to the territorial audi
tor a list of such certificates, and
the auditor issues warrants for the
original certificates when present
ed, checking the same off from
the list furnished him by the
clerk. There is nothing in the
act that would justify the issuance
of such certificates by the clerk in
anticipation that such expenses
shall be incurred and thus in adj
vance of a term of court actually
held.
Neither does the law contem-
plate that such funds shall be
drawn out by an omnibus certif-
cate in favor of the clerk and sub
sequently disbursed by means of
warrants drawn by him on the
county treasurer with whom the
proceeds of the certificate shall
have been deposited. Under the
law the fund is to meet expenses
actually incurred, not those the
making of which may be simply a
matter of contemplation; the GER
tihcates are to be drawn, not in
favor of the clerk by the clerk, but
in favor of the several jurors,
witnesses, ETC., by the clerk; the
disbursement of the fund is not
put IN the hands of the clerk but
it is to be by warrants issued by
the auditor of public accounts.
and, finally, payments are to be
made not by the county treasurer.
but by the territorial treasurer
] believe this explanation covers
the inquiries you have made on
this subject.
THE BAIRD RANCH CLAIM.
In delivering Che opinion Of the