Arizona silver belt., 1896-02-15

act is unconstitutional and void and Creates debt against the Territory unwarranted and inhibited by Act of Congress approved July 30, 1886, known as the Harrison Act, and the Funding act of June 30, 1890, and amendments thereto.
 The case was tried upon m agreed statement of facts setting forth that when the Harrison Act became law Arizona was in debt to the full extent permitted under said act and so con tinued and is at the present time in debt to an amount in excess of the limit prescribed by said act. That Lewis Wolhey was Governor of the Territory from December, 1889, to July 12, 1890, and during his incum- bency claims to have rendered the services and expended the money, as he claims for the benefit of the Territory and for the purposes set forth in the preamble of Act No. 28 of the Eight eenth Legislative Assembly. That there was balance in the general fund of the Territory March 31, 1895, of SS,644.55. That on the 18th day of March, 1895, (when Act No. 28 became a law, theSo were unpaid and out standing warrants on the general fund, drawn prior to that date, amounting to more than the amount of money in the general fund. That plaintiffs claim against the Territory was never presented to any Territorial Auditor to De audited and settled, and, in fact, has never been audited or settled.
 Judge Bethune quotes section 8 of the Harrison Act, restricting the in debtednes1 of Territories and prohibit. ing Territorial legislatures authorizing any debt to be contracted except to meet casual deficit in the revenues, to pay the interest upon the Territorial debt, to suppress instructions or to provide for the public defense, ex- cept loan for the erection of penal, charitable or educational institutions, if the total indebtedness of the Territory is not thereby made to exceed l per centum upon the assessed value of the taxable property in such Territory"
 Also that portion of the Funding Act which restricts the warrants to be funded to those warrants issued flor the necessary and correct expenses of carrying on the Territorial government only"
 Judge Bethune says: "Afier giving the matter the most correct considera- ton and after laborious research and examination and with somewhat of feeling leaning towards wish to up- hold the action of the Legislature be- cause it appears by the act that it was considered on two different occasions by that body, and finally passed by the requisite majority to entitle it to be- come law notwithstanding the veto of the Governor, yet I am driven to the conclusion, from which it seems to me there is no escape, that the act is in violation of the provisions of the Har rison Act and the amendment to the funding bill as quoted above, and is therefore null and void. It seems to me that it was the clear intention of Congress to call halt in the unsys- tematic and lavish expenditure of money by the Territories and the polit ical and municipal corporations within them, which ragged at the tune the Harrison Act became law, as the his tory of those times sbundantly shows. Can any restrictive or prohibitory language be stronger or plainer than that used in those acts and with the evident intention of Congress in passing them can it be inferred that thing might be done indirectly, the direct doing of which was and is so positively prohibitod?"