The record-union., 1897-11-06
Taxed Two Hundred Dollars for Not
Hanging Ehanks.
Exceeded His Powers In Falling to Carry
Out the Orders Of the Court.
Not q Chinaman at Present Resid-
ing in Humboldt County, the
Last One Having Sailed Yester-
day From Eureka for San Fran
cisco.

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 5.-Judge e. 5.
Torrance of this city this morning rem
dered a decision in the contempt case
against acting Warden Edgar of San
Quentin Prison for not hanging Joseph
J. Ebanks, the condemned murderer, at
that prison on October Sth, the date
fixed for his execution.
Judge Torrance fined the acting War
den 500 for contempt, rendering a
long opinion to the effect that the War
den had exceeded his powers in failing
to carry out the order of the court.
Captain Edgar will appeal from the
sentence.
Judge Torrance, in giving his decision
in the Edgar contempt case, rules:
First-That as the Federal courts are
courts of limited jurisdiction, in the
sense that they have only such judi
cial power as is vested in them by
the Federal Constitution and the laws
of Congress, in order to bring a case
within their jurisdiction the facts Civ
ing them jurisdiction must affirmative
ly appear in the pleading upon which
their jurisdiction is invoked.
Second-That a petition for a writ of
habeas corpus, presented to District
Court of the United States, does not
state sufficient facts to invoke the jur-
isdiction of that court, where it ap-
pears therefrom that the petitioner is
imprisoned in a State prison, under a
final judgment of death pronounced
against him by a Superior Court of this
State, and where the only claim made
by the petitioner, upon which he bases
h &c hot inn rric ant
is in violation of the Federal Constitu-
ton, is that he had been accused of
the crime of which he was convicted by
the information of the District Attor-
ney, and not by an indictment of a
Grand Jury; and that in addition to
the death penalty, the judgment also
directed him to be confined in the State
prison until the time fixed for his ex-
ecution.
Thrd-That when the Supreme Court
of the United States has once decided
that a particular act DONE or proceed
ing taken, under State authority is not
in violation of the Constitution of the
United States. then il can no longer
be contended that, upon the same facts,
there still remains Federal question
which Will sustain the jurisdiction of
a Federal Couht. under the claim that
such an act or proceeding contravenes
the provisions of the Federal Constitu-
tion.
F'ourth-That an appeal taken to the
Supreme Court of the United States
from the decision of a District Court
denying a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus, where no Federal issue was in
fact rendered by such petition, does
not, by virtue of the provisions of Sec
ton ll6 of the Revised Statutes of the
United States, stay further proceed
ings in the State Court, or under State
authority; and furnished no legal justi-
fication to the Warden Of the State
prison for his omission to execute the
death penalty at the time appointed
by the State Court.
After Judge Torrance had rendered
his decision in the contempt case. the
case of Ebanks was taken up on a.
motion that he be resentenced. The at
torneys for the dusky West Indian Of
fered several objections to sentence be-
ing again passed upon him. Those were
promptly overuled, and Judge Tor
rance sentenced Ebanks to be hanged
on December Sd.