Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-12-15
MUST FILE BONDS.
Treasurers of Territorial Institutions Must
Comply With S~tatntes,

Comply With Statutes.
Solicitor General Bartlett has written
the following opinion to Auditor Ortiz
under date of December Is:
Your favor of this date, stating that
several of the treasurers of territorial
institutions have failed to file their bond
with the secretary, and that you had
declined to pay acquisitions upon them
for moneys until you could be advised
as to whether 1t was the duty Of the
officers to so file and record their bonds,
and asking my official opinion upon the
same, has had my attention. and in re-
ply would say that the statute law upon
this subject is plain and very clear. Sec
ton 1857, Compiled Laws of 1897, has
been in force since 1893, and is as fol
lows: Hereafter the bonds given by al.
persons elected or appointed to office ir
this territory shall be recorded The
following two sections provide that al,
territorial and district officers bonds
shall be recorded in a record book to be
provided for that purpose, while those
of county and precinct officers shall be
recorded in the Office of the probate
clerk of the county in which they are
acting, and section $3.50 requires that
the bonds shall be filed for record before
the person enters upon the discharge of
the duties of his office.
While the ~treasurers of these various
institutions arn ,,t ctri,tlyr s,,a, l. nor
territorial officers, yet section 31S7 is
broad enough to include them, and the
reason for requiring their bonds to be
recorded with the secretary is stronger
strictly 50 called, for the val that
these Institutions draw money from the
treasury of the territory upon a simple
warrant without any voucher. The re-
gents or managers have complete con-
troll and disposition Of such funds, and
in case of the loss or destruction Of the
bond given by their treasurer they
would be without any relief on account
Of funds that might be lost through any
defalcation or Misrepresentation by the
treasurer.
Sections 1884 and 1886, Compiled Laws
of 1897, prohibit the auditor from draw
ing any warrant in favor of any officer
who holds under the laws of the terri
tory until he has furnished a certifi-
cate setting forth the date upon which
he entered upon the discharge Of his du-
ties, and section 1890, heretofore re-
ferred to, requires the officer to file the
bond for record before entering upon
the discharge of his office.
MY opinion. therefore, is that for
your own protection you should require
from the ~treasurers of the territorial
institutions the certificate mentioned
under section 1884, and that all of these
bonds must be filed for record with the
secretary Of the territory"
Supplemental TO the above, Solicitor
General Bartlett wrote the following
day:
Referring to my opinion of yesterday
with reference to the treasurers IF the
territorial institutions being
required to file their bonds with the sec
rotary of the territory, l would state
that the same does not refer to and
be enforced against the "chari-
institutions mentioned in section
2, chapter 81, Session Laws of 1899,
which are not in any sense territorial
and with the conduct and
management of which the territory has
no concern, the amounts of money given
to them being a pure donation. .
The only requirement made of these
institutions by the territory Is that they |
make annual reports to the gov
amor, and that the auditor shall draw
Ills warrant on the treasurer for them
monthly. This provision being found in
Compiled Laws of 1897, page 1892.
of these institutions have no
treasurer, and no provision in their
'harter for selecting one, and even if
hey did. such ~treasurers would not
under section 1884 of the Compiled
laws, nor under sections 3187-319O, Com
Laws, with reference to terrific
ial officers"