Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1902-04-22
Original Proceeding. Application tor
writ Of Mandate.
Trenmor Coffin,
For Relator.
VIM. WOODBURY., Attorney General,
For Respondent
Opinion by the Court.


The relatOr brings mandamus to
compel the respondent to draw a war
rant upon the contingent fund on &C
count of certain chairs and carpet fur
nised the Supreme Court room upon
the order of the Court This Court
as matter of courtesy, having con-
sidered and determined of it's own
motion that the articles named were
necessary, directed it's Clerk to re-
quest the Board of Capitol Commits
sioners to purchase the same This
request was refused, whereupon the
Court directed its Baliff, the Sheriff
OF this county, to purchase and place
in the Court Room the articles re-
Quired. In obedience to said order
the Baliff purchased the same of the
relator. He presented his bill there
for to the Board of Examiners, a ma
jOrity of which Board approved the
same, and upon the presentation of
the approved bill to the respondent,
he demanded a warrant upon the
Treasurer for the amount therein,
which demand was refused. The res
pondent does not pretend that the ar
ticles furnished by the relator under
the order were not necessary, but as
we gather from his answer, bases his
refusal to draw the warrant upon two
grounds: First, that the order of this
Court directing it's Bailiff to purchase
is without authority of law, and void
and therefore it did not create a bind
ing liability against the State. In
support of this contention the res
pondent cites that certain act creating
the Board of Capitol Commissioners,
approved February8, 1887, as amended
March II, 1899.
Comp. Laws, Secs. 204O-2O44
The specific provision of the act
relied upon is found in section of
the act, and reads as follows:
Said Board shall control the ex-
penditure of all appropriations for
furnishing. repairing and maintaining
said buildings and grounds, Offices
and property connected herewith;
for defraying all contingent expenses
of all State and other Offices about
said building: for transportation of
books and documents; storage and
transportation of State property. and
for salaries of porters, watchmen and
laborers about said buildings and
property unless otherwise provided. y
Respondent claims that under this
section absolute control over the ex-
penditure made by the order of the
Court is given to this Board. This is
an assumption not warranted by the
section. The language of the section
shows that the Legislature never in
tended to confer such broad and
sweeping authority upon the Board
If it had an such intention it would
never have incorporated into the sec
ton the language of the provisO ''un
less otherwise provided" Long be
fore the passage of the act. which il
assumed to grant this absolute con
troll to the Board, and shortly aftel
the adoption of the Constitution, thu
Legislature gave to this Court in ex
press terms Comp. Laws, Sec. 2518
authority to bind the State in provid
ing a suitable room in which to hol,
it's sittings when the State has fail
ed to make such provision-the pre-
else case presented by this record
and as above stated, it is not pretend
ed that the articles directed to be pul
chased by the order of the Court wer
not necessary to render the cOuI
room suitable for the purposes c
the Court. Section 251S stands as
was originally passed, unmodified an
unrepealed. If the Legislature ma
intended to repeal it by the passag
of the act creating the Board of Ca
itol Commissioners, it would have ce
tainly omitted therefrom the provis