Arizona republican., 1904-04-11

of Reavis and that was the matter which Mallet- Provost had been dele gated to investigate. His investiga- tion took him in the first palce to Guadalajara, where he discovered what perhaps might have been overlooked by any other man that the govern ment might have selected-that the records of the monastery had been tempered with. He next went to &c., vile, Spain and found that the records there had been similarly changed. Mallet-Prevost was not only man of sharp eyes, but he had a knowledge of Spanish history superior to that of Reavis, or for that matter to that of any other American. He discovered anachronisms and other inaccuracies and he brought back to this country evidence sufficient to send Reavis to the penitentiary, where he was sent.
 The members of the court are: Chief Justice Joseph R. Reed, of Council Bluffs, Ia.; Associate Justice William w. Murray, Huntingdon, Tenn; As sociate Justice Thomas c. Fuller, Ra- leigh, N. C.; Associate Justice Henry c. Sluss, Wichita, Kan; and Associate Justice Wilbur F. Stone, Denver, Colo. All of these gentlemen had been dis tinguished lawyers and jurists and they were especially selected with ref ference to the duties which would con- front them.
 The United States attorney for the court is Matt. G. RyenoldS, of St. Louis, a lawyer of great ability, wig orous, aggressive, a mental and phy- sical athlete. He is a gradaute from the United States naval academy and had served in Asiatic waters. R. L. Long has been, since the organization of the court, the clerk at it's sessions in this territory.
 The following furnishes some idea of the scope of the work before the court:
 In it's purpose, Jurisdiction and func- tions it is unlike any other ever estab- l:shed in this country. Its function be- ing, primarily, to determine the valid ity of title as between the United States and the grantee claiming under a foreign nation, it involves:
 First-A legal interpretation of the terms of the treaties between the two governments.
 Next, a consideration of international laws the civil law of Spain, founded upon the Roman civil law; the edicts, ordinances and decrees of the Spanish crown, reaching back two or three centuries relating to the crown posses sions of the Indies.
 Then the laws and statues, federal department and state, of Mexico sub sequent to the independence of that government in 1920.
 Next the restrictive provisions of the act of congress creating the court of private land claims.
 Then the decisions of the federal courts of the United States in the re- view of cases involving similar ques- tions arising in California and under the Florida and Louisiana purchases, and also involving somewhat of the customs, definitions, interpretations and traditionary usages touching the estate and tenure of the Spanish and Mexican grant titles; and.
 Lastly. such of the law of evidence, realty, descent, alienation and equit- able rights as are applicable under rules of judicial procedure in courts of the United States.
 All the muniments of title, and which constitute the written or docu- mentary evidence in these cases, are in the Spanish language, the oldest be- | ing known as "archive" documents or records. The translation or these re- | quires the services of experts who have had years of experience as trans lators and custodians of the archives and are familiar with the script, nom- enclature and formula of these an- cient legal documents and their forms | of authorization and peculiar rubrics. | These archives are on parchment or | royal sealed paper. and the more an- ! cient are full of abreviations, like mid | dle age Latin.
 Many laws and special statutes af- fecting these cases were found by the court uever to have been translated | into English, and during the busiest period of the courts work quite a lit tie army of translators, photographic experts, stenographers, type writers | clerks and special government \agents were required several years to assist in | the prepa ra inn of Sec fOr trial