Yukon Valley news., 1907-02-06
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CARD FROM S. R. HUDSON


 Dear Sir: The statement in your paper of Jan. 16 of the ease of Diver ct al vs. Hudson has been the means of producing considera- ble inquiry; therefore l have deemed 1t proper to give the public n review of this to me interestingly case. Some time in August, 1905, was placed under arrest by the federal authorities here on charges preferred by MT. Diver for criminal trespass on what is known among miners us wildcat mining claim, situated on n bench of Pioneer creek, where l had been doing some prospecting to see II there could be found any gold on the ground. Said claim was staked by T. l.. Henry on Jan. 1, 19u5, and was purchased some time after statements at the trial, for the sum of one dollar, and not one shovel of dirt was turned over for the Henry title, when located and commenced prospecting the ground on June IS, 19y5, fully believing from enquiry among the prospectors that Mir. Henry had aban- doned the ground by intent-wh hich any one knows was fact by law-and bid good-by to his numerous friends and this part of the i country and returned to Fairbanks. Mir. Diver contention being that stakes and record were all that was necessary to hold n placer claim while l contended that an effort to make discovery was the only basis for mineral location, when placed on trial on the question of title by showing the justice that plaintiffs had no cause for action, not having made discovery within the limits of the claim, but that I had made n discovery and was the only person qualified to bring action for tresrass, and asked for the case to be dismissed cn that ground. This motion W then objected to the justice trying the case, on the ground that Il at court could not try title.and conseauently had no jurisdiction, citing as authority laska Code, page 242, section 911, (which reads thus: Proceeding VI here Title to Land is in Issue.-If it appear on the trial of any cause before justice of the Ieace from the evidence of either party, that the title to lands is in question, which title shall be disputed by the other party, the justice shall immediately make an entry thereof in his docket and cease all further proceedings in the cause. and shall certify and return to the district court n transcript of all the entries made in his docket relating to the action. in t he same amer and within the sa me time upon an appeal; and there- upon the district court shall proceed in the cause to final judgment and execution in the same manner as if the said action had been originally commenced therein and the cost shni abide with the event of the suit"
 This, my friends. is the law: read it over again and mark you how plainly it com mands the justice to stop. l will now ask you this plain question: Do you think this fellow has any more right to disobey our laws or cast slurs on them to jury by say ing that they are very misleading than any thief or scoundrel who is punished with prison? See also Alaska Code, page 2S? sec And asked that the case be dismissed on that ground. This the justice overruled, stating to the jury that the law was very misleading. The justice also overruled my objection to one of Mir. Divers partners acting as juror on the second trial of this case, it being shown at that time that said juror jointly owned a mineral location with Mir. Diver in the near vicinity of the one in dispute, and as q matter of fact this juror stood to the last for conviction and could not be changed. There were two trials of this case, each be- ing u hung jury. The first was for acquit- tai , for convictions; the second was for acquittal, for convictions; but had either jury done what the justice repeatedly told them in his instructions it was their duty to do, there would have been 12 men for con viction. It would then have been up to the justice to pass Il sentence in accordance with the law in the case Alaska Code, page 15, section 15), which reads thus: "Trespass break or rob in any manner, or who shall attempt to break or rob, any Hume, rocker, quartz, quartz vein, or lode, bed rock, sluice, sluice box, or mining claim not his own, or who shall trespass upon such mining claim, with the intent to commit felony, shall upon convi viCtion thereof he punished by inn prisonment in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than five years, or by fine not less than one hundred nor more than one thousa nd dollars. or by both such imprison- ment and fine" It would have placed the justice in very awkward position, for it is plainly evident that judge, but not a mere justice of the peace, can pass sentence for conS iction of felony, n justice being quali- fed to sentence to terms of less than one year and that to a county jail, but never to the penitentiary. The ease was dismissed, and the cost jurors, witnesses, etc.-charged mp to Uncle sam, instead of Mir. Diver, as the laws provide. which should make him an uncle indeed to my opponents, it being the first time where | have noticed the uncle paying the accounts of one of his nephews' bad speculations. Divers next move was trip tO Fairbanks to secure firm Of law yers, put up the necessary deposit, and file new suit in the district court. lt seems from some cause or other-perhaps the gentleman will eXplain-the uncle refused to finance this suit; SGT it was made civil suit. They asked the court to give them damages to the amount of sl ,ts0 and the ground. This was