The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-29
WRITTEN OPINION BY JUDGE HUNOLEY Goes Into Details of Steele
 Birch Matter SETS FORTH CONVENTIONS He Maintains Another Judge Has No Right To Come In and Make Order
 Without His Approval
 or Consent.
SETS FORTH CONVENTIONS

1 eral court has handed down his writ
 ten opinion in the now famouse Steele
 Birch case in which he goes into every l point of the contentious in detail. The
 opinion is in the matter of the petition l of Nenian L.. Steele. asking that tho
 order of Judge Thomas c. Jones ap- 1 pointing Alex c. Birch a referee in i bankruptcy be set aside. At the time l of the removal of Birch Judge Hund- ley delivered an oral opinion and the 1 following is his written opinion cover ing all points of the case:
 In the district court of the United l States, Northern district of Alabama, 1 southern division. Ex parte Nenian L. i Steele, petitioner. In the court of bank
 ruptcy.
 1 In the matter of the petition Of Nenlan ] l.. Steele referee in bankruptcy. seek 1 ing to set aside order appointing another
 referee as being void and mprovidently
 made.
 Sterling A. Wood, attorney for pet- 1 tioner
 1 l. Courts of BanBruptcy-The act of 1 Congress (act of July 1, 1898, c. 541, sec. ,, 1 Comp. Stat. 3420), creating courts of l bankruptcy provides for one court only within the territory prescribed. l g. Courts of Bankruptcy-Jurisdictio | Courts of bankruptcy have no jurisdiction 1 outside of their territorial limits as pre-
 scrbed by the act of Congress creating l them.
 ] g. District Judges-Appointments By-A United States district judge, even though l judge of the Northern and Middle dis 1 tricts os Alabama, has no Jurisdiction, 1 while holding court in the Middle district 1 thereof, to make an order appointing a
 referee in bankruptcy for the Northern i district of Alabama.
 1 District -Jurisdietion-Rules i in Bankruptcy-A United States district judge, even though judge of the North l ern and Middle districts of Alabama, and
 residing in the Middle district, has no i Jurisdiction authority to go into the 1 Northern district while the judge of the ! said Northern district is holding court i therein, and make an order appointing a 1 referee in bankruptcy and prescribing d 1 rule for the reference of proceedings in 1 bankruptcy to said referee so appointed l by him, without the concurrence of the l judge of the said Northern district. l 5 District Judges-Void Order-Such &C., 1 tion by district judge, even though ] judge of both districts, being made with 1 out the concurrence of the judge of the | Northern district, is coram non judice and l void In so far as the same applies to the Northern district; and the judge of the said Northern district has the right and l authority to set aside any order or or 1 ders so made
 ] Syllabus by the court.)
 Hundley, District Judge-The matter 1 here presented is upon a sworn petition 1 filed by Nenian L. Steele. a referee in 1 bankruptcy heretofore appointed by this 1 court, calling attention to the fact that l the clerk of this court is proceeding, or | Is about to proceed. to refer one-half of the cases in bankruptcy filed in this 1 court to Alex c. Birch, under and by vir- i tue of what purposes to be an order of l this court appointing said Birch a referee | in bankruptcy, and directing the clerk l to make such reference to said Birch. | Such appointment and order Is averred to l be absolutely void, and this court Is l asked to set aside the same having 1 been fmprovidently made. The facts stat 1 ed in the petition, upon which relief s l prayed for are as follows:
 "1. That on the 1st day of November, 1 1907, petitioner was duly and regularly I appointed refere in bankruptcy for cer- | tain counties in this district and that | he thereupon qualified, and has since the I said time been such referee, having his ] office in the city of Birmingham, county 1 of Jefferson, and state of Alabama; and
 that at this time he is the sole and only | referee appointed for said counties of said y.
 "2. That on the 1st day of June, 1908, l the Hon. Thomas C.. Jones, a district l judge of the United States residing and 1 presiding in the Middle district of Ala l bama, went upon the bench in the said | city of Birmingham, county of Jefferson,
 and state of Alabama, and, while upon
 said bench, purported to sit as the court l of bankruptcy for said Northern district l of Alabama, and thereupon entered an al-
 leged order, purporting to appoint one l Alexander c. Birch a referee in bank l ruptcy for the identical counties of the l said Northern district of Alabama, for
 which petitioner had been appointed pre- l viously by this court
 "3. That the said Hon. Thomas G. Jones l was at Montgomery, which was the place 1 of his residence and which was within 1 the Middle district of Alabama, sitting l and holding court in and for the said dis 1 trict until about the hour of half past 6 1 o'clock p. m., on Sunday. May 31, 1908, l and that at said time on said Sunday, l May S1, 190S the said Hon. Thomas c. l Jones took passage on the Louisville and 1 Nashville northbound train mad came 10 | Birmingham, Ala, on the same, arrlv-
 ing at said Birmingham, Ala at about half past o'clock p. m., on said Sun 1 day night. May 31, 1908. returning to said i city of Mintgomery, Ala. and to the l said Middle district of Alabama, on the | next through train on the said Louisville
 and Nashville railroad, and which left
 said Birmingham, Ala, for said Mont l gomery, Ala, at about half past o'clock 1 a. m., Monday, June 1,190S That the , above Il hours is all the time that the Hon. Thomas G. Jones has been within l the said Northern district of Alabama | since November B. 1907 when he was
 within the said district and remained | therein for a similarly short time. and for the purpose of attempting to remove | this petitioner from hs office as such ref l cree, as set forth in another petition pre- l viously filed in this court of bankruptcy.
 A. That the said Hon. Thomas G. Jones
 on the said June 1, 1908, at about the l hour of o'clock a. m. did go to the | government building in the city of Br- 1 mingham, Ala, and did purport to open | the court of bankruptcy therein, and lslt l the sole and only business transacted, or l attempted to be transacted or purportirg | to be transacted, at the said time and
 place was the alleged appointment of one l Alexander c. Birch as a referee of the
 court of bankruptcy in and for the said
 Northern district of Alabama.
 "5. Thatsthe first alleged order purports l to have been made on "this 30th day of l May, 1908''. when, as matter of fact, the l Hon. Thomas G. Jones was not then with 1 in the said Northern district of Alabama, | but was at said Montgomery. Ala, for l and during said entire day, sitting and holding court for the Middle district of l Alabama; and that he had no authority 1 whatsoever as the court of bankruptcy l for the Northern district of Alabama to make the said alleged order, and that
 the same was void and of no force or l of