Show TERRITORIAL OFFICERS CST CS-T length a point is settled which has for many years been a matter of difference between the Legislature and the Executive of our Territory I is now finally determined by the decision of the court of bet resort that the Legislature has not the right to choose certain Territorial officers among whom are the Auditor l Audi-tor and Treasurer but that those officers are to be nominated bv the Executive subject to the confirms thou of the Legislative Council I The dispute arose in this wise Section 7 of the Organic Act which 8Plte the manner In which township town-ship district and county officers shall be chosen says The Gover norshall nominate and by and with the advice and consent of the alce Cn Legislative Legis-lative Council appoint all other officers not herein otherwise pro Tided for This is a sort of omni bus clause and whether it I was meant to include such general and vi tel officers aa Territorial Audltorand Treasurer which are commonly elective was from the first a eetve wa firt quo ton The earlier governors of the 1 Territory united with the Assembly in holding In the I negative and one of them signed I an act making those officers elective by the people This act I now held to be invalid but I has the merit of being in ac cord with the spirit of popular I pirit prAlr gov jrnment in aiming to preserve power in the hands of the hnds people L against centralization and In that respect it does credit to the law nakers who framed I and to the Executive who signed it Under I It In 1ST9 VV Clayton and James Jack were elected to the offices in contest In 1SS3 Governor Murray appolnt edBolIvar Bobertaand Arthur Pratt to the ofllcesof Territorial Treasurer and Auditor respectively The Ig Islatlvo Council declined to confirm the gentlemen and on the strength of a gubernatorial appointmentthey instituted a contest in the courts The Supreme Court of the Territory decided in effect that the offices named had never been filled at all under color of a valid lair and that pending Action by the Legislative Council on the governor nominations nomina-tions the nominees veto entitled to hold the offices The tie facto officers offi-cers appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States with the r Sit announced in our special from Washington yesterday and later in the Associated Press dispatches There will next follow probably anattemptonthopact of the atempt part Governors Gov-ernors appointees to secure the salary I sal-ary which has been drawn by the gentlemen who did thu work of the offices in question Thy people have awaited with deep interest the decision upon the question as to whether they or an autocrat h the right to choose certain of the most important Otc contemplated contem-plated or provided for under our I system of government and the lovers of democratic Institutions and the spirit of popular liberty will regret to see popular power diminished In favor of centralization ton |