Show AFTER YEARS f OF FIGHTING An AllImportant Question Has Been Settled in Idaho DIVISION OF COUNTIES Supreme Court Hands Down the Decisions t > CKi laturc Has the Right to Abolish Abol-ish Counties and Create New Counties Therefrom It May Erect Change Divide and Even Aliollhli Them at Pleasure as It Deems the Public Good to Require Re-quire Special to The Herald BOISE Idalho Jan 7After years of lifhting both in and out of court the allimportant question arising out of division of old Alturas county is settled Ttfie supreme court today handed down opinions on the applications for writs made to test the constitutionality of the acts creating the counties of Blaine and Lincoln out of what was formerly Alturas and Log < an The writs nre denied and the attorneys on both sides of the case concede that the decision settles the longstanding dispute dis-pute the legality l of the Blaine and Lincoln acts being practically declared y the supreme court There were 4 two actions commenced with a view of testing the constitutionality of the act in question One was entitled Robert Rob-ert Wright vs Board of Commissioners of Logan county wherein it is sought to obtain a writ of mandamus compelling compell-ing the board ro meet and pass upon a claim after the commissioners had lWfn legislated out of office as officers I o Logasi county The other was en titTed Bellevue Water Company vs C O Stocklager judge of Fourth judicial I district court in which a writ of prohibition pro-hibition Vas asked restraining tine judge from holding court elsewhere 1 than at Bellevue county seat of Logan Ti these applioants for writs Blaine and Lincoln demurred The court passe pass-e on the demurrers which are sustained I tamed hut it also goes far enough into I the merits of the case to settle it for all I tim > The last legislature abolished i the counties of Alturas and Logan I and for n ° d Elaine county Cmmediate Iy thereafter Lincoln county was f > rmed from a portion of Blaine The fcupreme court holds the legislature Cias a right to abolish counties and organize or-ganize new counties therefrom provided pro-vided its action on the bills is within constitutional lines This goes to the root of the matter for the question of the right of the legislature to abolish counties was really the point upon which the entire proceedings binged Witih reference to the action of the legislature on the two acts the court eajs eajsIt It is desired on the part of the peti tinner to show the invalidity of the acts creating and organizing the counties of Blaine and Lincoln by the legislature bv means of The journals of the two i houses showing the nraimer in which these acts were passed It is conceded by both parties that these journals can only be examined by this court in proper proceeding for the purpose of ascertaining whether the provisions prescribed by the constitution were Complied with in the passage of the acts and that the motives that actuated actuat-ed the two houses of the legislature in the passage of these acts and of the governor in approving them can not in any manner by means of the journals journ-als or otherwi be brought in question ques-tion land yet we are asked to consider these two acts as one simply because they relate to the same subject matter and were considered on the same legislative leg-islative day and then to assume that the motives and intentions of the legislature legis-lature in the passage of the two acts iras to violate the provisions of the constitution It would be highly improper for this court in this or any other manner man-ner to question the motives of the legislature leg-islature in the passage of any particular particu-lar act or acts The fact that these two acts passed through some of their stages or all of them on the same legislative leg-islative day has no significance The court passed upon the powers of the legislature with reference to counties coun-ties and this holding is considered decisive de-cisive of the BlaineLincoln litigation The court says It Is only in extreme cases and incases in-cases WJITC the violation of the constitution consti-tution is so clear that it does riot admit ad-mit of a reasonable doubt that the court will assume to declare any act repugnant to the constitution In short all reasonable presumptions must be entertained and all reasonable construction of state must be resorted f to In order to sustain the acts of a co ordlnant branch of a state government remembering at the same time that a legislatures powers ext dito all prop I er subject of legislation and are therefore there-fore unlimited except as they are restricted re-stricted by the constitution and that the power of the legislature over municipal mu-nicipal corporations Is supreme asid transcendent It may erect change divide and even abolish them at pleasure as It deems the public good t require unless c acton i expressly forbidden by the provisions of the constitution The constitutionality of the acts being presumed pre-sumed It cannot be questioned bY an i application for a writ of mandate by a private party to enforce a party I right particularly so wfoere there is 4 another aad adequate remedy by law |