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Show THE. BAR MEETING-. EFFORTS TO SECURE INCREASED JUDCES FOR UTAH. A Statement Indicating the Large Volume of Responsibilities Imposed Upon the 'Present Incumbents of the liench Copies of the Bill and Memorial. Members of the territorial bar last night drove a nail in the movement looking to an increase in the judicial constellation of Utah which cannot very well be ignored. The meeting was called to order by J udge Sutherland, with IIcnry-G. McMillan at the ecc retary's desk. The reading of the memorial to congress was then called for and submitted as follows; To the semite and house of representatives of the United Ltutes: The Imr of Utah territory, impressed by the necessity ne-cessity of nn increased number of judges for the proper administration of justice in tht territory, have raw ,n convention to memoralizeyoiir honor-al honor-al ile belles for speedy relief; and we call attention atten-tion fo the facts herein stated, that the situation nay be apparaut to the law-making power in oiue measure as it is to us, that it may be seen Low inadequate is the present judicial force to cope with the business which is rapidly accumulating accumu-lating in the courts. The seven contiguous counties in the southern p.irt of the te rritory constitute the second judicial district. It comprises about 25,000 square miles unci has a sparse lioniilntion of less than 20.000. x'our tPrniK of court are vearlv held and required to l; held in it. That district, properly pervert, jhinires the exclusive attention of one judge. There are many mined and mining camps in it lor the extraction of galena, ore, large coal fields ami Immense iron deposits, besides extensive grazinir art-as and hroad valleys cultivated bv the pioneers nf the territory. The judge asfiirned to that district, has given but a minimum of time to 1', hy rear-nn of the more pressing need of his serving ser-ving jn t, Third district. Tiiol-'irt and Third districts include thereat oi the territory, nn area of a little more than b'i,) Miiure miles, and containing a population of i. In these districts the principal litiga tion of Ihe, territory arises. Itis such as naturally jrrows out of extensive minim;, railroad building aiid traffic and a large, commerce and agriculture. agricul-ture. It jg important, estimated with refer-cci. refer-cci. tu the number and character of the suits Jr'4Uht and the amount of values involved, The courts with three judges working constantly .iid a fourth in the third district for a large part rf the time aro unable to keep pace with the luibiness. If the present judges were wholly ro-hced ro-hced from supreme court, duty they would not be li!e, with their great diligence, to dispatch more tii:ni two thirds of the current business. The an-nuxej an-nuxej table is compiled from the court records. It shows tha number c.f cases commenced each year since and including Ishh, the nuinter now pending. It also shows the number of days the court was held each year in each district. "These tables nlo show Hie rapid rate of increase of business. busi-ness. The tirst district consists of two detached froups of counties. For one group a district court is Uehl by one judge at Ogden ami for the other by another jud:e at I'rovo. The Third district dist-rict is compact, and includes the capital city. Six jiU'Ces with judicial capacity equal to those lio aro now arduously serving the territory, or any six judges of average judicial ability would le kept constantly at work to do the business of ihe district courts, making no allowance for the cases which have accumulated or the certain increase. in-crease. The pressure of the district court work upon the judges has left them le:t '.ne iirre time fr supremo court duty. They have performed their appellate functions as well as could be expected ex-pected under the circumstances, but. they have not hail the requisite time to consider the rases In that court as the important interests involved li.ive deserved. Two term a year of the supreme court are held, and the business is so multiplying that, it, will compare well with that of many more populous States. The unanimous conviction of the bar of this territory, shared by all its thoughtful and well-informed well-informed business men, is that, the wants of the territory imperatively demand the organization of an independent supreme court, and a corps of six iistrict judges. In short, the enactment of the accompanying bill : Ihe bill continues as follows: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives Repre-sentatives of the United Mates of America, in oniTress assembled : ( That the supreme court of the territory of Utah shall consist of a chief jnstite and three associate ' .justices until a vacancy occurs and thereafter shall onsist of three members, two of whom shall con- stitule a quorum, to be appointed bv the president by and with the advice and consent of the senate and w hose term of office snail be four years, and to hold until their successors are appointed and f(Ualitied. and to whom respectively there shall be paid quarterly, out of the territorial treasury an annual salary of $.")0o0. Sec. 2. There shall be six district judges for paid territory, to be appointed by the president bv 1 . iind with the consent of the senate, whose term of - -.. joji'ic shall be four years and to holdunUl their. .. "sum -esstirs -r. i e jippnlrrfenT iind "qualified, and to whom respectively Khali he paid quarterly, out of the treasury of the United Mates, an annual salary of $.')Ooo, and who shall severally lie assigned to judicial districts by the supreme court of said territory ter-ritory : two or more of tliem may be assigned to ny one district until the territorial legislature shall provide for new districts or otherwise apportion appor-tion the business or divide the jurisdiction of the district courts. Colonel Kaign said it was the opinion of some, attorneys that the last clause of the bill would erfect the present members of the supreme court The committee did not intend in-tend this. If the bill provided for the payment pay-ment of all the judges by the United States it would meet with opposition. Judnc Sutherland stated that in drafting the bill there was no intention to interfere with present judges. Mr. Painter of Ogdon stated that this bill If passed would effect the jurisdiction of the present judges, which would naturally provoke pro-voke their opposition. Ogilon Ililes, esq., 6aid the last section of the bill would practically revoke the commissions com-missions of the present justices of the supreme su-preme court of the territory, and this, being true, the bar should proceed cautiously, as the supreme court of Utah was the hardest worked and poorest paid body in the United States. Mr. Ynrian said he was in hearty sympathy sympa-thy with the scheme, but thought three judges would be sufficient at present and favored tlu appointment of new judges from time to time, thus vesting the bench with a principle of continuity which would not accrue ac-crue were the judges to be appointed at one .ind the same time. There were now four judge of the supreme bench, and it was questionable whether they could be legislated legisla-ted into district judges as that might ho en-T'viLhitig en-T'viLhitig on the ! esidential prerogative. Mr. Ferguson offered an amendment that the present members of the supreme court constitute the appellate court. The amendment prevailed. Judge, Judd recurring to the, method of filling the bench, advocated the appointment of all the judges at once, stating that at best it would only be a temporary rule, as in his opinion Us ah will have been admitted as a state within four years when the people would have the right to elect ihcir own judges. "That ali depends on circumstances," said Mr. Yarian. "I am only launching my opinion," replied re-plied Judge Judd, who added that he was opposed to the bill as it now stood with the amendment and would vote against it. Judge Sutherland stated that in draw ing up the bill the committee had no desire to retlect upon the present judges, and expressed ex-pressed the opinion that Utah would soon become a state. Mr. Ferguson wauted an amendment giving giv-ing to probate, courts jurisdiction iu civil rases ami misdemeanors. Judge Loofbourow offered a substitute that congress be. memoralized to apjKtint two additional judges to the supreme court of the territory. The substitute was lost as was also Mr. Fcguson's amendment, after which the bill as originally amended was adopted. The committee was requested to proceed with iis labors and the association adjourned. |