Show x tere earb tare eels arb erb TERRI territorial TORILL OFFICERS SL TO BE EL ELECTED arlla authority of the utah comi ie has been exercised on it several matters jurisdiction over which is not bestowed in the ninth nent t I 1 section ep tion of bf the act of congress of march commonly know know as 1 bithe tithe edmunds law yet they have not jot satisfied the ene enemies mies of the mormon i people nor are they ilk alk ely to do eo co because by no ni bli stretch of the tho wording warding of that law 1 dould they pretend to powers buo sur k ent to reach the extraordinary t measures desired by the rabid op ts of the system called ka monism As wo we hava havo previously shown t i havo have no author alty elty that Is not defined in that seo beo the act of congress to which we referred itcan it can oan bo be easily aw w seen been by reading that section that t guthey have no judicial j powers what i ever they cannot pass upon the validity or of a law they cannot punish individuals for any assumed a or actual violation of law they are authorized to appoint certain t off leara icena in tuo place of men whose t offices were vacated by legislation A a peculiar method we may say in gassing passing of depriving offic ais nia als ala of t thein their or rights to buch office andin and in s certain specified in to re calve uhe iho returns of an election and issue certificate a to the tho persona persons elected under their ruling it appears j that there will bo be no election of ajala tain territorial officers whose suo buo censors should bo be elected in august y next according to the laws of the territory in such case made and provide provided 1 they have taken the ground aground that tho the statutes providing y ion tor the election of thosa those officers are in conflict with the organic act Js and are therefore invalid but under berthe the law of congress which cre abed tho the office and from which they derive arlve such powers as they possess ah they thoy ey are nob nod authorized to pass pase upon the validity or invalidity of any law jaw their opinion is ot of no more value than that of as aa many private attorney attorneys a of learning and experience exper asper lence lenco and tre vve wo know bow much buch such gintle gentlemen men diner and how often they afe afo ar 0 mistaken mis lauen laKen in their views but it seems that thia this opinion of the la Is to have a material mater hil hii bearing upon our annual aeolion de OLion atlon their idea ides ia right or wrong legal or illegal Y 3 under the lawa of the territory the chanty clerk is required to give noti of iho tho offices to be ba at y the tho august election the edmunds law provides that each and every duty relating to the registration of ui voters VOiers the tho conduct of elections the t receiving or rejection of votes and andr the canvassing and returning of the same samel and IRWI the issuing of certificates t or other othen evidence of election shall be ba performed not by the comila blo sio Si onera ners but by proper persons parsons a 11 iwho who shail bo be appointed oy by them abut all that they do must be done anier the existing laws of the ir United states and ot 01 this territory f or it la 13 void and of no effect it if the county clerk in giving no tice atice of an elections election is really an elec tion of fleer in the meaning of the T law which is a matter of doubt then z tho commissioners had the tho right to ip 9 devolve the duty of ct giving the theno no election upon another dual P dual daal because all election offices were by tho the edmunds edmunda bill vacated is 10 of course supposing that r such a summary method of turning officers erb ers out of places to which they had ahad bad been bean elected according to law njg constitutional and sound this is A means duo due process ol of ikawyj within the meaning of the which dudl dudi judicial olal olai trial and ancl judgment before of life liberty or pro pal party ty and the tho to an un der dor the law iw has long iong been held heid to ba 19 property granting then tho right of the commissioners to place upon tho the Boi bol officers off leers the duty of div ing notice of the election and an what offices are aro to be ba filled Vt thereat the th a beg Reg officer merely occupies gierk es the same position as th the county clerk would have had it if th the edmunds law had not been enacted this gives him no right to babe base pass upon the validity or invalidity of any nuy law ho he simply may anh nonnce bounce buch such officers to be elected as kythe bythe r ithe the law specifies aud and there theare is ia not 13 1 a 3 line iino if ilof law which autho authorizes dizes rises the commissioners to do anything in an thia thi matter smatter except to appoint the officer to perform eha ehe duty required by the territorial statute hla bla duties in this respect are not cot to be defined by the but bat to be beber pei pel formed as the law directs it 11 the county clerk ceck had been permitted to rive give the notice those territorial rit orial offices would gave kave been named with the county s ind and precinct offices to be filled therefore the registration officer Is in duty bound to give a 2 similar notice for refusing to ido do so BO he my be proceeded against or ho he may be compe compelled led by mandamus to perform t the a duty which is required of him b by law the direction 0 of f the com oom commissioners in Is loners is not lagaly worth anything in this matter an and d their decision an on the legal point involved la is no more than an iun jun ulal uial bpI bud but let us look loots at it for a few moments in the light of the I 1 law aw the organic act provides that certain officers not alot definitely specified shall be nominated by the governor vernor and appointed by anid and with the consent content of the ahe legislative council of the territory cry ory the legislative isla tive assembly in 1882 passed a law jaw which wai duly signed by the governor vernor providing for a treasurer and an auditor of eulila accounts to be elected by the legislative assembly other off officers leeis necessary for the conduct of public affairs in the territory were created crested and the mode of g them provided for the e c laws remained la in force until the leg si slature provided for the election of beveral several ot of these by the people obieree Obi erve the legislative Ae assembly i created these of offices flees and they naturally provided for the manner in which they should be ba filled the organic act extended to the legislative assembly power over all rightful subjects of legislation con stent latent with the constitution an and the organic act and specified those things which that body was not to legislate upon these did not include the creating of offices needful for the good of the territory and the manner of filling althem but it provided that oll fill the lawa laws passed by the assembly should be oubri submitted t to congress and it if disapproved should be null and of no effect it follows therefore that if not diss disapproved P by congress they would remain of full force and effect athla thib view as we will show has been taken of this point by the supreme court of the united states the object of the organic law was to give tue people of this thia territory power to regulate their own owa local concerns in lil their own way ways subject to the supervision 0 congress rhe the office that immediately concerned the general Govern government meng mens were to be appointed by the government and those which concerned the people of the territory alone were to be loe filled by the citizens as they might deter mine in the regular manner on republican principles the offices of treasurer to handle their moneys ald aud of auditor to keep and supervise kneir accounts are offices that concern the people locally local jy they are not government offices 1 hey handle no government funds either by receipt or disbursement the people should of right appoint or elect them in the manner that best suits the citizens the supreme court of the united states in the celebrated englebrlcht case thus decided derided on this quest question foh fob the theory upon which the various governments for portions of the territory of the united states have been organized has ever been that of leaving to tou the inhabitants all the powers of seif belf government consistent with the supremacy and I 1 supervision of national au authority thorit V and with certain fundamental principles established by congress it certainly cannot be claimed that the election elb eib cllon by the people of local officers to handle local funds is contrary to any fundamental pal established by congress Cop gress or the constitution incidentally the very question now boyr considered came caneup up before the highest legal ieni tribunal in that same cae case cabe by counsel for re it was argued that the utah jury law was defectives defective for two reasone first that it required the jury juny lists to be selected oy by the county court upon which the organic law did not permit authority for that purpose to be conferred second that it required the jurors to be summoned by the territorial marshal who was elected by th the tho atee legislature egis and not appointed by goy gov eanor the same claim wab was sot set up in regard to the united states marshal that thai fa now put forth by therom the corn missioners ners in regard to tho treasurer auditor etc but the court ruled against tho the argument on both p points pints for the reasons set bot forth in tnie tho paragraph we have quoted from ther opinion concerning the rights of self belo government and further for the reason reabon given in the following extract troia froia the bamo bame document liin in the first place we observe that thelah the law jaw lim laa received the implied sanction of congress it was waa adopted jn in 1859 it has been upon the statute bookfor book for more than twelve years it must have been transmit ted to corn coni grehs grees soon after it was enas enat enacted ted for it was the tho duty of the secretary of the territory to transmit to that body copies of all laws on or before the first of the next december in each year the simple disapproval by Coffi congress grebs gress at any time would voul dhave have annulled it it is no unreasonable inference therefore that it was wag approved by that body hody the aeta acta of the marshal although he was elected by the legislative assembly and not appointed by the governor as alleged to be required by the organic Ac recognized by the supreme court to be valid on the same grounds the acts of the auditor and treasurer are legally valad and their election by the people stands good for if it be argued ahat the territorial statute authorize auth oriz ing their election is not harmonious with the organic act then we say bay that the implied sanction of con grobs gross ratifies it and makes mabes it equal I 1 in a this territory to an act of Con congress greess and being of later date than the organic act its plain provi provia lou iou super supersedes Bodes bedes the doubtful tul tui phrase jn in the latter instrument on which the oneo objection tiou tion la Is founded the fh principle of local self govern ment la is embodied in the law for the election of these territorial orlaf official it is ia in accord with the intent of the organic act in this thia direction it Is in harmony with the principles of republican republic government and cannot beset be set aside by anything short of a judicial decision after a legal trial in the first place it la Is the duty of the officers giving notice of tilo tle election to peace on the list the territorial to bo ibe filled at the august eleCt election lon lod jn in the second place neither they nor the commissioners have any right to pass upon tho the validity of the law providing fur run the election of territorial offices and in the third place the main point in dispute dla dis if they had buch euch authority haa hab been settled by tho supreme court of the united states which Js ia nearly as potent a tribunal as aa a board of commissioners unclothed with any Jud judicial cIal authority |