Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 4.djvu/794

 780 FEDERAL REPORTER. �rior court, over which this court, having cognizance of the crimes themselves, may have supervisory jurisdiction. But this appears to be founded on an erroneous view of the rela- tions of those officers to this court ; for it is plain that commissioners are but officers of the court, to whom arecom- mitted some of the duties which must otherv/ise be per- formed by the court itself, or the judge thereof. The exigen- cies of the public service demand that speedy inquiry shall be made into ail criminal charges, in order that offenders may be brought to justice; and as, from the press of business or remoteness from the place where the crime maybe committed, or other cause, the court cannot always, or ordinarily, perform that service, commissioners are appointed to f acilitate the bus- iness. In ail that they d6 they are not separate a,nd independ- ent tribunals, but the arms of the court to execute the prelimi- nary -work of securing the presence of offenders at the time appointed for arraignment and trial. Indeed, they are not, and under the constitution they cannot be, clothed with judi- cial power to hear and fiîially: determine any matter what- eoever. Their duties relate only to the detention of the açcused until the charge against him may be formally pre- eented to the court, and constitutionally tried. In that they are not bound to hear more than the evidence of the govern- ment, and they do not flnally determine any question toueh- ing the guilt or innocence of the acoused. Accordingly, it is said in the books that the funçticxn of an examining magis- strate is ministerial and not judicial,, (1 Bishop's Crim. Pro. § 237;) and upon this consideration alone the writ of pro- hibition to control the conduct of a commissioner must be denied. High's Eemedies, § 769. �But, in a broader view of the nature and extent of his office, it will be apparent that a commissioner is an officer of the court merely, as to whom the writ of prohibition is never «mployed. It does not, however, follow from this course of reasoning that the court bas no control over the proceedings of a commissioner when acting as an examining magistrate. On the contrary, if in the discharge of such duty a commis- sioner is an officer of the court, it would seem to be proper ����