Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 11.djvu/117

 On Power to Increase Supreme Court hi hill and Washington shall constitute the third district; the counties of Clackamas, Multnomah, Wasco, Columbia, Clat- sop, and Tillamook shall constitute the fourth district; and the county of Tillamook shall be attached to the county of Clatsop for judicial purposes." The four justices of the Supreme Court, created by section 2 of article VII., held the Circuit Courts for these four districts, "until otherwise pro- vided by law" pursuant to sections 2, 8 and 10, article VII., and section 11 of article XVIII. By section 8, article VII., it is expressly provided that "The Circuit Court shall be held twice at least in each year, in each county organized for judi- cial purposes, by one of the justices of the Supreme Court, at times to be appointed by law ; and at such other times as may be appointed by the judges severally in pursuance of law." There were no circuit judges, as such, until after the exercise of legislative authority under section 10, supra, and then and thereupon for the first time, circuit judges, as such, were pro- vided for and authorized to be elected as such. The Supreme Court as a constitutional body was first created by section 2, article VII., and the members were primarily supreme justices, and incidentally performed the duties of holding Circuit Courts. The Circuit Court was created at the same time, but circuit judges, as such, were unknown to the constitution other than in the person of supreme justices, until after the passage of the act of October 17, 1878 (Session Laws 1878, pp. 81-82) pursuant to section 10, article VII. The court created in the beginning and composed of four justices, which should never exceed seven in number, as created and defined by section 2, is the same Supreme Court to be elected in a separate class consisting of three justices, when they were relieved of circuit duty for the first time. The primary object of section 10 was to give authority by constitutional warrant for the election of the justices and circuit judges hitherto, one office and one officer, in separate classes as separate officers and separate offices, and relieving the supreme justices from performing circuit duty, and to permit not less than three nor