Smith v. Adams

The facts disclosed by the record are briefly as follows: The Political Code of Dakota, in force in 1886, in providing for the organization of counties and the location of their county-seats, authorizes the governor of the territory, upon proper application of the voters of any unorganized county, to take measures for its organization, and for that purpose to appoint commissioners to locate the county-seat temporarily, and to appoint officers of the county, to hold their offices until the next general election. Pol. Code, c. 21, §§ 2, 3, 4. It then directs that at the first general election subsequent to such organization the legal voters of the county shall designate on their ballots the place of their choice for county-seat, and that the place thus designated receiving a majority of all the votes cast shall thereafter be the county-seat, but that, if no place receives a majority of such votes, the place designated as the countyseat temporarily shall remain the countyseat until changed as provided in a subsequent section. Chapter 21, § 6. That section declares, in substance, that upon petition of two-thirds of the qualified voters of the county it shall be the duty of the county commissioners to notify the voters to again designate upon their ballots at the next succeeding general election the place of their choice, and if, upon the canvass of such votes, any of the places thus designated shall receive two-thirds of the votes cast, such place shall be the county-seat. Chapter 21, § 7. On the 30th of July, 1886, congress passed an act 'to prohibit the passage of local or special laws in the territories of the United States, to limit territorial indebtedness, and for other purposes.' 24 St. c. 818, p. 170. The first section, among other things, enacts 'that the legislatures of the territories of the United States, now or hereafter to be organized shall not pass local or special laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say, granting divorces; changing the names of persons or places; laying out, opening, altering, and working roads or highways; vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys, and public grounds; locating or changing county-seats; regulating county and township affairs; regulating the practice in courts of justice; regulating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace, police magistrates, and constables,' etc. The seventh section declares that all acts and parts of acts subsequently passed by any territorial legislature in conflict with the provisions of this act of congress shall be null and void.

The county of Brown in Dakota was organized under the provisions of the Political Code, and the city of Columbia was designated by the commissioners as the countyseat temporarily, and it remained as such county-seat until some time in 1887, no other place having been designated by a majority of the voters of the county. On the 11th of March, 1887, the territorial legislature passed an act 'to provide for the relocation of county-seats in counties where county-seats have been located by a vote less than a majority of all the electors voting thereon.' Laws 1887, c. 173, p. 369. Section 1 of this act, as amended on the same day when the original act took effect, provides 'that in all counties in this territory having a population not less than twelve thousand, as shown by the census of 1885, and having an area of not less than forty-eight congressional townships, and in which the present county-seat thereof has been heretofore temporarily located under the provisions of section 4 of chapter 21 of the Political Code, and remaining the county-seat under the provisions of section 6 of chapter 21 of the Political Code, by reason of the fact that no place received a majority of all the votes cast at the election held under the provisions of said section 6 of chapter 21 of the Political Code, there shall be held a special election of the duly-qualified voters of such counties on the 12th day of July, A. D. 1887, at which election the question of the relocation of the county-seat of such counties shall be voted upon: provided, that such election shall not be held in any county unless there shall be presented to the judge of the district court of the district in which such county is situated, or, in his absence from such district, or in his inability to act, to the chief justice of said territory, a petition signed by at least one-third in number of the electors of said county, as shown by the vote cast at the last general election, praying said judge to issue an order directing the holding of said election as provided in this act. If said judge shall find that said petition is signed by one-third of the electors of said county, as above provided, he shall issue an order directing said election to be held in accordance with the provisions of this act.' In other sections provision is made for giving notice of the election, and for canvassing the votes, and for removing the records of the county to the place designated. Under this act an election was held in Brown county on the 12th of July, 1887, on the question of relocating the county-seat of that county. A majority of the votes was cast in favor of the city of Aberdeen as the county-seat, and the county offices, with their records and papers, were accordingly removed to it from Columbia.

By a law of the territory any elector, upon leave of the district court of the district embracing the county, may contest the validity of such an election. The plaintiff below, John E. Adams, upon a petition setting forth his objections to the election in question, was allowed by the district court of the Fifth district to contest its validity, and to bring an action in that court for that purpose. He accordingly filed a notice of contest, addressed to the commissioners of the county, in the nature of a complaint, commencing the action authorized. The ground upon which the validity of the election was assailed was that the act of the territorial legislature was in conflict with the act of congress of July 30, 1886, prohibiting local or special legislation 'locating or changing county-seats;' that the territorial act, though general in its terms, was so drawn as to be applicable to only one county, no other county coming within its provisions; that this fact was well known at the time to the legislature; and that the object of passing the act in this form was to evade and nullify the act of congress. The complaint contains all other allegations as to the status of the contestant, the appointment of the commissioners, the condition of Brown county as an unorganized county, the temporary location of its county-seat, the number of its population, the passage of the territorial act, and the election thereunder and consequent proceedings, which were necessary to raise the question of the validity of the election. To this notice of contest or complaint the commissioners demurred on the ground that it did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against them or either of them. The district court sustained the demurrer as a matter of form, and, as the plaintiff elected to stand upon his complaint without amendment, ordered that the same be dismissed. On appeal to the supreme court of the territory this judgment was reversed, and the cause remanded to the district court for further proceedings according to law and the judgment of the appellate court. The reversal was ordered on the grounds-'First, that appellant's action was properly brought, and the act of the legislature of the territory of Dakota, passed March 11, 1887, under which the election was held, by which the county-seat of Brown county, D. T., was removed from Columbia to Aberdeen, is in conflict with the act of congress, approved July 30, 1886, prohibiting special legislation in the territories of the United States; second, that the appellant has such an interest in the subject-matter as enables him to maintain this action; third, that the judgment rendered is such a final judgment as entitles him to an appeal.' To review the judgment of the supreme court of the territory the case was appealed to this court, the appeal being allowed in open court, and also by the chief justice of the territory. There were five commissioners of the county, and three of them afterwards prayed that the order allowing the appeal be vacated, stating that they had become satisfied that no further proceedings should be had in the case, and that, as a majority of the board, they had, before the appeal-bond was filed, or any citations were issued, directed their attorneys not to perfect the appeal, but that the attorneys had disregarded the instructions. It does not appear that any action was taken in the court below upon the application. It appears, from documents filed in the court below after the appeal was taken, that on the 27th of June, 1887, the city of Aberdeen conveyed to the county of Brown certain real property, exceeding in value $5,000, situated within its limits, with the building in process of erection thereon, to be held by the county so long as the building should be used for a courthouse, but when the building ceased to be thus used the land to revert to the grantor. The respondent now moves that the appeal be dismissed, or that the judgment below be affirmed, for the following, among other, reasons: (1) Because this court has no jurisdiction of the subject-matter of the action, no federal question being involved. (a) The matter in dispute, exclusive of costs, does not exceed the sum of $5,000; no sum of money being in dispute, and no right the value of which can be calculated or ascertained. (b) No question is presented involving the validity of any patent or copyright, nor is there drawn in question the validity of a treaty or statute of, or an authority exercised under, the United States. (2) Because it appears from the record that before the appeal to the supreme court of the United States was perfected a majority of the county commissioners declined to perfect and prosecute the same, and directed their attorneys not to perfect it, the instructions being given before any bond on appeal had been approved or citations issued.

''Geo. F. Edmunds'', for the motion.

S. Shellabarger and J. M. Wilson, opposed.

Mr. Justice FIELD, after stating the facts as above, delivered the opinion of the court.