Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 04.pdf/350

The Supreme Court of Kansas. in taking up some Missouri law, they would pass a separate act in which it set forth that " in said act the word ' State ' quoted was to be understood as meaning ' Terri tory.' " In this way the most of those acts, or laws, were gotten up, and were passed simply by reading the title of the bill. Here, at the old Mission, the first session of the Supreme Court was convened on the

30th day of July, 1855. The first judges ap pointed were Samuel Dexter Lecompte, of Maryland, Chief-Jus tice, whose commis sion is dated July 11, 1854; Sanders W. Johnston, of Ohio, and Rush Elmore, of Ala bama, Associate Jus tices, whose commis sions bear date June 29, 1854. At this in augural session there were present ChiefJustice Lecompte, and Associates Johnston and Elmore. On the first day of its session the following commu nication was presented to the court by A. J. Isacks, United States NELSON District Attorney : — "Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Council concurring therein, That the District Attorney be requested to advise the legislative as sembly, whether in his opinion the act providing for the temporary session of the legislature at the Shawnee Manual Labor School is valid, and whether the adjournment of the Assembly to this place, in pursuance of such act, was legal, and whether it was competent for the Assembly, if its present session be legal, to confer on the probate courts jurisdiction, civil and criminal, concurrent with the district court. "Resolved further, That the District Attorney be required to present these questions to the Su

323

preme Court at its first session, and solicit from that court an opinion on said interrogatories." The journal of the court says-: — "The court having taken the communication under consideration, determine, in view of the im portance of the subject, to respond, as judges, but not as a court, to so much as presents the question of the constitutionality of the act, generally, of the legislative assembly, but decline to respond to the particular question em braced in the second clause of the resolution." To this Mr. Justice Johnston dissented as follows : — "I do not concur in the action of a majority of the court. This appli cation is, in my opinion, clearly extra-judicial. Any attempt by this court, in a matter not properly before it, or by a member of this court in his official character, to change, di rect, or otherwise control the past action or future proceeding of the legis lative assembly of the Territory, involves an as sumption of power of the COBB most alarming character. My official duties and authority are limited by law, and, with my present view, I cannot consent to participate in any effort to overstep or transcend them." It does not appear what response the two judges made, but as they subsequently indi rectly acknowledged the validity of the laws passed at the Shawnee Manual Labor School, it is presumed that they gave as their opinion that they were valid. On the 31st day of July, 1855, after adopt ing a seal, the court adjourned to meet at the seat of government on the first Monday