78 P. 982 | Or. | 1904
delivered the opinion of the court.
The basal principle is the division of .the arid area of the State, upon invitation of the settlers thereon, into communities or districts, which are determined by their irrigability from a common source and through the same system of works, and to invest such communities with power to raise revenue by taxation and the issuing of bonds for the purpose of acquiring water rights and constructing the necessary canals, reservoirs, and works for the distribution of the water over the lands within the district. This is indicated by its first section, which provides that when a certain number of holders of title to lands susceptible of irrigation from a common source, and. by the same system of works, desire to irrigate the same, they may propose the organization of an irrigation district. It is therefore only settlers on land susceptible of irrigation in the manner indicated who can apply for the formation of the corporation, and it is for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, and owning a system of works, and the distribution of water through it, that the corporation is organized, and not for the settlement of disputes between individuals, nor for the regulation or control of water rights belonging to private persons. This is not only apparent from the first section, but from all the subsequent provisions of the law. o
From these views it follows that the decree of the court below must be affirmed, and it is so ordered. Aeeirmed.