20 Mont. 510 | Mont. | 1898
—The extent of the powers of the State Arid Land Grant Commission, under the laws of the state enacted to enable the state to secure the benefits to arise from the lands granted by the government of the United States by the Carey act and acts amendatory thereof, is a very important question. The general government has by law made to the state conditionally a magnificent donation of lands. It is of the highest importance that the legislature of the state should make provision by law for performing the conditions
To provide for the reclamation of arid lands granted to the State of Montana by acts of congress and to provide for the issuance of bonds and the appropriation of money for the carrying of this act into effect and the payment of expenses heretofore incurred and warrants heretofore issued by the State Arid Land Grant Commission.” (Sess. Acts 1897, p. 180.) Section 3530 of the act is as follows : “That for the purpose of enabling the state to accept the offer of the United States, made in an act of congress approved August 18, 1894, entitled An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1895, and for other purposes,’ and as amended by an act of congress approved June 11, 1896; for the purpose of reclaiming the lands therein mentioned in accordance with the terms of said acts, a commission shall be and is hereby created under the name of the State Arid Land Grant Commission, which shall consist of five members, and they and their successors shall remain and continue to be such commission for all the purposes hereinafter provided.” Section 3532 of the act pro
Section 3533 of the act provides : “That said commission shall have, and it is hereby given full power and authority to take all steps necessary to comply with all and singular the conditions of said act of congress, and of any and all amendment or amendments thereto, or other act or acts of congress pertaining thereto, to the end that the state may receive the full benefit and advantage accruing to it, through or by the terms of any congressional action. ’ ’
It is evident that the Legislative Assembly intended to give, and did give, very extensive powers to the commission by these sections of the law. The question arises, what steps may the commission take, or what contracts may it enter into, “to the end that the state may receive the full benefit and advantage accruing to it, through or by the terms of any congressional action” by which the arid lands were intended to be donated to the state ? It would seem that the only limitation imposed by this legislation on the extent to which the commission' can go in their efforts to reclaim the arid lands donated to the state is that the steps taken, means used, or contracts entered into by the commission shall be for the benefit of the state. Tested by this standard, are the steps contemplated to be taken, and the contracts intended to be entered into, by the commission, as shown by the resolution set out in the statement, and alleged in the affidavit of the Attorney General, for the construction of a ditch to reclaim the lands in district No. 1, the specifying upon the face of the bonds to be issued to what the lien thereof shall attach, or shall not attach, etc., for the benefit of the state? Are these contemplated acts of the commission inconsistent with or prohibited by law ?
It does not appear that the reclamation of the land to which the state might acquire title in District No. 1, under the con
In their arguments counsel have shown considerable inter
The restriction placed upon the action of the commission by the law is that whatever steps it shall take, whatever means it shall employ, and whatever contracts it shall make with any corporation or person, in order to reclaim the arid lands of the state, such steps, such means and such contracts shall be for the benefit of the state. Under this test, then, if the commission shall take any steps, adopt any means, or make any contracts with any one in the premises that shall not be found to be for the benefit of the state, upon proper investigation, then all such acts of the commission would be held to be void, as done without authority of law. This restriction should be strictly enforced. Whatever contracts the commission shall make, under conditions and circumstances preseuted by this record, with any corporation or person, should be in writing, properly acknowledged and certified, and placed of record; and in such contract the right of the state to supervise the construction of canals and ditches, the right of the state to control and maintain the same for all time, and the right to proper liens on such ditches and canals and improvements for the cost of construction and maintenance thereof, should and must be fully provided for and preserved in such contracts, so that the assigns of such corporations and persons shall take any interest that may be acquired in the same subject to the rights of the state. In other words, by the terms of the contracts that the commission shall enter into with any corporation or person, the rights of the state to construct, control and maintain the ditches and canals, and a lien on all the property allowed by law, shall be fully preserved; and, unless so preserved, such contracts could not be held to be for the benefit or best interests of the- state.
The holding that the commission may make the contracts
There has been considerable discussion by counsel as to what importance should be attached to the word “district” as used in the statute. We think it was the intention of the legislature that the commission should designate each locality or section where land is to be reclaimed as a district, giving it a number, thereby distinguishing it from other localities or sections where the work of reclamation is to be prosecuted by the commission, so that the bonds to be issued for each district, as required by law, may show on their face to what district they belong, and upon the property of what particular district they are to be a lien. The State Treasurer is also required to keep an account with each district. The convenience of all concerned can be best subserved and confusion avoided by designating each locality or section to be reclaimed as a “district” by a number, and then let the bonds show on their face that they are liens on the property in the district having the number of the district corresponding with the number on the face of the bonds. (Arid Land Act, §§ 3536, 3541, 3543.) Further than this we are unable to discover that any importance should be attached to the question of districts.
Having fully considered the questions presented in this proceeding, we are of the opinion that it has not been shown that the commission has exceeded, or that it will exceed, the powers conferred upon it by law, by doing the things charged in the affidavit of the plaintiff, which are Lilly set out in the statement; nor has it been shown that the making of the contracts contemplated by the commission, as shown by the resolution in the statement, and allegations contained in plaintiff! s affidavit, are inconsistent with or prohibited by law. We are