46 Tex. 441 | Tex. | 1877
Notwithstanding several acts have been passed, and constitutional provisions have been made, as well as numerous decisions have been rendered,
As the statute has required the application to remove a county seat, to be made to the County Court, and they are to determine whether it has been made by a majority of the registered voters of the county, (which, now that there is no registration, becomes an important investigation and determination,) and are required to order the election, and give notice thereof, it is not unreasonable to infer, that the Legislature mtended to confide to the County Comt, the investigation and determination of all the other facts necessary to a fair and legal election. Its general powers are more adequate to
Again: the facts to be ascertained—such as finding the centre of the county, and the distances from it to the places voted for—may require exqienses to be incurred, which the County Court alone is competent to order to be paid. Further, the County Court is a sort of legislative body for the regulation of comity affairs; and as this question of county seat has always heretofore been held by the courts of this State to be
Under the law, as originally passed in 1838, the duty of determining upon, ordering, and giving notice of the election for the removal of a county seat, was confided to the chief justice of the County Court. (Hart. Dig., art. 338, sec. 2.) Under this law, the implied power to receive and count the votes, and declare the result of the election, by the chief justice, was assumed and acted on, and such assumption and action was held to be proper. (Alley v. Denson, 8 Tex., 297.) How, when this power has been given, and this duty has been imposed on the County Court, (by the law of 1873,) the same implication in their favor arises, to do everything else that may be necessary in the execution of the law, and to determine and declare the final result of the election. Why make the change, if it was not to intrust the performance of this most important matter to the judgment and discretion of the whole court, elected by the voters of the county, rather than to one member of it? The very fact of making the change in the law is a convincing argument that an improvement in the law, in giving greater security to the rights of the people of the county, was intended by the Legislature; for certainly
According to the allegations of the petition, the three members of the County Court acted in this case without authority, not having been called in special session as a court, which the District Court, in acting on exceptions to the petition alone, must have regarded as true, if the court had had jurisdiction to adjudicate the case at all. Of course, the members of that court must be organized as a court under the law, to make any action valid on their part.
It is contended by counsel for appellants, that, although this has been repeatedly held to be a question pertaining to the jiolitical department of the Government, it has become a subject of judicial cognizance, by the provision in the Constitution of'1869, which gives to the District Courts power to issue writs necessary to give them a " general superintendence and control over inferior tribunals.” (Const. of 1869, Art. V, sec. 7, Paschal’s Dig., p. 1115.) This clause is not contained in the Constitution of 1875, and therefore the District Court could not now issue any writ by virtue, of said clause. (Wall v. The State, 18 Tex., 682.) If, however, the District Court could now issue such a writ, for the purpose of superintending and controlling the action of the County Court, it must be in relation to some private right of a person or persons which is recognized by law as being the subject of judicial action. It has been held by this court, in cases mvolving the question of the removal of the county seat by a vote of the qualified voters, that the citizens of the county had no such legal right in the locality of the county seat as would enable them to bring a suit to prevent a change of it by the authorities appointed by law to act on that subject. (Alley v. Denson, 8 Tex., 297; Arberry v. Beavers, 6 Tex., 457; Walker v. Tarrant County, 20 Tex., 19; McClelland v. Shelby County, 82 Tex., 17.)
It is unnecessary to consider or to endeavor to point out
Affirmed.