"AN ACT

"Relating to records in the supreme court for the Western district, and the right to collect, in certain cases, prothonotary's fees from counties."

Approved April 14, 1870, Laws of Pennsylvania 1870, page 72.

"Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That wherever the record of a case has been left remaining in the supreme court, in the Western district, for a period of three years after a final decision thereon, the prothonotary may remit the same, with certificate of the proceedings, to the court below, whence it arose, and shall be entitled to charge therefore to the county in which the court below is, the sum of three dollars in full of all fees due him in the case, to be paid to him by the county commissioners in the usual manner.

"Section 2. That the prothonotary, when so remitting the records, shall tax on the face of his certificates the full amount of the fees he would be entitled to receive from the parties, and shall furnish a list of the cases remitted to the district attorney, or the attorney of the county commissioners, whose duty it shall be to enter his appearance for the county, and to proceed forthwith, whenever practicable, by execution or otherwise, to collect for the use of the county, from the parties liable therefor, the full amount of the fees so taxed as aforesaid; and no persons shall be allowed to avail himself in the court below of any such record, until the fees so taxed shall have been paid for the use aforesaid."

"AN ACT

"Changing the terms of the supreme court for the Western and Northern district."

Approved May 5, 1871, Laws of Pennsylvania 1871, page 251. "Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the regular term of the supreme court for the Western district of this commonwealth shall commence, for the year A. D. one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, and annually thereafter, on the first Monday of October, and shall continue not less than eight weeks, if so long a time be necessary for the hearing

of the causes ready for argument and the disposition of the business of the district.

"Section 2. That the return day for the Northern district hereafter shall be the third Monday of September; and the causes from said Northern district shall be heard at such time and place as the judges of the supreme court may assign."

"AN ACT

"Relative to the opinions of the supreme court."

Approved May 11, 1871, Laws of Pennsylvania 1871, page 266.

"Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the second section of the act approved the sixth day of March, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and twelve, entitled 'An additional supplement to an act, entitled "An Act to alter the judiciary system of the commonwealth," be and the same is hereby repealed; and it shall be the duty of the judges of the supreme court to give their opinion in writing, and file the same of record, upon every point on which a judgment of reversal shall be entered in said court, and in such other case as the majority of the said judges shall deem of sufficient importance to require their opinion to be reduced to writing and filed of record."

"AN ACT

"To repeal an act entitled 'An Act supplementary to an act relating to the jurisdiction and powers of courts, approved the sixteenth day of June, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.'"

Approved February 5, 1873, Laws of Pennsylvania 1873, page 33.

"Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the act entitled 'An Act supplementary to an act relating to the jurisdiction and powers of courts, approved the sixteenth day of June, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six,' and approved the tenth day of June, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, be and the same is hereby repealed, with like effect as if the same had not been enacted."

"AN ACT

"Authorizing the supreme court of Pennsylvania and the various courts in and for the city and county of Philadelphia, to appoint stenographers as commissioners to administer oaths and take depositions."

Approved March 26, 1873, Laws of Pennsylvania 1873, page 48. "Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the judges of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, and the judges of the district court, court of common pleas, orphans' court and register's court, and the judges of the court of oyer and terminer and quarter sessions of the peace, for the city and county of Philadelphia, be and the same are hereby authorized and empowered to appoint one or more stenographers, as commissioners to administer oaths and take depositions to be read in the trial of causes in the said courts, and upon motions, rules, petitions and other matters that may be brought before the said courts: Provided, That the said commission or commissioners so appointed as aforesaid, shall be duly sworn by the president judge of the respective courts, to make true and faithful reports of the testimony taken before them as such commissioners: And provided further, That the judges of the said courts shall not appoint any stenographer as a commissioner under this act, who shall not produce a certificate, signed by at least ten members of the Philadelphia bar, in good standing, that said applicant for appointment is duly qualified to perform the duties of said office."

CHAPTER VIII

Statutes under the Constitution of 1874

The constitution of 1874 was adopted in November, 1873, and provided that it should be in force from the first day of January, 1874, for all purposes not otherwise provided for therein. (See Constitution Laws of Pennsylvania 1874, page 3.)

Article V, page 13, fixes the number of Supreme Court judges at seven, and their term of office at twenty-one years, and they cannot again be eligible to the office. The oldest in commission shall be Chief Justice.

Section three provides that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court shall extend over the State, and the judges thereof shall, by virtue of their offices, be justices of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery in the several counties; they shall have original jurisdiction in cases of injunction where a corporation is a party defendant, of habeas corpus, of mandamus to courts of inferior jurisdiction, and of quo warranto as to all officers of the Commonwealth whose jurisdiction extends over the State, but shall not exercise any other original jurisdiction; they shall have appellate jurisdiction by appeal, certiorari, or writ of error in all cases, as is now or may hereafter be provided by law.

Section sixteen provides that whenever two judges of the Supreme Court are to be chosen for the same term of service each voter shall vote for one only, and when three are to be chosen he shall vote for no more than two; candidates highest in vote shall be declared elected.

Section seventeen provides that when two or more judges of the Supreme Court are elected at the same time they shall cast lots for priority of commission.

Section eighteen provides that the judges of the Supreme Court and the judges of the several courts of common pleas, and all other judges required to be learned in the law, shall at stated times receive for their services an adequate compensation, which shall be fixed by law, and paid by the State. They shall receive no other compensation, fees or perquisites of office for their services from any source, nor hold any other office of profit under the United States, this State or any other State.

Section twenty-one abolishes the court of nisi prius and provides that no court of original jurisdiction to be presided over by any one or more of the judges of the Supreme Court shall be established.

Section twenty-four provides that in all cases of felonious homicide, and in such other criminal cases as may be provided for by law, the accused after conviction and sentence, may remove the indictment, record and all proceedings to the Supreme Court for review. It was a question whether the Supreme Court still had jurisdiction in criminal cases not specially given by this constitution. The question was settled by the decision of the Supreme Court on January 4, 1886, in Commonwealth v. Balph, III Pa., page 365, where it is held: "The Supreme Court of this Commonwealth has power to issue a writ of certiorari to the court of Quarter Sessions of any of the counties to remove a pending indictment, and all proceedings thereon into the Supreme Court. It has the power of Kings bench in criminal cases."

The constitution of 1874 did not repeal the act of 16th of June, 1836, nor the act of 31st March, 1860, conferring upon the Supreme Court the power to remove criminal cases into that court by certiorari.

"The Supreme Court has power to send a criminal case removed into that court by certiorari down to another county for trial, and if necessary before any of the judges of the Supreme Court. Each judge of the Supreme Court has power to sit and try indictments in any county of the Commonwealth." Since this decision, cases have frequently been moved from county session courts into the Supreme Court, and from there sent by that court into another county for trial. In all of these cases the evidence was ample that the defendant could not get justice in the court where the indictment was found.

"A SUPPLEMENT

"To an act to establish the judicial courts of this commonwealth in conformity to the alterations and amendments in the constitution, passed thirteenth April, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, limiting the time for taking writs of error, appeal and certiorari to the supreme court."

Approved April 1, 1874, Laws of Pennsylvania 1874, page 50. "Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That from and after the date of the passage of this act, no fine or common recovery, nor any