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Georgia, such persons now undergoing sentences of confinement, imposed by the United States courts, in other institutions, as can conveniently be accommodated therein:

Limit of employ- Provided further, That convicts in said United States penitentiary ment of convict at Atlanta, Georgia, may be employed in the manufacture of articles and the production of supplies for said penitentiary; in the manufacture of supplies for the Government that can be manufactured without the use of machinery; in the construction, extension, and repairs of buildings and inclosures of the prison, and in making necessary materials therefor; and in the cultivation and care of the prison grounds and farm.

Arid lands.

-when time tion by States be

limit for reclama

gins to run.

On failure to reclaim, time may

* *

SEC. 3. (13) That section four of the Act of August eighteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, entitled "An Act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes," is hereby amended so that the ten years' period within which any State shall cause the lands applied for under said Act to be irrigated and reclaimed, as provided in said section as amended by the Act of June eleventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, shall begin to run from the date of approval by the Secretary of the Interior of the State's application for the segregation of such lands;

and if the State fails within said ten years to cause the whole or be extended or any part of the lands so segregated to be so irrigated and reclaimed, lands restored to the Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, continue said segpublic domain. regation for a period of not exceeding five years, or may, in his discretion, restore such lands to the public domain. 1901.]

*

[March 3,

NOTE. (13) See the provisions here referred to, 1894, August 18, ch. 301, § 4 (2 Supp. R. S., 259), and 1896, June 11, ch. 420, par. 4 (2 Supp. R. S., 525).

March 3, 1901.

31 Stat. L., 1189. Dist. Columbia. Code of law es

tablished.

Rules of interpretation.

CHAP. 854.-An Act To establish a code of law for the District of Columbia.

Be it enacted, &c., That the following is hereby enacted and declared to be a code of law for the District of Columbia, to go into effect and operation from and after the first day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and two.

2. And be it further enacted, That in the interpretation and construction of said code the following rules shall be observed, namely:

First. Words importing the singular number shall be held to include the plural, and vice versa, except where such construction would be unreasonable.

Second. Words importing the masculine gender shall be held to include all genders, except where such construction would be absurd or unreasonable.

Third. The word "person" shall be held to apply to partnerships and corporations, unless such construction would be unreasonable, and the reference to any officer shall include any person authorized by law to perform the duties of his office, unless the context shows that such words were intended to be used in a more limited sense.

Fourth. Wherever the word "executor" is used it shall include "administrator," and vice versa, unless such application of the term would be unreasonable.

Fifth. Wherever an oath is required an affirmation in judicial form, if made by a person conscientiously scrupulous about taking an oath, shall be deemed a sufficient compliance.

Sixth. The words "insane person" and "lunatic" shall include every idiot, non compos, lunatic, and insane person.

CHAPTER ONE.

LAWS REMAINING IN FORCE.

Laws remaining

SECTION 1. The common law, all British statutes in force in Maryland on the twenty-seventh day of February, eighteen hundred and in force. one, the principles of equity and admiralty, all general acts of Congress not locally inapplicable in the District of Columbia, and all acts of Congress by their terms applicable to the District of Columbia and to other places under the jurisdiction of the United States, in force at the date of the passage of this act shall remain in force except in so far as the same are inconsistent with, or are replaced by, some provision of this code.

THE JUDICIARY.

SEC. 2. The judicial power in the District shall continue as at present to be vested in

First. Inferior courts, namely, justices of the peace and the police court; and

Second. Superior courts, namely, the supreme court of the District of Columbia, the court of appeals of the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

SUBCHAPTER ONE.

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

The judiciary.

inferior courts.

superior courts.

Justices of the peace.

SEC. 3. APPOINTMENT AND QUALIFICATIONS.-There shall be ten jus- Appointment. tices of the peace in the District, who shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of four years, unless sooner removed as provided by law:

Provided, That no person shall be appointed to said office unless Qualifications. he shall have been a bona fide resident of said District for the continuous period of at least five years immediately preceding his appointment, and shall either have held the office of justice of the peace in said District for a period of at least two years or shall have been engaged in the actual practice of law before the supreme court of the District for a period of at least five years prior to his appointment. Each of said justices before entering upon the duties of his office shall take an oath for the faithful and impartial performance of the duties. of his office, and shall give bond in such form, in such penalty, and with such surety or sureties as may be prescribed by the supreme court of the District. And said supreme court shall divide the said District into ten subdistricts and prescribe the place in each subdistrict where vision of District the justice thereof shall have his office for the transaction of business, into, etc. and may change the boundaries of such subdistricts and the localities of the offices of the justices therein from time to time as the volume and convenience of the business may require.

SEC. 4. SUBDISTRICTS.-No justice of the peace shall sit for the trial of causes in any subdistrict other than the one in which his office is situated:

Subdistricts, di

Justice to sit only where office

is located.

-certain tempo

Provided, That in case the office of any justice of the peace shall become vacant by death or otherwise, the said supreme court, or any rary assignments justice thereof, may designate one of the other justices to preside tem- excepted. porarily in that subdistrict until the vacancy shall be filled:

And provided further, That if any justice of the peace shall be disqualified to act by reason of interest, illness, or other cause, any other

Suits to be brought in subdistrict of resident.

-against two or

justice of the peace of the District, on the written request of the justice so disqualified, may preside in his absence, or, if no such written request be made, such justice as may be designated by the said supreme court, or one of the justices thereof, shall preside.

SEC. 5. No resident of the District shall be sued in any subdistrict other than the one in which he resides, and no nonresident of the District having a place of business therein shall be sued in any subdistrict other than the one in which such place of business is situated:

Provided, That where two or more persons are sued together the suit more corporations. may be brought in the subdistrict in which any one of the defendants resides. When a corporation is a defendant, its place of business shall be deemed its residence for the purpose of this section, and if it shall have in the District more than one place of business the suit may be brought in the subdistrict in which any one of its places of business is situated.

etc.

Salary, etc.

Jury trials.

Should a suit be brought against any party or corporation in any district in which he or it does not reside or hold business, and a plea to the jurisdiction on this account be filed by said defendant, the party or corporation interposing such plea shall disclose under oath the district in which he or it should have been sued; and the justice, upon sustaining such plea, shall certify the cause for trial to the justice sitting in the district where suit should have been instituted; and should no such plea be filed before trial the justice shall be deemed to have had full jurisdiction. In any suit brought before a justice of the peace the defendant, his agent or attorney, may have the cause removed to the next nearest justice, upon filing an affidavit with the justice issuing the writ, on the return day or day of trial of the action, that he does not believe said justice will give him a fair and impartial trial.

SEC. 6. SALARY.-Each of said justices of the peace shall receive an annual salary of three thousand dollars, and the further sum of two hundred and fifty dollars annually for rent, stationery, and other expenses, to be paid monthly by the District of Columbia; and he shall render monthly accounts to the auditor of the District of Columbia of all moneys received by him for fees, and shall pay over such fees to the collector of said District and take his receipt in duplicate therefor, and file one of them with said auditor and retain the other in his office, and the money so collected shall be disposed of by said collector as other moneys belonging to the said District are.

SEC. 7. JURY TRIALS.-Trial by jury before justices of the peace is hereby abolished.

Supreme court SEC. 8. RULES AND FEES. The supreme court of the District of District of Colum- Columbia in general term shall make rules regulating the practice and bia to make rules, pleading before justices of the peace, and in relation to appeals from their judgments, not inconsistent with law, and may alter and amend the same from time to time, and shall also fix the fees to be charged by said justices of the peace, and alter them from time to time as justice may require:

Fees.

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Removal to Provided, That in all cases of concurrent jurisdiction the defendant supreme court Dis- may remove the case for trial into the supreme court of the District trict of Columbia, by a writ of certiorari (to be awarded by said court or one of the where jurisdiction justices thereof upon a petition under oath, the form and substance

concurrent.

Jurisdiction.

whereof shall be prescribed by said court).

SEC. 9. JURISDICTION. The said justices of the place shall have jurisdiction in all civil cases in which the amount claimed to be due for debt or damages arising out of contracts, express or implied, or damages for wrongs or injuries to persons or property, does not exceed three hundred dollars, including all proceedings by attachment or in replevin where the amount claimed or the value of the property involved does not exceed said sum, except in cases involving the title

to real estate, actions to recover damages for assault or assault and battery, or for malicious prosecution, or actions against justices of the peace or other officers for official misconduct, or actions for slander or libel, or actions on promises to marry; and said jurisdiction shall be exclusive when the amount claimed for debt or damages or the value of personal property claimed does not exceed fifty dollars, and concurrent with the said supreme court when it exceeds fifty dollars. SEC. 10. TRESPASS.-The said jurisdiction of justices of the peace shall extend to cases of trespass upon or injury to real estate:

Provided, That if the defendant shall file with the justice an affidavit that he claims title or acts under a person claiming title to the real estate, setting forth the nature of his title, the justice shall take no further cognizance of the case.

SEC. 11. NONRESIDENTS.-Nonresidents shall not commence a suit before a justice of the peace without first giving security for costs.

SEC. 12. JUDGMENTS.-It shall be lawful for any justice of the peace, in all cases within his jurisdiction, to try, hear, and determine the matter in controversy between the parties upon their allegations and proofs, and to give judgment according to law; and all judgments for money rendered by them shall bear interest from their date until paid or satisfied, unless by the terms of the judgment interest runs from an earlier date.

SEC. 13. REPLEVIN.-A justice of the peace shall have authority to issue a writ of replevin whenever a plaintiff shall file with him a declaration in replevin, in the following or an equivalent form, to wit: "The plaintiff sues the defendant for wrongfully taking and detaining (or wrongfully detaining) his, said plaintiff's, goods and chattels, to wit (here describe them), of the value of dollars. And the plaintiff claims that the same may be taken and delivered to him, or, if they are eloigned, that he may have judgment for their value and all mesne profits and damages, which he estimates at dollars, besides costs." And at the same time said plaintiff, his agent, or attorney shall file an affidavit stating, first, that, according to affiant's information and belief, the plaintiff is entitled to recover possession of the chattels described in the declaration; secondly, that the defendant has seized and detains or detains the same; thirdly, that said chattels were not subject to such seizure or detention, and were not taken under any writ of replevin; fourthly, that said chattels are not of the value of more than three hundred dollars; and at the same time the plaintiff shall enter into an undertaking, with surety approved by said justice, submitting to the jurisdiction of the court, to abide by and perform the judgment of said justice's court or of the supreme court of the District of Columbia.

SEC. 14. OFFICER'S RETURN.-If the officer's return of the writ of replevin be that he has served the defendant with copies of the declaration, affidavit, and summons, but that he could not get possession of the goods and chattels sued for, the plaintiff may prosecute the action for the value of the goods and damages for the detention, not to exceed in all three hundred dollars, or he may renew the writ, in order to get possession of the goods and chattels themselves.

SEC. 15. PUBLICATION. If the officer's return be that he has taken possession of the goods and chattels sued for, but that the defendant is not to be found, the said justice may order that the defendant appear to the action by some fixed day, and cause notice of such order to be given by publication in some newspaper of said District at least three times, the first publication to be at least twenty days before the day fixed for the defendant's appearance; and if the defendant fails to appear, the court may proceed, as in case of default after personal service, to render judgment for the property in favor of the plaintiff.

--exclusive.

-concurrent.

-to include trespass, etc. qualification.

Nonresidents to

give security for

costs.

Judgments.

Replevin.

-form.

Officer's return.

Publication.

Pleas.

Marshal to re

SEC. 16. PLEAS.-If the defendant appears, he may plead not guilty, in which case all matters of defense may be given in evidence, or he may plead specially.

SEC. 17. MARSHAL TO RETAIN PROPERTY.-Property taken by the tain property, etc. marshal under a writ of replevin, issued by a justice of the peace, shall be retained by him for three days, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, before delivering the same to the plaintiff, in order that the defendant or other persons claiming an interest therein may present objections to the said justice to the sufficiency of the security on the undertaking or the jurisdiction of said justice, and if the said justice shall deem said undertaking insufficient, such property may be directed to be retained by the marshal for a further short time, to be designated by said justice, until an undertaking to be approved by him shall be filed, in default of which the marshal shall return the property to the person from whom it was taken; or if it shall be made to appear to the said justice that the property is of the value of over three hundred dollars he shall quash the writ of replevin and direct the property to be returned to the party out of whose possession it was taken.

Damages for plaintiff.

Judgment defendant.

SEC. 18. DAMAGES FOR PLAINTIFF. Whether the defendant plead and the issue joined be found against him, or his plea be held bad, or he make default after personal service, the plaintiff's damages shall be the full value of the goods, not to exceed three hundred dollars, if eloigned by the defendant, and damages for the detention thereof, and judgment shall be given accordingly.

for SEC. 19. JUDGMENT FOR DEFENDANT.-If the issue be found for the defendant, or the plaintiff shall dismiss or fail to prosecute his suit, the judgment shall be that the goods, if delivered to the plaintiff, be returned to the defendant, with damages for their detention, or, on failure, that the defendant recover from the plaintiff and his surety the damages sustained by him, to be assessed by the justice.

Forcible entry and detainer.

SEC. 20. FORCIBLE ENTRY AND DETAINER. Whenever any person shall forcibly enter and detain any building or inclosed real property, or shall unlawfully, but without force, enter and unlawfully and forcibly detain the same, or whenever any tenant shall unlawfully detain possession of the property leased to him, after his tenancy therein has expired, or any mortgagor or grantor in a mortgage or deed of trust to secure a debt, shall unlawfully detain the possession of the real property conveyed, after a sale thereof under such deed of trust or a foreclosure of the mortgage, or any person claiming under such mortgagor or grantor, after the date of the mortgage or deed of trust, shall so detain the same, or a judgment debtor or any person claiming under him, since the date of the judgment, shall so detain possession of real property, after a sale thereof under an execution issued on such judgment, it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace, on complaint -issue of sum- under oath by the person aggrieved by said unlawful detention, to issue a summons to the party complained of to appear and show cause why judgment should not be given against him for the restitution of the possession.

mons.

-service, etc.

Judgment.

SEC. 21. SUMMONS.-The summons shall be served seven days, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, before the day fixed for the trial of the action. If the defendant has left the District of Columbia, or can not be found, said summons may be served by delivering a copy thereof to the tenant, or by leaving the same with some person above the age of sixteen years residing on or in possession of the premises sought to be recovered, and if no one be in actual possession of said premises, or residing thereon, by posting a copy of said summons on the premises where it may be conveniently read.

SEC. 22. JUDGMENT.-If upon the trial it appears that the plaintiff is entitled to the possession of the premises, judgment and execution for the possession shall be awarded in his favor, with costs; if the

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