SEC. 4. That section thirty-one of said act be amended by striking out the words "three months," where they occur in the sixth line, as found in said printed acts of 1867, in said section thirty-one, and insert, instead thereof, "four weeks." Also, amend said section by striking out the word "at," where it occurs in said section, as printed in the fourteenth line, and insert, in lieu thereof, the words "sixty days after." Also, amend said section, by striking out all of said section in relation to the appointment of an attorney by the court for a non-resident defendant.

SEC. 5. That section forty-two of said act be amended by adding the following to said section: "Provided, That a demurrer and answer shall in no case be filed at the same time to the same cause of action, but demurrers must be disposed of before any other pleading to the same cause of action shall be filed."

SEC. 6. That section forty-six of said act be and the same is hereby repealed.

SEC. 7. That the answer of the defendant shall contain a specific denial to each allegation in the complaint, intended to be controverted by the defendant, and may contain a statement of any matter in avoidance, or a counter-claim, a set-off as defense to any of the allegations in the plaintiff's complaint.

SEC. 8. That section fifty-five of said act be and the same is hereby repealed.

SEC. 9. That in all cases of the verification, the affidavit of a party, his agent or attorney, shall state that he has reason to believe, and does believe, that the matters as stated in the pleadings are true.

SEC. 10. That sections one hundred and twenty, one hundred and twenty-one, and one hundred and twenty-two, of said act, be and the same are hereby repealed.

SEC. 11. That the plaintiff or plaintiffs, at the time of issuing the summons, or at any time afterwards, may have the property of the defendant, not exempt from execution, attached as security for the satisfaction of any judgment that may be recovered in said action, unless the defendant give good and sufficient security to secure the payment of said judgment: Provided, That no writ of attachment shall be issued until the plaintiff, his agent or attorney, shall file with the clerk an affidavit, showing that the defendant

is indebted to the plaintiff upon a contract, express or implied, for the payment of money, gold dust or other property, then due, which is not secured by a mortgage lien, or pledge upon real or personal property, stating the amount of such indebtedness, (as near as may be.)

SEC. 12. That before issuing the writ of attachment, the clerk shall require a written undertaking upon the part of the plaintiff, to be filed, in a sum not less than double the amount claimed by the plaintiff, with sufficient sureties, (who shall be resident freeholders or householders in the county where the action is commenced,) to the effect that if the defendant recover judgment, the plaintiff will pay all costs that may be awarded to the defendant, and all damages which he may sustain by reason of the attachment, not to exceed the sum specified in the undertaking, which undertaking shall be approved by the clerk. Said sureties may be required to justify before the clerk, to the effect that each for himself is worth the amount specified in the undertaking, over and above his debts and liabilities, in property exempt from execution, in the county where the action is commenced.

SEC. 13. That actions may be commenced and writs of attachment issued upon any debt for the payment of money, or specific property, before the same shall have become due, when it shall appear by the affidavit, in addition to what is required in section ten of this act: First, that the defendant is leaving or is about to leave this territory, taking with him or her, property, moneys or other effects, that might be subject to the payment of the debt; second, that the defendant is disposing of his property, or is about to dispose of his property, subject to execution, for the purpose of defrauding his creditors: Provided, That any judgment obtained under the provisions of this section, shall be with a rebatement of the interest from the time said judgment is rendered until the time at which said debt would have become due: And provided, also, That the defendant may by plea put in issue the matters alleged in the affidavit herein required, and if the plaintiff fail to substantiate some one of the causes required to be in said affidavit, the suit for debt or debts not due shall abate.

SEC. 14. That section one hundred and seventy-three of the

act which this is intended to amend, be and the same is hereby repealed.

SEC. 15. That when a verdict is given, and is not informal or insufficient, the clerk shall immediately record it in full in the minutes, and shall read it to the jury, and inquire of them whether it is their verdict. If any juror disagree, should it be upon a trial of a person charged with a felony or misdemeanor, the jury shall again be sent out; but in all civil cases, if threefourths of the jurors agree upon a verdict, it shall stand and have the same force and effect as if agreed upon by the whole of the jurors.

SEC. 16. That sections 408, 409, 410, and 411, of said act, be and the same are hereby repealed.

SEC. 17. That any party to an action in any of the courts of this territory may have the depositions of witnesses taken out of this territory, before any person authorized to administer oaths by the laws of the territory, state or government where taken, upon serving the adverse party with notice, as required in section four hundred and four of the act to which this is amendatory; and said depositions shall be subject to all the objections and restrictions provided by said act for the taking and using deposi tions in this territory, except that if taken by any officer other than a court, or clerk of a court, having a seal, there shall be appended a certificate of a court, or clerk, having a seal, certifying that such officer before whom the deposition was taken, was, at the time said deposition was taken, authorized to administer oaths according to the laws in force in said government, state, territory, or the District of Columbia.

SEC. 18. That section four hundred and sixty-eight be amended so as to read: "The judgment and order of the court, or judge, made in cases of contempt, shall be final and conclusive. The punishment shall be by fine and imprisonment, but no fine shall exceed the sum of five hundred dollars."

SEC. 19. That an act amendatory of "An Act to regulate proceedings in civil cases, in the courts of justice in Montana territory," approved December 24, 1867, and all other acts and parts of acts, in conflict with the provisions of this act, be and the same are hereby repealed.

SEC. 20. This act to take effect and be in force from and after

AN ACT to amend an Act entitled "An Act to regulate Proceedings in Civil Cases, in the Courts of Justice of Montana Territory."

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Montana:

SECTION 1. That sections one hundred and thirty-six and one hundred and thirty-seven of an act entitled "An Act to regulate proceedings in civil cases, in the courts of justice of Montana territory," be so amended as to read as follows: "SECTION 136. The defendant may at any time release any property in the hands of the sheriff by virtue of any writ of attachment, by executing an undertaking as provided for in the next section, and all the proceeds of sales and money collected by the sheriff, and all the property attached remaining in his hands, shall be released from the attachment and delivered to the defendant, upon the justification of the sureties on the undertaking."

SEC. 2. That section one hundred and thirty-seven shall read -"Before releasing such attached property as aforesaid to the defendant, the sheriff shall require an undertaking, executed by the defendant and at least two sureties, residents and freeholders, or householders in the county, to the effect that in case the plaintiff recover judgment in the action, defendant will, on demand, redeliver such attached property so released to the proper officer, to be applied to the payment of the judgment, and that in default thereof, the defendant and sureties will pay to the plaintiff the full value of the property so released. The sheriff may fix the sum for which the undertaking shall be executed, and if necessary, in fixing such sum, to know the value of the property released, the same may be appraised by three disinterested persons, to be appointed by the sheriff. And if any sheriff shall release any property held by him under or by virtue of any writ of attachment, without first taking such bond as herein required,

he and his sureties shall be liable for the value of such property so released."

SEC. 3. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act be and the same are hereby repealed.

SEC. 4.

its passage.

This act to take effect and be in force from and after

Approved January 15, 1869.

AN ACT to regulate Appeals from the Probate to the District Court of the Territory of Montana.

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Montana :

SECTION 1. Any party, feeling aggrieved by the judgment of the probate court, may appeal therefrom to the district court for the county in which said probate court is held, or to which it may be attached for judicial purposes. The party appealing shall be known as the appellant, and the adverse party as the respondent.

SEC. 2. All appeals taken by virtue of the provisions of this act, shall be perfected within thirty days from the rendition of the judgment appealed from, and shall be tried de novo, in said district

court.

SEC. 3. The appeal shall be taken by filing with the clerk of the court in which the judgment appealed from is entered, or with the judge of said court, if there be no clerk, a notice stating the appeal from the same, and serving a copy of such notice upon the adverse party or his attorney.

SEC. 4. The party appealing shall file with the judge or clerk of said court, within five days from the filing of the notice of appeal, as provided in section three of this act, an undertaking in double the amount of the judgment appealed from, or if the judgment be for the recovery of specific personal property, in double the value of such property, with at least two sufficient sureties, and conditioned that the party appealing will pay any judgment that may be rendered against him in the district court, as well as all costs that may be awarded against him, and for the prosecution of such appeal with effect.