acknowledgment and proof of any deed, mortgage or conveyance of any lands, tenements, or real property, lying and being in the State of Louisiana, and to take the acknowledgment and proof of the execution of any instrument of writing for the sale, transfer or assignment of any property, movable or immovable, and of rights and debts, and also of any power of attorney or other writing to be used or proved in this State, before any court or public officer, and to administer an oath or affirmation for like purposes to any person desirous to make the same. 3. [SEC. 598.] The Commissioners are authorized and empowered to authenticate and attest the signature, official capacity and official acts of any Judge, Justice of the Peace, or other public officer holding a commission or acting under the authority of the State or Territory in which he shall reside, and for which he shall have been appointed. their powers. 4. [SEC. 599.] The power and authority of the Commissioner, except in taking testimony under a commission, shall extend only to Limitation of cases in which the party or person making the acknowledgment or proof, oath or affirmation, shall reside within the State or Territory in which the Commissioner resides, and for which he has been appointed. commissions, the laws of this State. 5. [SEC. 600.] The Commissioners in executing commissions shall conform in all respects to the legislation of this State in refer- In executing ence thereto, and shall sign every verbal process or deposition taken to conform to by them, and affix thereto their seal of office, bearing the impress of their names, official capacity, and the name of the State or Territory within the jurisdiction of which they shall be authorized to act. 6. [SEC. 601.] The duplicate original of the signature and seal of office of each Commissioner appointed in the different States and Territories of the Union shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State of Louisiana. Duplicates of and seal to be the signature deposited with the Secretary of State. authorized to 7. [SEC. 602.] All American Ministers, Chargés d'Affaires, Consuls General, Consuls, Vice Consuls and Commercial Agents, in any Certain officers foreign country, are authorized to act as Commissioners under this act as Commisact, and empowered to use their respective seals of office instead of the Commissioner's seal hereinbefore described. sioners. ment before to be authentic 8. [SEC. 603.] Every acknowledgment or proof of any deed, conveyance, mortgage, sale, transfer, or assignment, oath or affirma- Acknowledgtion, taken or made before a Commissioner, Minister, Chargé d'Af- Commissioners faires, Consul General, Consul, Vice Consul or Commercial Agent, evidence. and every attestation or authentication made by them, when duly certified as above provided, shall have the force and effect of an authentic act executed in this State. Testimony in this State to be used in other States, how taken. 9. [SEC. 604.] Whenever it shall be necessary to take the deposition of witnesses in this State under commission from any other State or Territory, to be used as evidence in suits depending therein, it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace within this State, on the application to that effect made by the Commissioner of such State or Territory, to use, if necessary, the same compulsory process to cause witnesses to appear and depose as in cases arising under the jurisdiction of any of the courts of this State. 1868-114. 1. [SEC. 614.] In the several parishes of the State, (the parish of Orleans excepted), the Clerks of the several District Courts of may take depo- the several parishes of the State be and they are hereby constituted Commissioners for the taking of depositions of witnesses to be used in any of the courts of this State. sitions in certain cases. apply to the Clerk. 2. [SEC. 615.] Whenever a party to a suit pending in any of Applicant shall the courts of this State shall desire to have the depositions of witnesses, on whose testimony he relies, taken in writing, said party shall apply to the Clerk of the court in which said suit is pending, to take the testimony of his witnesses in writing, and thereupon said Clerk shall proceed to take the testimony of such witnesses in writing, either by himself or some other disinterested person, in his presence, after giving to the opposite party or parties, or their attorneys, at least two days' previous notice of the time and place specified in said notice; and if the party or his counsel reside out of the parish, ten days' notice shall be given, to date from the verified. service of notice; which depositions, when so reduced to writing, as aforesaid, shall be sworn to and signed, by each witness, if he knows how to write, if not, by his ordinary mark, attested by the Testimony, how Clerk taking the same, which depositions, when so taken, shall be certified to by the Clerk taking the same, under the seal of the court attached thereto, and forthwith filed in the records of the suit. objection to tes 3. [SEC. 616.] Should any objection be made by either of the parties, or their attorneys, to the taking of any part or the whole of Parties making the deposition of any witness, it shall be the duty of the Clerk to timony. take down the question of the party, the answer of the witness thereto, as well as the objections made to the same, stating by whom such objection is made, as a part of the proceedings had, the regularity of which or any part of which objection shall be determined by the court in which the depositions are to be made on the trial of the cause. be used as testi mony on trial. 4. [SEC. 617.] All depositions of witnesses taken as aforesaid, shall be evidence for either party desiring to use the same on the Depositions to trial of the suit in which they are taken, subject to the rejection by the court of such portion or the whole thereof, as may have been objected to at the taking of the same, or such other legal objection as may be made to the introduction thereof at the trial of the cause. 5. [SEC. 618.] For the purpose of carrying this act into effect, the Clerks of the courts be and they are hereby empowered to compel attendance of witnesses by subpena or attachment, as the case may be, issued in the case and in the name of the court where the testimony is to be taken. Clerks may com. pel attendance of witnesses. stable shall serve subpenas. 6. [SEC. 619.] All notices, subpenas or attachments issued by said Clerk shall be served by the Sheriff of the parish or by his Sheriff or ConDeputy, or by a Constable, in case of the absence of the Sheriff or his Deputy, who shall make due return of the mode and manner of the service. of Clerk. 7. [SEC. 620.] The Sheriff or Constable serving such notice, subpena or attachment shall be entitled to charge the same fees and Fees for services mileage allowed by the fee bill for serving subpenas, and the Clerk taking such depositions shall be allowed to charge and receive the following fees, and no more, to wit: For issuing each notice to parties, with seal, twenty-five cents, including copy of the same. For issuing each subpena or attachment, with seal, twenty-five cents, including copy of the same. For swearing each witness, twenty cents. For writing each caption and deposition of each witness and certificate, for each one hundred words, twenty cents. For affixing seal, twenty-five cents, which fee shall be charged like other costs, with the costs of the suit in which they are taken. 8. [SEC. 621.] For the purposes of this act within the parish of Notaries and Orleans, any Notary Public or Clerk of a District Court is hereby Clerks in the parish of Orappointed Commissioner to take testimony of witnesses in suits leans appointed Commissioners. pending in the courts of the parish of Orleans, before either of whom the parties to any suit pending in any court of the parish of Orleans may proceed to have the testimony of witnesses taken in the mode and manner hereinbefore specified, and said Commissioners shall be vested with all the powers herein granted to the Clerks of the courts out of the parish of Orleans; and provided that said Commissioners, or either of them, may proceed to take such deposition, on giving twenty-four hours' notice to the opposite party, or his counsel, of the time and place of taking the deposition; for this purpose Notaries Public are authorized to administer oaths and to execute commissions to take testimony issued from other States or parishes of this State in the manner required by law. Depositions to be sent to court. 9. [SEC. 622.] Said Commissioners shall, on the completion of the deposition taken before them, securely inclose the same in an envelop and deliver the same to the Clerk of the court in which the suit is pending. 10. [SEC. 623.] The Sheriff of the parish of Orleans, or any of Fees for services his lawful Deputies, or any Constable of said parish shall serve all of Sheriff or Constable in parish of Orleans. Fees of Commissioners. notices, subpenas, attachments or other process herein authorized to 11. [SEC. 624.] Each of said Commissioners shall be authorized to charge and receive the following fees, and no more, to wit: For issuing each notice, twenty-five cents, including copy of the same. For each subpena or attachment, twenty-five cents, including copy of the same. For writing depositions of witnesses, with caption and certificate, for each one hundred words, twenty cents. For affixing official seal, twenty-five cents. For swearing each witness, twenty cents, to be charged like other costs, with the costs of the suit in which the testimony is taken; the above fees and no more may be charged when executing commissions from other parishes or States. may be brought 12. [SEC. 625.] Any party to a suit or proceeding in any court of this State shall have the right to have the personal attendance of How witnesses any witness in open court, on the trial of his case, by his filing in into court. the suit his application for a subpena for any such witness, accompanied by the affidavit of himself or his attorney, that the personal attendance of such witness in open court on the trial of the case is necessary, in order to elicit the truth from such witness, which can not be done by taking his deposition out of court, and in all cases where a jury is prayed for and granted by the court, the party shall be entitled to have the witnesses subpenaed to attend in open court without the above affidavit, if he shall so desire in writing filed in the suit. witnesses may be brought into court in the par ish of Orleans. 13. [SEC. 626.] Any party to a suit or proceeding in any of the courts of this State in the parish of Orleans shall have the right to 1869-130. have the personal attendance of any witnesses in open court, in the In what trial of his case or proceeding, by subpenaing the witness to attend on the trial, unless the testimony of such witness has before the trial been taken contradictorily with the parties according to the provisions of an act entiled "An Act to provide for taking the testimony of witnesses in suits pending in the courts of this State," approved September sixteen, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and it shall be the duty of all courts in this State to call and hear the testimony of all competent witnesses in any case or proceeding in open court when the witness appears to give testimony, whether he is subpenaed or not; such testimony shall be taken in writing in all cases when by law it is required to be so taken. 1. [SEC. 630.] The State of Louisiana is divided into five Con 1868-46. gressional Districts, and the qualified electors of each District shall Congressional choose one Representative to Congress, as follows: Districts. |