Sec. 85.-Formation of Association.-By-Laws. The officers of any regiment, or battalion or squadron not part of a regiment, and members of any troop, battery, company, signal corps, hospital corps, or field music may organize themselves into an association, of which the commanding officer shall be president, and by a vote of two-thirds of all their members, form by-laws, rules, and regulations not inconsistent with this chapter, and which. conform to the system prescribed in general regulations and be submitted to the commanding officer of the national guard for his approval, and, when approved by him, such by-laws, rules and regulations shall be binding upon all commissioned officers and enlisted men therein, but they may be altered in the manner provided for their adoption, from time to time, as may be found necessary. Sec. 86.-Violation of By-Laws.-Expulsion. For violation of by-laws, rules and regulations of associations organized pursuant to this chapter, enlisted men, in addition to trial by a military court, may also be expelled from the organizations to which they belong by a vote of the majority of all its members, and upon such action being confirmed in orders by the commanding officer of the regiment, battalion or squadron not part of a regiment, and in case of an organization not part of a regiment, battalion or squadron by the officer to whose command it is attached, the name of such person shall be stricken from the roll of the organization of which he was a member, his certificate of membership shall be surrendered and cancelled, and he shall cease to be a member thereof, and his time of service in the same shall not be allowed. Sec. 87.-Rules and Regulations. The governor is hereby authorized to make such rules and regulations as he may deem expedient, but such rules and regulations shall conform to this act, and, as nearly as practicable to those governing the United States army, and when promulgated shall have the same force and effect as the provisions of this chapter. Such rules and regulations shall not be repealed, altered, amended, or added to, except by the commanding officer of the national guard with the approval of the governor. The rules and regulations in force at the time of the passage of this chapter shall remain in force until new rules and regulations are approved and promulgated. The United States army regulations and articles of war now in force, and those which may hereafter be in force, are hereby adopted, so far as the same may be practicable, for the government, regulation and discipline of the national guard of New Mexico. Sec, 88.-Custom and Usage of the United States Army. All matters relating to the organization, discipline and government of the national guard, not otherwise provided for in this act or in the general regulations, shall be decided by the custom and usage of the United States army. Sec. 89.-Repealer. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. Whereas owing to the necessities of the service an emergency exists, therefore this act shall take effect upon the approval of the same by the governor." CHAPTER 102. AN ACT CREATING THE OFFICE OF TERRITORIAL IRRIGATION ENGINEER, TO PROMOTE IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVE THE WATERS OF NEW MEXICO FOR THE IRRIGATION OF LANDS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. A. H. B. No. 98; Approved March 16, 1905. Sec. 4. Amount of water allowed. Sec. 6. Proviso. Sec. 11. Oath. Bond. Sec. 14. Sec. 15. Natural waters belong to public. Standard of measurement of flow and volume of water. Water unused for four years regarded as unappropriated public water. Means of diversion of water may be changed. Owners to keep irrigation works in good repair. Violation, a misdemeanor. When irrigation works exempt from taxation. Provisos. Right of eminent domain for irrigation purposes. Water rights to pass with land appurtenant thereto. Right held subject to Office of territorial irrigation engineer created. Compensation of engineer. Office expenses. Proviso. Sec. 16. Engineer to make rules and regulations. Sec. 17. Duties of territorial irrigation engineer. Solicitor general to be legal advisor of board of control. Sec. 19. Plan for construction of irrigation works to be approved by engineer. Pro Sec. 20. visos. Engineer to inspect dams. Procedure when owners of dams fail to repair. Sec. 21. Clerk of each county to forward to engineer transcript of record relating to water rights. Proviso. Waters to be utilized by United States, not subject to appropriation under Sec. 22. Sec. 23. Sec. 24. Irrigation commissioners. Board of control. Organization. Sec. 25. Irrigation commissioner to take oath and give bond. Compensation. Sec. 26. Sec. 29. Sec. 30. Sec. 33. Appeals. Method and manner of adjudication of water rights by board of control. Commissioner to take testimony. Proviso. Rights to contest evidence. Hearing in contest to be before commissioner. Sec. 35. Engineer to make examination and measurement of streams and diversion marks. Sec. 36. Board of control to make record establishing order of priorities. Certificate of findings to be transmitted to claimants. Provisos. Appeals. Fees to be fixed by board of control. Sec. 37. Sec. 38. Sec. 39. Irrigation company may levy assessments. Sec. 40. Duties of commission of irrigation transferred to board of control. Sec. 41. Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of New Mexico: Section 1. All natural waters within the limits of New Mexico are hereby declared to belong to the public, and no person shall be denied the right to appropriate said waters for beneficial use. Sec. 2. Beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of the right to use water. Priority in time of use shall give the better right, and in all cases the claims to the use of water the right shall relate back to the initiation of the claim, upon the diligent prosecution to completion of the necessary preliminaries, and the construction of the works and means of diversion and appropriation; and all dams, ditches, canals, conduits, acequias, reservoirs, and other works heretofore made or constructed, by means of which any waters have been applied to any beneficial use, must be taken to have secured the right to use waters claimed, to the extent of the quantity, which said works are capable of conducting or utilizing: Provided, Nothing in this act must be so construed as to in any manner interfere with the vested rights of individuals, companies, or corporations, or the appropriation of waters, which said individual, association or corporation may be applying to a beneficial use. Sec. 3. The standard of measurement of the flow of water shall be the cubic foot per second of time, flowing unobstructed, to be known as the second foot, "the miner's inch," or "inch," shall be the one-fiftieth part of the second foot. The standard of measurement of the volume of water shall be the "acre foot," being the amount of water upon an acre covered one foot deep, which is (43,560) forty-three five hundred and sixty cubic feet. Sec. 4. In the appropriation of water for irrigation, or in the adjudication of rights to the use of water for such purposes, the amount of water allowed shall not be in excess of the rate of one second foot of water for each seventy (70) acres of land. Sec. 5. After the passage of this act, when a party entitled to the use of water fails to beneficially use, all or any part of said water, claimed, for a period of four years, such water shall revert to the public, and shall be regarded as unappropriated public water. All water, which after irrigation, runs off of the land, of the party who has used such water, or re-appears on the surface, shall be taken to be subject to the control of the person, association or corporation who own or control the works which shall divert the said water from the stream or reservoir; whenever such person, association or corporation are not prepared to conduct such surplus water, to another place of use, any one may apply such water to any beneficial use, without any charge whatever, until such time as the party owning or controlling such irrigation works, shall be prepared to beneficially use such water. Sec. 6. The place or means of diversion of water may be changed if others are not injured by such change; and the conduits by which such diversion is made, may be extended, to places beyond that where the first was made. Sec. 7. The owners or constructors of canals, reservoirs, ditches, acequias, or other water works, whether the same be upon lands owned or claimed by them, or upon other lands, must carefully keep and maintain, all of said works, embankments, flumes or other conduits, by which such waters are, or may be held or conducted, in good repair, and condition, so as not to damage, or in any manner injure the property of others, obstruct public highways, by flooding or washing, or by not keeping good and sufficient bridges, or allowing needless waste of said waters by over-flow, evaporation, or by any other means. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor, and upon information filed by the district. attorney, in the district court, and upon conviction thereof, the party so offending shall pay a fine of not less than ten, nor more than one hundred dollars, and be liable for the damage done: Provided, That if after notice by any interested party the governing body of said reservoirs, ditches or other water works shall within ten days fully repair or replace such damage done, then they shall not be liable to prosecution under this section. Sec. 8. All canals, ditches, reservoirs, acequias, artesian wells, or other water works, and the water rights appertaining thereto, when the owner or owners of said irrigation works use the waters thereof exclusively upon land or lands owned by him, her, or them, shall be exempt from taxation: Provided, In case any water be sold or rented from such irrigation works, then, and in that event, such irrigation works shall be taxed to the extent of such sales or rental: Provided, Further, That community ditches shall not be subject to taxation. Sec. 9. Any person, association, or corporation may exercise the right of eminent domain, to acquire a right-of-way, for the storage or conveyance of water for beneficial use, including the right to enlarge existing structures, and to use the same in common, with the former owner. Such right-of-way shall in all cases be so located, as to do the least damage, to private or public property, consistent with proper use and economic engineering construction. Such rights-of-way shall be acquired, subject to review by the courts, in the manner provided by law for the taking of private property for public use; and such right-of-way shall extend only to a ditch, dyke, cutting, or other work sufficient for the purposes required. There is hereby granted, over all the lands, now or hereafter belonging to New Mexico, a right-of-way for canals, acequias, or other water works, and all transfers of territorial lands, hereafter made, shall contain a reservation of such rights-of-way. Sec. 10. All rights to the use of waters recognized and confirmed by and under the provisions of this act, or by a decree of court, or hereafter otherwise required, shall be and become appurtenant to specified lands owned or controlled by the person or persons claiming the right to use the water, so long as the water can be beneficially used thereon, and shall pass with conveyance of the lands, for which the rights of such use is granted or applied. Such right shall always be held, subject to the local or community customs rules, and regulations, which may be adopted from time to time by a majority of the users from a common source of supply, canals or lateral from which such waters may be taken, when such rules or regulations have for their object the economical use of water. Any harmonious local custom or customs, in the matter of water diversion and distribution which are not detrimental to the public welfare, shall not be molested or changed, unless so desired by the persons |