The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-03-25

cd IN 1906. This act also directed any claim not
above Gao acres, TO be confirmed if il had b,en
pied ten consecutive years prior 10 1893. la 1907
the time was further extended the powers OF the com
missioners enlarged the extent OF The claim admitted
to league square, but another usurpaion Of the
property OF the inhabitants Of the ceded territory
attempted The Law required the commissioners to
exclude all claims of grants that should include with
in them salt spring lead mine But
IL made the decisions Of the board, when favorable
final to all claims not exceeding in quantity
league square, and having salt lead
and directed them 10 report their opinions of the larger
claims. There was sign Of magnanmous proec-
ton, when in 1911, Congress agreed that they would
not offer or sale any claim which duly before the
Commissioners for their investigation II was not
until the 9Th Of January, 1912, that the transcript Of
the decisions of the Commissioners made prior TO that
date laid before Congress and not until the 18th
of April, 1914, that Congress confirmed those deci
sions limiting The quantity of any one claim confirmed
TO league square. Six days afeIwaid Congress be-
gan to the improperly aud llegaliy of their at
tempted cur,ailments Of private property which were
guaranteed in full by treaty. and the 9th of April,
1874 passed con6rming'a all grants report
and all claims favoraby reported embraced in the
transcript Of deci,i ions laid before Congress. But
here a new obstruction occurred the land officers
unable understand the legislation of Congress-
| could not determine under which of the laws any
claim should I've patented, and SO, with few exceptions
| no patents, as directed by law, were issued.
Thus the attempts Of Congress to protect the In
habanls of the ceded territory in their property, in
conformity wi treaty stipula ions, amounted to no
| thing. In the meantime Louisiana was added to thu
| sterhood OF States and Missouri and Arkansas fol-
lowed her into he Union, ranging themselves along
the front Of the coded territory At length, on thu
Goth of May, 1924 the ghost of the treaty staring
Congress in the face, law was enacted to enable
cIaman in Missouri and Arkansas to try the validi
y of their titles in the courts In this law there
no attempt to limit the amount Of land to which
claimant should be allowed to show beer title than
the government, Except as 10 Arkansas, where the
limit was a league square) any exclusion Of sal
springs or lead mines but did contain provision pro
ectins against the claimant ANY usurpalion of the land
to which he should establish valid title, by officers o
the government or settlers upon the claim under thu
authority of Congress. Declaring 10 the claimant
| in other words, that he should not have the LAM
granted to hin, by the former government, If 1t ha
been sod, or settled on, under this This was
new specimen of the protection secured by the treal
to the property of me inhabitants of the coded terri
tory. Only three claims settled under this Law
in 4 years and it was eI tended to further period b.
the act Of May a. 1928, call in The President
Message of 1896, and able report by Mr.. BsrIien
ia January, 1929 in favor OF the claimants havinI
! preceded it. One cause of the inetiicicnoy OF tn
law of ri was, that the frightiul expense an
trouble imposed by il upon the claimants, IN th'
shape of fees to government officers, fling Sc
curi,y for coss, &C., &c, obliged many to withhold
their petitions and forced the owners of the smae
claims to total despair In the nmc, the laws o
Congress being mot only misunderstood but disre
parded by the land officers entries, floats and pre-
emptions were allowed upon claims which had been
confirmed by the Commissioners and even by Con
| gross Claims large small, were actually takeI
DOS session of and sold to the highest bidder Tn
treaty was moi only dead letter but the laws of Con
oress seemed to be utilities. some of these unlaw
full saIes il is true we're snnuled by the act of July
1882, and the money directed to be refunded to tn
purchasers But the declining spirit Of justice, whc
had affected land officers and squatters seemed a
last to have taken pos session of Congress and turne
them openly against the ella ms ct the inhabitants q
the coded territory. They came to the pasage OF laws
taking possession of, cutting up, and selling some
the claims confirmed, by public auct on, intmaing Il
the claimant the poor charity Of permission if thei
titles proved valid, to locate elsewhent .Thes
seizures and appropriations of the private property
the inhabitants Of the ceJed territory by the govern
mept and its officers no, only violation Of tt
| L., Of ~ hnt in
,as,on Of private rights, and infraoton Of ever
the modern usagcs Of war; which do not admit
conqueror to seize the property of pacific persons 70
the FAKE Of gain to himselfH
The act Of the 9th Of July, 1892 extended the
time for examining and reporting upon these claim
two years, and the supplemental act Of March .
1889 prolonged the time two years further. Tn,
las, report Of Commissioners was made the 9th o
November 1888 and an act Of confirm alton followeC
it July g. 1886, with similar exceptions, to inter
fering locations as contained in the llth sec
ton Of the act, of May PC, 1924 This law Of 1885,
had reference to claims in Missouri, and directed thu
survey Of 932 tracts, nut the Commissioners report
ed that there remained in Missouri seren hundre
claims, on which they had not acted. There
few special laws confirming individual claims whicl
have not noticed, and other special laws seizin,
private claims Among the last is one so late as Au
gust Is, 1912 This latter process, OF acquiring thu
property Of citizens, is notably simple. Congress
passes a law that a certain private claim, heretofor
reserved from sale, be declared public lands, an,
presto the land is entered and sod and the proceed
converted to the use OF the United States Tn
claimant citizen OF the ceded territory, who wa
looking to this government for the stipulated protec
ton Of his property is cooly told that, If bis till
proves valid he must pull up his stakes, and set then
around an equal quantity Of vacant land elsewhere
Louisiana has repeatedly petitoped Congress- Missouri
has petoned and multiludcs Of citizens have petition