The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-05-05

charge Of his duty; and he says that whenever the
department could act II has acted. These cases
were suspended BECAUSE under existing laws, the
department could not act ON them, He (Mr. b }
asked the Senate 10 look at the Condition OF things
in the western country-in ten of the new States
and Territories: 1t had been by the error negli-
gence Of the officers OF the government that these
claims had been suspended. As to the objection
these cases il was altogether futile, Every day
these principles were applied In tie ssit'ement
Of claims against the government Every day
the accounting officers Of the treasury were or
Gered to settle claims on the principles of equity
and justice. Why not organize a board for
the settlement of these claims in the same wayl
the senator dfe@ a vivid picture of the hardship
of refusing Just and speedy settlement Of Ire claims
Of the settler, who had gone on year after year inn
proving his land but who was liable to be elected be-
cause some informaty in the entry-not his fault
existed In his ease. There might be some objection
10 the details Of the BILL It might be proper TO
pose the trust in the hands of the Commissioner Of
the Land Office; but in his (Mr. B's) judgment, the
business had much better be committed to this
board--each Of the members Of which were quite
familiar with all the operations Of the Land Ofre.
As to the objection Of the senator from Ohio, Mr..
ALLEN, il amounted to nothing. He spoke of cases
between the government and individuals, and
thought that in such cases il was well enough to
clothe some tribunal with powers of adjudication;
improper and dangerous. He (Mr. b. then
alluded to cases in which the Commissioner
Of the Land Offce now exercised this power
az between contesting claimants, deciding whe
Their the entry of the one or other was
valid. That was done every day; and the board
could possess no more power than the com.
missioner possessed already, and exercised II
to supply the defect Of the existing laws and estab
lish tribunal which would examine Into all the
facts, and ascertain, in the absence Of all fraud
whether or not the laws had been "substantiay"
complied with and then on principles Of equity and
justice, TO give a title, that this bill had been
framed so far rs the rights of contesting claimants
concerned, the bill would not at all interfere
with them. The patent conferred no tite-it was
simply the evidence Of tte-there must be some
law 10 show the title before il could be valid. This
bill (Mr. b. said) did not originate with the Com
mittee on Public Lands, though il had their unan-
nous sanction. Ii had originated with the Com
mlttee on Private Land Claims. As TO the amendment
now pending, he had no great objection TO il, ex-
cept that it clothed the Commissioner Of the General
Land Office with the power TO decide in all these
His decision certainly was entitled to weight
and ought to have weight, for the present incumbent
was one of the ablest officers of the governments
worthy, honest, and intelligent But the scheme
was impractcable, because, in a conversation which
he (Mr. B. had had with the commissioner that
morning in regard to the number Of these claims,
he informed him (Mr. b. that there were tens
of thousands. When such a mass of claims came
before Congress, it might we'll be asked when was
il likely that they would be disposed Of? Congress
would not take, and ought not to take the report of
the commissioner on implicit faith. II would be sub
jected to examination; and from the prior practice
of Congress, II was not to be supposed that the set
Element of the could be speedily effected. The
bill proposed that these claims should be disposed in
two classes-one composed of those to be confirmed
il the law had been complied with substantially; and
~. q a.. =. -.
vert to the public domain and be again posed to sale
That in sum and substance, was the amount of
power conferred Perhaps there might be some
other tribunal; but he could not any one so
proper as this. To local tribunals he was decidedly
opposed, they would improperly and needlessly
increase the patronage of the general government.
But here were officers who were already in exist
ence and who were familiar with the subject. In
view of all the considerations In the case, he could
not see any mode for the settlement Of these claims
so proper, and so likely to he successful, that
proposed in the bill.
Mr.. DAYTON briefly explained. He did not
mean to say that Congress had never directed the
settlement Of claims on principles of equity but he
was convinced that they never had incorporated
such principle that in the bill into the general e
gislaton Of the country, and it his opinion that
they never should attempt it. But he did not wish
to occupy more time in the discussion.
Mr.. JOHNSON, of Maryand, then rose and said
U
he wished to lay before the Senate some amend
ments TO the bill, in the form rather Of suggestions
than formal propositions II seemed The said be the
opinion of all the senators that ii proper to apply
some mode Of relief to those cases. Those claims
now suspended over portion Of the public
domain, aud they were Of a peculiar description.
He did not speak now Of such were of fraud
ulent origin, but Of cases in which Improvements
had been made by the settler and to which the pre-
emption laws were intended to apply. 1t was the
approved policy of the government that those pre-
emption grants should be encouraged, at least TO
certain extent in order to facilitate the settlement Of
the new States far consistent with the interests
of the old. In relation to the apprehension which
seemed to exist in the mind of the senator from
Connecticut, Mr.. HUNTINeroN,] and in the minds
Of such senator's as might agree with him-that the
government itself might possibly suffer by the ope-
ration Of the bill on the table. 1t appeared to him
(Mr. j. to be without proper foundation. He UNI
derstood that in all these the money had either
been paid rendered In the latter the question
had been between the government and the in
divdual as to the right of the person rendering
the money to his patent. In the majority Of
cases, if not in by far the greatest proportion
Of them, the money had actually been paid into the
treasury. He could very readily imagine that the
officer having charge of the land department might
for very good reasons retain in his hands many Of
these grants in a state of suspense, because gross
injustice might be done the settler by immediate
rejection of the claim and putting the land into the
market. But if the Senate refused to pass this BILL
and the Register of the Land Office should 60 on
and reject the claims he compelled to do-so
he (Mr. J.) undersood-then the land would be
thrown into the market, and he supposed the United
States would hardly expect to receive more than the
dollar and quarter an acre, but it would not lose
the money returned. So far as the government,
then, was concerned in pecuniary point of view,
it was quite immaterial whether it held on to the
money already received or rejected all the patents,
got the lands, and sold them to other purchasers,
There another objection; and it was in relation
to that, as well as to others, that he had risen to
make a suggestion, which was that, in the terms to
be found in the first section of this bill-whch pro-
vided that in all the cases covered by the objects Of
the bill, the board which the bill constituted to de-
eide upon them on principles of equity and Justice
an unlimited discretion was given to the board; that
according to their notions of what was just and
equitable the patent might be issued refused. H.
had supposed, looking to the past legislation of
Congress, and looking to the very many resolutions
which had passed the Senate, that these terms,
principles of equity and justice" as used in laws
of this description, meant such principles of equity