New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-10-03

at ell seasons of the year without arth ,ial drain
! age or eubaDkmept These afhdavits we're hled
| 0ith the Commissioner Of the General Land Office
Department, and many Of the eases are undergo
| Ing the process Of a legal Interrogation
| The Department Of Washington has been fully
spprised of the fraud committed EPon the Govern
uept sipce the srring of lS53-frBm the contest
gotten ND bv the Hannibal and 81 Joseph Rail
road Company, individual, and the report OF the
| Surveyor Of Lands for the State Of Illinois and
| Missouri. TIE Department were so wcl satisfied
Of the extent and magnitude OF the fraud that the
issuing Of patents to the State Of Missouri for the
| lands selected under the Act of 1850 had been
! suspepded as to all the lssds. The constituted
authorities of the State were equally in posses
sion Of the fact that fraud had been perpet 'ated
| upon the Government in the selection of laads
| contemplated by the Act Of 1850. And 50 uneasy
| and socitous were they upon the subject, they
exhausted all their powers Of sopfistry and cum
| ming by correspondence TO induce the Department
to issue the patents to these lands. But all their
unworthy efforts proved unavalng.
Finally the plan was conceived Of sending Gov
! ernor Price in personam to Washington to have
per sOnsl interview with the President and induce
him. if possible, TO direct the Department to issue
patents to the State for the lands claimed under
the Act of so Gov. Price visited the President
and after a negotiation of several weeks, notwlth-
standing the information under the nose OF the
President succeeded in getting him to order the
Land. Office Department to commence issuing the
| patents to these lands which had been selected
fraudulently And we are boldly told by Gov.
Price on his return to Missouri, that extra clerks
were to be called into requsitiOn to expedite this
yillainons thing "Mrabue dietu:" President
Pierce of the United States, sworn to protect and
advance the interest of the Government has en-
tered into base coalition with Gov Price OF Mis-
souri, and by his action sanctions an infamous
fraud upon the Government. knowingly. Let it be
o1a;n from nau IN ahah
Pierce is "pdrticeps criminis in swindlng the
General Government to aid one or two States OF
tie Union. Mr.. Pierce would have vetoed bill
granting the public domain to the States OF this
Union for school purposes, because of conscientious
serupies about its cOnstitutionalny. Yet he aids
Missouri in stealing tro hundred thousand acres 81
land under Tie act Of 1880
But again, to develop more fully the magnitude
of this enormous fraud it is important that we
notice the decision of the Commissioner OF the
General Land Office just prior to this coalition be-
tween Pierce and Price. 1t will be remembered
that many individuals had made application to
enter the lands selected under the Act of 1850 and
approved by the Secretary Of the Interior as
swamp lands That the Commissioner in writing to
the agents of these parties on the 10th OF May,
1855, said to them "The party filing evidence as
required by this Office and cOntestir the states
claim, will if successful therein be permitted to
center the lands" The contestants under this
view of the subject went on and expended large
sums of money in having the lands surveyed pre-
psratory to an investigation of the matter. Only
four cases had been adjudicated by the Register
and Receiver ofthe local Land Once Tor the Pal
myra Land District-all of which were decided
against the States claim before the Commissioner
turns a summerset and decides that where the
selection has been approved by the Secretary of the
Interior, the lands if proven not to be swamp will
have to be brought into market by thirty days no
tice thereof But that the contestant would
have the preference at the ordinary cash price
where the lands had not been approved. Thus
making two classes of swamp land and compre-
bending the greater part in the first class. This
was done Just prior to the foul comDinatioE De-
tween Pierce and Price.
No reason is given for the distinction by the
Con missioner between approved ana unaPpro'eu
lands except that in 1886 circular was Issued oy
the General Land Office Department to the local
officers throughout the United States, nstructing
them to permit no lands which had been with
drawn from market from any cause whatever 10
be entered without being fret restored to market
by thirty DAYS notice thereof It's an ncontrOvert.
ibe fact that both classes of this located s0caied
swamp land were equally withdrawn from Market
none of the local land Offices would permit one
acre Of it to be entered at any price: !et 'ne
Commissioner Gays that the contestant VIII nave
priority in the enc class and not in the other, De-
cause the Secretary Of the Interior has approved
the one and not the other -.
Was there ever anything presented to the mind
more superlativey ridiculousl On the 10th OF
May he SAYS in writing about approved lands tnat
the contestant Of the States claim, If successful
will be permitted to enter the land On the 3ist
of July he says the contestant will have the PREF
erenee right to the unappr0ved lands, successful
but the approved lands will have to be- restored 10
market by thirty days notice. This last decisioh
was made only few days before the infamous CO.
slition between Pierce and Price TO defraud the
Goyernmept. and amounts virtually to this You
need not trouble Yourselves about the fraud that
has been committed for If you are successful, you
will have no preference right over the spectators
The contestants affirm (aad call upon the Ion
| press of the United States to. do them justice
that if the selection OF lands unoer tne ACT oi lcoV
was fraudulent said selection was null and void
ab ipitio and no right of the State ever attached
| thereto, for the reason that fraud vitafes every
transaction, even the most solemn adjudioatioDs
| of Court That the approval by the Secretary
| of the Interior or the President OF the United
| States could not operate in any manner 80 as 70
| give validity to the selection If the premises are
Conceded and we think they will not be de7ied the
oldest legal applicant for the lands thus fraudu-
lently selected under the Act OF 50 would De en-,
titled to enter them d. the ordinary cash price II
proven not TO be swamp within the meaning oil the
act, upon the equitable principle gu, Prlor est "
"tempOre potion est IN Jure. ii the government
refuses to act upon this principle, 20 fraud can
| ever be deteeted, for there would be no induce
ment prompting individuals to act IN tie premises
Having briefly called attention TO the fraud OF
| Mo in selecting lands under the Act OF ~, ana
| the Infamous coalition between Pierce and Prlce
| IN cover the transaction, we invoke the power OF
| Conpress 10 do Justice to those individuals VINO
have expended their money in ferreting out the
fraud upon the Government ,op