The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-11-07

h0 WASHINGTON, Noy 4, 1859.
Mail Contractors and their Presumption Iighss-Vacant
at Chairs In the Senate dc.
In the administration OF the affairs government the
executive departments are sometimes required decide
cases in which vast amounts in value and often mpor
nt pncpes are involved and frequently the public at
large remains ignorant Of such decisions. a.
matter ofsome importance not only as to the amount
of public property in question: but because Of the light
thrown upon the reckless practice of making land grants
was recently decided by Mr. Wilson, then acting Commits
soner of the Land Office. By acts Of Congress Of March
g. 1885, and March 1857 prescriptions to contractors
carrying mails through territories of the Mississippi
were granted for $40 acres every twenty miles or 800
every ten miles, along whole length of tho routes
to the Pacific This gives to the Buierhcd contract
the empon right to about 900 acres OF lana and to
others proportion. Now, only is this an enormous
amount Of land to be preempted by party but such
land is always the most valuable The route selected
invariably through the most available country and where
settlements must follow Then these stations every ten
or twenty miles mostly chosen with view to the
water courses junction Of streams other features
which are favorable for establishing town sites Thus in
the of time these pre- epted sections or half sec
tons must become very vauable-n most cases many
times more valuable than the surrounding country.
One OF these mail contractors, from Missouri to New
Mexico believe, approaching fnl the value CT these pre-
emptions and being q second time for the
service changed the course of his mail coaches un
der the second contract little to the right Of the
course followed during the first contract order BY this
such claim, after few successive mail contracts
there would be but little valuable land left on
the route for the public. The acting Commissioner of
the Land Office decided against the CONTRACTOR on the
ground that the prescriptions granted for the route
and not as bonus to the individual
On the organization OF Congress- shortly after its or
ganization there will be but vacancy IN the Senate
and that from Oregon There -four vacancies at the
present moment The Legislatures of Texas and Mnueso
tn and the Governor OF California will soon provae pro
baby, for filling three Of them. II Is different however,
In the Of Oregon The vacancy from that State be
ing for full term, the Governor cannot appoint and
the Legislature will not meet before September next
year SO that Oregon will have but one Senator ia the
United States Senate during the whole of the coming long
session. 80 .
Apropos to this partial representation Of Oregon in the
Senate, is due to the people of that State say that
they ought not to be Censured for this state of things
Their Legislature was convened in extra session.
in May last, by proclamation Of the Governor
when 1t was incumbent upon them to choose
a Senator. The Legislature was largely democratic.
The democratic members Of both houscs in caucus nomi-
mated the Hon. Deazon Smith Messrs Grover Will
lams Curry, Ncsmth and all others but when the cues
ton was taken up in the Legislature it was found that
sufficient number Of the friends of those defeated in can
Gus were in coalition with the republicans TO prevent an
election.
Thus, in Oregon ms In many other OF the States The
treachery OF protesting democrats and the seshncss OF
ambitious demagogues, have damaged their own party
From information from leading political in Oregon
is believed the democratic party will triumph on the
meeting OF the next Legislature in returning Mr. Smith TO
the Senate