Arizona miner., 1866-03-28
TucsoS, March Is. IS

Hon. J. T. Alsap, Territorial Treasurer. Srr-lou ask my opinion in regard to the right of the Territory to hold mining claims.
 Your letter reaches me during our term of Court, but l will answer your inquiry briefly, as l leave immediately after the Court ad- journs, for La Paz and Prescott. to attend the Spring tern of the District Courts.
 All persons, now, are perfecting their mining claims under the mining laws of the Territory. There Is no other law under which any one expects to make his title to mining claims good. Section 5l, title 5, of chapter 50 of the Howell Code known as the Mining Law" reads as follows:
 " It shall be the duty of persons who may discover and claim mining rights, or mineral lands, at the same time that they may define the boundary of their claim or claims to any lode or mine, as required by the provisions of this chapter, to lay off and define the bound aries of one pertenencia, as required by the provisions of this chapter, adjoining their claim or claims, which shall be the property of the Territory of Arizona, and at the same time that they present their notice of claim or claims to be recorded by the recorder of the mining district, they shall also present to such recorder the claim of said Territory. and If said discoverers and claimants shall neglect or refuse to present to such recorder the claim of said Territory as aforesaid, they shall forever forfeit all claim to the mine or ledge so discovered by them"
 The above extract speaks for itself Un- less that section is fully complied with, no person discovering mining claims, after the passage of the law, can get an interest there in, in this Territory.
 | The title of the Territory being consumma-
 ted by the disooyerer of the lode or mine
 laying off and defining the boundaries of
 one pertenencia, which shall be the property Of the Territory of Arizona" and having the ! Territorial claim recorded
 | By what right do individuals get title to their mining claims The answer is, by the said mining law. 1t is by that same law that the Territory gets its title.
 ! Can person who has never discovered the claim, a;iS: 'o is informed by tine records of the county that 1t belongs to the Territory of Arizona, under positive statute, jump this claim or Tn any way set up title t0 it2 The mere statement of the questio shows the iallacy of such proposition.
 If the Legislature can pass law that John Doe or any association of individuals can lo- cate mining claims, why can they not do it for and in the name of the Territory Is not N''N 'NA4 aN'4g ih lAo DippIdNt tHpdClIA. n- much and as justly entitled to mining claim as an association or corporation 2
 But somebody says it is unconstitutional What constitution We have none in this Territory, and the constitution of the United States is Uery silent upon he subject The fact IS, as every one knows, that there is no con stitutional provision that this section yio- lates, and no statute, either of Congress or of this Territory, but on the contrary, it is m accordance with the express provisions of the mining law of the Territory, and the law is valid and binding on the people of the Ter iitory until the same is repealed OF altered by the same power which brought it into ex istence. l can imagine no excuse for saving the Territorial claim is not valid one. The Government of the United States has never legslated upon the subject, therefore there :s no prohibition in that direction The Leg lslature of the Territory of Arizona has legis- lated upon the subject, and aH us laus are valid, unless disapproved of by Congress. See section of Organic Law of New Mexico.
 All these mining claims "are pOssessory in their character only" In the absence of all | law upon the subject, the Legislature has pointed 0nt who are entitled to these "pos- | 'essory rights" giving them to nearly every class of persons who are residents of the Ter -itory, and that they had right to include -he Territory of Arizona is unquestionable.