The weekly Butte record., 1867-07-06
Open Letter to John conne.s.

Open Letter to John Conne>s.
Ny DgAg JoHS.-Seeing your note Of May I'D
to resident of Soano county. concerning the set
! tiers on the socsed LGco claim, l desire in a
friendly way 10 call your attention to several bluu-
ders Won made. so that goa may not hereafter re-
peat them. and may il possible correct those al
ready committed. OF course, John, You don't be-
+ lieve word of vour own letter: but that would
/ make no difference if you had not unfortunately
wortied il 50 that the settlers know you don't be-
/ leve il. You say 10 the Solano residents:
Your letter Of the 22d instant is before Il ap
pears from il if YOU and the settlers of your neignbo--
hood were unaware that had firmly stood by their IL
terests ever since have been in public life
Now John. here you presumed too much upon
their ignorance. These settlers know that wheneT
er their interests came in question, you did not do
any standing al ALL hnt went 10 work lke tro-
ian II you had stood at all, no doubt yoa would
have stood firmly : for they do say you kept so
ber" We have read that your colleague has nsu-
ally failed to stand firu-often he could not stand
at all; he imbibed too much. And yet, John, do
you know that these settlers IN comparing your
colleague with yourself, gave him the advantage.
They say that il you had kept drunk too you could
not have done near 50 much damage as you did by
keeping sober: and then their rights as settlers
would have stood firmly to-day. fol know.
John that when you went TO Washington there
were SO many fraudulent claims for California land
grants backed by capital. that Government had to
protect itself and the settlers by furnishing an ex
ira assistant TO the Attorney General OF the United
States TO oppose these claims. at salary OF 50 900
a wear These sci iers you get this assistants
salary struck off the appropriation bill and thus de-
sroy the office, and leave the grant claimant full
swing without opposition Then they saw that
wear after wear. whenever the L. =. supreme Court
rejected a grant for frand. you worked to get
tirmaiion bv Congress Notwithstanding. At the
very last term they saw You procure the passage OF
a sweeping act confirming every grant that the Su
pIeme Court ever had rejected or ever should re-
nd 0- har nd
John these settlers understand that when a grant
is confirmed over their heads thev lose their homes.
So you see why your letter don't take well. You
say
You say the settlers and all others in your county
need give themselves trouble about the Luco grant.
Of course, no. John Luco's grant ended
years ago. 1t has been dead almost long enough
10 be forgotten But how about LucoS clam to
purchase under your pet act of Congress! 1t isn't
Luce's grant that makes the settlers uneasy" it
is because you have procured him right OF claim
to purchase their homes for tride because he had
grant. You say:
NO man could go to Congress from this State who
would vote TO give Luco ownership
Why not John? You have voted to give worse
men than Luco ownership; and the settlers dom
think You dislike Lueo very bad after all: in
fact they rather think. il he had as many votes as
all of them put together that you wouldn't say any
thing against his claim. You say further:
Il will write the Commissioner of the Land Office in
day two asking him TO direct survey OF the lands
and enable the settlers to buy il which Will be the
shortest way to clos5 up the case
This sentence was an awful blunder, John. In
connection with the rest OF the letter. il will beat
Frisbe for the Legislature. and thus you viii lose
a vote On the next election OF L. :. Senator. Why,
John most of these eltlerS the L. : survey
mounds and stakes when they first settled there
The land was surveyed before you went to Con
gress. and the quotation shows that you were vol
unteering advice in the case in total ignorance of
even the most notorious facts concerning it; and II
also proves that your asking the Commissioner
to do a thing is equivalent 10 having it done and
gives color to the report thai you helped to get
Judge EdmunGs put out and the present Commls-
sioner put in, because Edmunds would decide in
favor of pre- -emption settlers. while Wilson viii
not. Then John. you know that in Washington
YOU always call pre-emptIon settler squItter;
while Won admit to be settlers only those VINO claim
under a void school location. or d rejected grant
like Lucos. This part OF your letter yonr friends
in Washington would understand 10 be promise
in Iuco's favor instead If the --sqlatters.' Which
way do you understand IT, John:-or don you
know?
You refuse in your letter to pledge yourself to
oppose the Lnco grant, but say to the people:
Let them avoid sharks known as laud-lawyers just
as they would Luco. and be hceced by neither will
take pleasure in attending to the Luco case until they
get their titles. without fee or reward" "
John this part of the letter too plain. You
want 10 attend to their without fee reward,
but won't pledge yourself to oppose Luco, and at
the same time advise the settlers To pay no atten-
ton to his claim themselves. Now the settlers
think if they put their cases in your hands and
take further steps, aud yoa do not oppose Luco,
he will get the land; the dullest of them think this,
John. Your hit at the sharks known as land
lawyers was pretty good, hut they had heard the
thing many times before, that it failed TO
attract attention from the rest of the letter They
know that although you. John, are no lawyer, you
know how u grab land, and that in getting after
settlers claims on condemned grants, You have
ontsharked al the wyer sharks that ever sued for
or even stood on land
| only write this my dear John, to post you a
little on the facts although yoa don't deal in facts
F3uch, suppose yon put few in the next screed.
You you will have to try something new, for
the settlers have sense well votes. and the
former controls the latter; they 90 together. and,
although the votes are all You want. You can't get
them unless the sense goes too. And 1t does look
now As If with fr>be in the Legislature, You in
Congress. and Wilson Commissioner the settlers
could dc better with Luco alone than with all OF
you combined.
Faithfully, yours dear John.
NJ. \. WHEATON.
7. S.-Please inform me by return mail how
many cases the settlers have entrusted you with on
the liberal terms you offer. W.
San Francisco June - lSf.,