The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1869-04-03

sentatiycs have passed the claim and ii sticks
In the Senate.
This 10 the present condition Of this cello
brated claim, which, during or before all this
litigation, had been settled upon by hundreds |
Of miners and farmers, became valuable, and
the seat Of thriving industry.
now rHr foRosar WAS ROUND OUT.
Tho minority, or rather the conhrmatory,
report, In favor Of McGarrahan's title, Is his |
own most plausible version Of the history oil |
his lost title. But the report Of Williams
and Ferry lets In the light upon the whole Of
this extraordinary bal mdsqus Of Mexican
titles.
II Is claimed that the McGarrahan title.
deed Ia mentioned In none Of the records Of
1874, neither the T'opid de RdIon nor Jirnsno's
Inder. The original receiver Of the alleged
title Is shown to have been convicted Of
forging and changing the dates OF land
titles, and all his associates In proving the
former existence Of such deed are shown
to be scamps, scallawags and sharpcrs. The
deed itself ls claimed to be lost, and yet all
the contemporary minor papers are shown to
be preserved. The establish precedent Ia
to pay no attention 10 Mexican deeds al
legged to have been lost or destroyed. that
pretext being the excuse for all the lngenl-
GUS forgeries which have vexcd the patience
and retarded the interests Of California.
McGarrahan ls shown to have been aware
Of the fraudulent nature Of his claim, and he
therefore purchased into o lawsuit for pur-
poses Of speculation. Tho inhabitants Of
the Panocha Grande were there before Nc
Garrahan purchased Into this claim. They
received possession after the hnnl decision
Of the Supreme Court against Meaaffahan
| In 1865, when the land Became part Of the
public domain, and to meet this persistent
persecution they have been obliged to employ
lawyers and agents, to contend against a
formidable lobby at distant Washington, In
order to keep the farms they have improved,
the houses they have built, and the public
works and mines they have developed.
The report Of Mr.. Williams Is a remark
able document for US who live In the old
Atlantic slopes Of the country, or upon the
fresh, primitive pralries. We feel the soil
solidly beneath our feet. Our title deeds go
back TO the Indian treaties, and we feel how
| fortunate II was for us that no civilized peo-
pie inhabited those regions anterior to us.
We are plagued with the opposition Of no
alarming titles, dug up from the graves Of
dead generations. But the people Of the
Spanish and Pacific parts Of the country are
victims OF gigantic consplracles concocted
in the cities Of Mexico and Washington,
whereby, upon the turning Of a court, a
land commissioner, Congress, their hab-
itations tumble around them, their gardens
and their fathers graves slip from under
their feet, and the fond Illusion Of a new
and permanent sovereignty Is dlspelled as II
an earthquake or q comet had struck the
earth. sixty-ninc vast land claims, like this
of McGarrahan's, have been decided by the
Supreme Court. Evsry one Of them has oc-
casioncd CONSERVATION In California. So
vital were the settlement Of all these claims
upon some system of law, that for the past
twenty years the National Government has
labored to adjust them by sending commits
sioners to Mexico and to California. At
| torney General jeremiah Black, In 1860, and
Attorney General Bates, In 1858, entered
into the study Of Mexican deeds with
anxious diligence. In 1858 Edwin NJ. Stan
ton spent year In California at the cost Of
the United States, and q commission was
sent to the city Of Mexico to look into the
archives Of the land office there. The devel-
opments of these several inquests show a
| mass of consplracies against the peace Of the
people of California. The documentary re-
suits were the collection Of four hundred
volumes Of surveys, documents, photographs,
&C., throwing more or less light upon the
condition of California lands under Mexican
| occupation.
The archives thus collected, says Judge
Black, furnished irresistible proof that there
| had been an organized system Of fabricating
land titles carried on for long time In Calf
fornia by Mexican officials; that forgery and
|
patton; that the making OF false grants, with
the subornation Of false witnesses to prove
them, had become q trade and business.
Desolate islands, barren rocks aud projecting
promontories, useless to individuals, but OF
priceless value to the Government, had beer
seized upon under these spurious titles with
view Of eStorting millions from the United
States for sites necessary to defend the
national possessions In the Pacific, and light
! II 10 &c h., a.
richest part of San Francisco was found Il
be covered by no less than Eve dideren
grants, every one of them forged after the
conquest. Sacramento, Marysville, Stock
ton and Petaluma were claimed on titles NJ
better.
The same official adds that In his time
1860, the value of land claimed under forgeI
grants In California amounted to one hun
bred and ffty millions Of dollars
Through all these explorations, the Come
and McGarrahan claim, upon the Panochi
Grande and Its rich quicksilver deposit, I
seen to stand up like landmark Of fraud
For sixteen years the people have watched
1t as the people round the base Of Vesuviu
watch the crater above. Time and again I
has burst In eruption, threatening to depop
ulate and ruin all below and around II. AnC
the part that 1t has played in the politics o
the country Is scarcely less remarkable. II Il
within my knowledge that n gentleman and O
lawyer, high In the esteem Of the people an,
: his friends, who was unanimously adjudgct
place In the Cabinet OF General Grant
failed to be invited thereto because he slgnet
the report of the House Judiciary Commltte
in favor Of this McGarrahan fraud. No ma
who endorsed that report will probably eve
get the support Of the Pacific coast for an
: political position, for the people there do no
!; dread the earthquake or the Aslatlc choler
SO much as these insidious Mexican Ian
=. claims which undermine their territory
Some day romance will be written abou
: this celebrated claim, but at present Its asso
Citations are far more practicable.
Many Of the towns and cities Of California
, aud most of San Francisco, are covered b
q thirty-six rejected claims; and II Congress
: to readjudlcate and reverse one case upon
c pdrte evidence, then the other thirty five wi
u be resurrected, aud an army Of land-shark
u lobby agents and lying witnesses will inyad
f the Capitol and defile the halls Of legislatlo
with their schemes OF forgery and perjury.
y Considering the progress that this case Id
d made in legislation, how ought the farm,
= and miner In California to tremble for the
5. homes and lands, covered by some old Me!
II lean claim that has been condemned
. fraudulent by the Supreme Court, when It
C brought before Congress, and a bagful
the affidavits of drunken and yenal Mexican
rs who can be hired for FIVE dollars apiece
A. swear to anything, Is produced to show Il
ie Supreme Court was mistaken In Its decisio
~ Dependent upon the passage Of the bill b
ID fore the Senate, says Senator Williams, Is
D. prize Of more than half a million of dollar
l. Politicians, lawyers and editors have tax,
N large shares In the lottery; the profession
e lobby, both male and female, have be,
a marshaled, and behind and around MEGA
a rahan Is q crowd impatient Of delay al
II hungry for the spells Of victory. GATH.
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