The Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1870-1875, 1870-12-09
President Grant and the MeGarFahan
Claim.
IFrom the New YORK Evening Post.I


from the New York Evening Post.I
We have received from General
Spinner, Treasurer Of the United
States, whose name needs only to be
mentioned to awaken respect for the
highest degree of personal integrity.
as exemplitied In his character, let
ter containing President Grants view
on the MeGaFrahan claim, concerning
which so much has been said. Gem
eral Grant has eertainlya right to be
heard IN this matter, and TO have the
view which ne takes of the McGErra-
han claim. and the counter claim of
the New Idria Company, laid before
the country, and the authority from
which we receive the subjoined state.
ment is q voucher for its literal accu-
racy. We quote from General Spin
ner's letter:
AS the President understands the
matter. MeGarrahan claims that q
patent should be issued to him, on
his paying the usual price fixed for
government lands for agricultural
purposes. because he had heretofore
paid valuable consideration for the
same to person, as he claims, acting
under Mexican authority; but which
conveyance, it now turns out, was
made by an irresponsible clerk in the
Mexican Land Office, after California
had come into the possession of the
United States; and that he ante dated
il, and forged to it the signature of
the person who had formerly, under
the Mexican government, been au-
thorized to sign land grants.
This gives McGarrahan, in the
opinion of the President, no legal
right to claim q patent for the land at
his. hands. He, therefore, as q pre-
chutionary measure, directed that his
nsame should not be signed for him
By his Secretary, to such grant,
without his special consent thereto.
Now. this you will see, was aimed
at the McGarrahan claim, and origin
ally that only. And yet, in every ar
tfele in the EUe7aing Post on this sub
ject, 1t Is either stated in express
| termsa or so put that no other infer
! enee can be drawn therefrom, that the
| President objected TO the issuing of a
patent to the New Idria Company be-
cause j he favored the MeGarrahan
dlaim. Nov, nothing can be further
| from the truth than such a charge or
such an inference, The New Idria
Company claims priority of right to >
IatentFunder law, in regard to min
dral lands of the State of California,
and hopes to attain at a nominal price
this very valuable mineral. land, that
has cost the United States hundreds
Of thousands of dollars to defend
againstzthe McGarrahan claim. But
+ - hardly worth the while to enter
Rpon theHTeasOns why this company
ID : not entitled to a patent for
Che landj, it is enough to know
chat the President has all along
thought and, still thinks that seither
party has q legal right to demand a
patent, and he doubts whether either
Of the parties has any valid claim to
/ the land. He believes that the land
Is still the property of the United
States, and as he believes it to be
worth many millions of dollars, he
thinks Congress should pass law for
| It's profitable disposal for the benefit
bf the people of the United States.
| Upon this belief the President has
acted throughout the various transac-
| tions relating TO this land claim"
| We are glad of this assurance that
| The President docs not favor the Nc
Earrahan claim, and we have there
Fdf6 thought fsiotr duty to give the
high and una#estionable authority
from which we receive that assurance.
In all that appeared in the EVen-
ing Post on the subject we have never
| made the charges that he desired that
this claTmLWhich had been sorepeat-
| eddy pronounced to be fraudulent, by
! committee of Congress, by two At.
Eotneg Generals, ard by the judicial
| NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. be allowed; but we
| gave a summary fOfsthese and other
facts. We confess shat il appeared
to us, though we did not say so, that
the President had taken step which
| favored the .McGarFahan claim; and
this was the not unnatural infer
enee from the, facts as they ap.
| peared.- We did not impugn, and we
| heVer saw any reason to impugn the
integrity of :, General Grant; but
thoroughly honest men may some
lines yield to bad advisers, and we
| therefore remarked that the Presi-
dent did not appear to advantage. !"
! The order issued BY the President, it
should be considered-and this seems
20 have been forgotten by the writer
pr the. letter from which we have
hu0ted--hadsthe effect Of refusing a
hearing to the New T1ria Company,
10 which 1t still seems to us they
we're fairly and we believe legally, en-
| - 1aausss-.s.susa-s .aass