The union Democrat. [volume] (Sonora, Calif.) 1854-1946, 1871-08-26
SARGENT A TOOL OF TnE CENTRAL.
PACIFIC RAILROAD.


has the following scsthing article from Sar'
gents Swamp Land bill:
A. A. Sargent has again been nominated
for Congress by the Radical party. and it be
comes our duty to show where he belongs.
We here solemnly aver that if any Democrat-
ic nominee had record so glaringly dishon-
est as Mr.. Sargent's, we should oppose his
reelection. We shall take up the swamp
land matter, leaving his timber bill'' fer a
future issue.
In July last George W. Julian. of Indi
ana, either through a misrepresentation of the
facts or the influence of divers bits OF green
coored paper, introduced a bin Defining
Swamp and Overlooked Land, the intention
and effect of which was to take the swamp
lands of California from the purchasers under
the State aud give them to the railroad com
pany. MIR johnson, the honorable and faith.
full Representative from this District, put a
stop to its passage at that time. 1t was made
the special order for December Dist. The
bill, for some reason we could never under
stand, had the Endorsement of the Sacrament
to Union, the Alta. and several Of the lead
ing papers of this State but the writer here
of. through this paper and the Sacramento
Union, exposed the rascality of the thing,
until the editors of the Union admitted that
it should not pass as it was, but should be
amended in accordance with our suggestions.
The several thousand men in the State who
held under the swamp title, and who had ex-
pended vast sums OF money in attempted re-
clamatious, became alive to the fraud about
to be practiced upon them, and measures
were taken to defeat the bill. Mr.. Sargent,
who had favored the Julian iniquity, now
pretended that he was convinced that some
amendments were necessary, and promised
to introduce substitute by which the rights
of the State purchasers should be protected
from the railroad company. Many of those
who had been active on the side of the State
purchasers, ourself, among the number, ex-
pressed the belief that Mr.. Sargent did not
belong to the railroad company, that he had
been laboring under some strange and unac-
countable misrepresentation of the facts of the
case. and, from the tone of his letters to diff
ferent parties, he would lido about what was
right" in the matter lie introduced his
bill, and, that we may not be accused Of mis-
representing him. we insert it here entire:
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House
of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That all Sc
ections of swamp and overhowed lands here
tofore made and reported to the Commission
er of the General Land Office, so far as the
same remain undlsposed of by patent or by
statute confirmation, which are shown in the
greater part of each smallest legal subdivision
not to be swamp and overfowed to such an
extent as to render them unfit for cultivation
in their natural condition at any period of
the year, or which may be valuable for graz
ing CIR other agricultural purposes without
reclamation, shall be excluded from patent
as swamp, and restored to the public domain
bv the Commissioner of the General Land
Office.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That
where selections of swamp lands may hereaf-
ter be made, under any Act of Congress
heretofore enacted, the actual condition of
the lands thus selected, the date of selection,
and at the times of the year preceding their
selection, must be shown by the testimony of
at least three credible and disinterested wit
nesses under oath.
Sec s. And be it further enacted, That
where lands selected as swamp, or which
NAV hereafter be selected as swamp, are dis
posed of under any law of the United States,
or to which any adverse right may be attach
ed under any law of the United States prior to
the issuing Of patent under the swamp grant,
such disposition shall be considered prima
face establishing the arabic condition of the
lands disposed of as aforesaid, aud they shall
be accordingly rejected as swamp and strick-
en- from the swamp lists Provided. That
such disposition shall not preclude the inves-
tigation hereinafter provided for, unless the
lands have been patented.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That
to enable the Commissioner of the General
Land Office the better to carry out the OBJ
iects of this act he is hereby authorized,
whenever in his judgment it is deemed neces-
sary, or on the application of parties desiring
the same, upon satisfactory showing that the
same is necessary, to order Investigations re-
specting the character of lands alleged to be
swamp, which investigation shall be at the
expense of the parties making the applica-
ton.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That
all questions or controversies respecting the
true character Of lands which may be claim
ed as swamp and overfowed shall be heard
before the Register and Receiver of the prop
er land Office, subject TO the right of appeal
to the General Land Office. and not, as hitler
to by the Surveyor General: and such Regis
ter and Receiver shall have power to compel
the attendance of witnesses by process in the
same manner as witnesses are compelled to
attend in courts of record in these and other
land contests; Provided. That nothing con-
tanned in this Act shall be construed to abro-
gate any right conferred by the Act entitled
IAN Act to quiet land titles in California, !"
approved July %, 1866.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That
this Act shall not apply to any lands which
may have been sold to actual settlers prior to
the passage of this Act by any State of the
Union as swamp and overlooked lands. but
all such lands shall be patented to the respec-
tive States and when lands have been listed
to any State as swamp lands, and have been
purchased of said State, patent shall issue
for said lands to said State for the benefit of
said purchasers Provided, That when the
amount sold to any settler OF purchaser shall
exceed six hundred and forty acres. tho ex-
cess over such amount shall be subject to the
provisions of this Act. And provided, That
nothing herein contained shall authorize or
legalize the sale of any lands to which any
valid presumption or homestead right has
heretofore attached.
Under the first section there would be no
swamp land in the State of California. 1t ia
all valuable for grazing or other agricultural
purposes at some seasons of the year! Under