The Daily state register. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1870-1872, 1872-02-07
WATER RIGHTS.
From the Humboldt Regist'

We have carefully considered The
opinion lately rendered by the Su
preme Court of our State in relation
to the subject Of water rights in Ne
vada, and as many OF our readers are
interested in the matter, We give {
few comments thereon. The Su
preme Court holds that all persons
on the Public Domain are trespass
ers against the Government, and
therefore, acquire no right by virtue
of priority Of location, use and ap,
preparation of the waters flowing or
the Public Lands as against a suhse-
quent purchaser Of said Lands
What We mean on a case stated, is
this:
4 is an old resident in Paradise
Valley. and there under the posses
sory act OF the State locates and
improves a tract Of the unoccupied
Public Lands. Above him flows an
unappropriatel stream of water-he
dams that stream-and by bitches,
conveys it to lis land, for the pur-
poses OF irrigation. &c. Afterwards.
the lands in his vicinity are surveyed
by the Government and brought into
market. b comes in above 4 and
buys land of the Government,
through which that stream of water
runs, and turns it entirely away
from \, the first appropriation of its
waters. 1t is an unnavigable stream,
the title to which is always vested in
the Government. but an ordinary
brooklet subject to the rights of the
riparian owner or first appropriator.
Such is the case as it now stands,
that, no matter how long the citizen
has been in the quiet and peaceable
possession OF privileges, which he
acquired by the consent of common
usage and the inducements held out
by his Government, for the purpose
of improving and settling the coun-
try, it is all swept away by this deci-
sion Of oar supreme Court. The
thousands OF dollars that he has ex-
pended in constructing bitches and
dams. so that lie could realize some
thing for his toll by cultivating the
soil and reclaiming the otherwise
barren desert, is taken away. render
ed naught to him, and in all proba
bilitv goes to the benefit of the in
coming interpolator, who, perhaps,
not only takes away his water, but
also appropriates to his use his ditch
es and dams. Is this right? Is itI
the correct rule of law in the premi
ses? Should one be robbed to en-
rich another. for such is the ineyi-
table result? 1t may be said that If
the first user of water in such cases is
it. as it may be his right,
and as he had acquired a right to do.
by law. by custom and usage, it WILL
retard the improvement and settle
ment of the lands above. True, this |
may he, but is it good policy to de-
solate one tract of land to improve
another one, that has already been
cultivated and improved, and one
that has already become valuable?
It may be said that the Government |
cannot sell those adjacent lands
without such a law holds, and the
water goes with the land; but does
not the first appropriation also buy
his lands? We all know that nine
tenths of the citizens of Paradise
Valley do not own the lands at the
head of their bitches, OF at the point
where they take it from the stream
to convey it to their ranches. We
know that some OF them have gone
clear up to the mountain side, to the
fountain head, and have by the
means of bitches and fumes convey
ID the waters of springs and streams
10 their farms below in the valley,
md i'll many instances cultivate hun
lreds of acres. Their bitches run
across unoccupied land, this is sub
entered, their bitches de-
3troved, their water taken away and
heir hundreds of acres of land made