The weekly Arizona miner., 1879-01-17


 Fl MR. PRESIDENT As the author of tn Memorial, memOrializing the Senate an, House of Representatives of the United
 States, to immediately pass law to settle
 definitely the titles to all the, so called, Span
 ish and Mexican Land Grants in the Terri
 tory of Arizona, l feel it to be my duty
 with your permission and the indulgence o
 the Council, to make brief statement ot
 the reason for introducing the said Memo | rial.
 come, Sir, from a section of country
 more particularly affected by the pretende6 J locations of such Grants than any other DOT
 tion of our Territory. It is a well-kpOwr | fact, that settlers living on the Santa Cruz ' have had their lands surveyed by authority of the Surveyor General of the Territory
 and their claims passed through his office
 as being on United States public lands, but on application of the settler for Patent
 through the United States Registry Office at Florence. he was refused because the ] Register sad he was located on private land grant.
 Now, Sir. I wsuld ask the question
 What right had the Register of Public Lands 70 refuse to pass the settlers claim when the maps and all the data in the Sur veyor-G Generals Office showed the claim to be on the public lands
 This is but one instance of this kind ol hardship which the settler Is put to on ac- count of the unsettled titles to the public lands, and there will be many more. have been told, Sir, by good authority, that the same Register of Public Lands has said that he will pass neither settlers nor miners applications for Patent along the Santa Cruz Valley, nor in the vicinity of what he calls his Arivaca estate; and on the ground that he being an interested party, and claiming to own the so-called Arivaca Grant, and interested in other pretended claims to lands which lie in the Santa Cruz Valley. How he became interested in all these so-called grants, is only explained on the hypothesis that there is ring formed to steal all the lands lying along the Santa Cruz and other valuable localities, by plas- rering thereon some fraudulent grant, that is in reality not worth the paper it is writ ten on. It is the old California land steal ing game over again. How such men are retained in office. is to me very strange in this age of reform, when their conduct makes them burning shame and disgrace to the Administration and an insult to the people of the Territory,
 Twill pass from this point to another, ard that Is the validity of the so-called grants. l have investigated the titles to nearly all of them, and in all my researches have been unable 10 find single valid cluim among them; hence, most em- phatically declare that it is my firm and conscit ntious belief that there is not ole foot n vG.l lar fl In the Territory acquired by the United States from Mexico, by what is known as the Gads- den Treaty, ratified by the President of the United States, June 29th, 1854. In the sixth article of that Treaty, it is expressly set forth that No grants of land within the territory, ceded by the first Article of this Treaty, bearing date subsequent to the day twenty fifth of September-(when the Min ister, and subscriber to this Treaty on the part of the United States, proposed to the AiCyernment of Mexlco, to terminate the question of boundary will be considered valid or be recognized by the United States, or will any grants made previously Dc re- spected or considered as obligatory, which have not been located and duly recoreed h tho archives of Mexico"
 Now. sir, that is the plain language of the treaty made between two friendly na- tiuns Now, what was meant by the phrase, "which have not been located and duly re- corded in the archives of Mexico.' It ad- mits of but one interpretation, and that IS, if such grants of lands were not located and recorded in the archives of Mexico in the manner prescribed by a law of the Nation Il Government of the Republic or Mexico passed in 1922, which declared all public lands within the limits of the RJpublic to toe the property of the Government, and at the same time law was passed which re- quired all grants of lands made firm the public domain, either by the General Gov ernment or by the Governors of the differ cnt States, 10 be filed for record m the Ma iionai archives at the Capital within one year from the date of the gift; and the record had to include the dissHenG, map aud profile drawing of ite said grant, and II the requirements of this law were not com piled with, all such grants or gifts were considered by the Mexican Government to be absolutely worthless. Now, sir, It was with 6 tall Gnderstanding of the law which I have quoted that the siAih article of the Gadsden treaty WAS made. NIT. Gadsden on the past of the United States, and three dis tinguisbed legal gentlemen, citizens of Mexico. who negotiated the treaty, all knew that it vas necessary Tn order for q grant or claim to be valid it must be of record in the National archives of Mexico, and must
 be duly located. It is asserted by some that it means any record either of Sonora or Arizona. If that he the case, why did not the treaty say SO? Sonora, where 1t IS claimed there are some records relative to grants of land in AIizona, Tas not party to the treaty at all IL was streaiy between two Nations: and, sir, l know of no higher law than treaty. Under our Constitution it is declared so be 8 part of the supreme lsg of the land, overriding state or Terri . torial legislgtion when in conflict with fl. Now s:- wha, is ths history of the title to these so-cailed grsstsf Let us look at that a little. On the 3d day oi E"hruary, 1878 the United States Senate passed a resolution calling upon the President of the United States to transmit to them all information in the State Department at Washington rel atve to the title of the so-cs'led spanish and Mexican land grants. Acting upon a strict construction of the Gadsden treaty | he caused the Secretary of State to send q [ request to the American Minister in Mexico ' to request permission to examine the ar ohiveS and ascertain if any such grants ol ' land were Of record, Permission was granted to search tue records, and Mr. K