Weekly Phoenix herald., 1883-02-02

Receiver OF Public Moneys,
UNITED STATES LAND OFFICE,
Office Receiver of Public Moneys, :
Tucson, Arizona, Dec. %, 1882. }
J. q. Dunbar, Esq, Eiitor and Prop
rietor Daily and Weekly RepubH-
can, Tombstone. Arizona.
DEAR SIR: Your letter of the
21st inst, relating to the publication
of notices of applicants for mineral
lands and notices of the intention of
presumption and homestead claim
ants to make final proof, is received.
In answer thereto, have to say IN
respect to mineral notices, that Sec
ton 1884, revised statutes, clearly de-
pines the rights of applicants, and
how abuses may De corrected by the
Commissioner of the General Land
Office, which is as follows, viz:
"The Surveyor General of the United
States may appoint in each land dis
trics containing mineral lands as
many competent surveyors rs shall
apply for appointment to survey
mining claims. The expenses of
the survey of lode or vein claims,
and the surveys and subdivisions OF
placer claims into smaller quantities
than one hundred aRd sixty acres,
together with the cost of publication
of notices, shall be paid by the ap-
pllcants, and they shall be at liberty
10 obtain the same at the most rea
sonable rates, and they shall also he
at liberty TO employ any United
States deputy surveyor to make the
survey The commissioner Of the
general land office shall also have
power to establish maximum charges
for SUI veys and publication of notices
this chapter; and in case of excessive
charges for publication, he may
designate any newspaper published
in a land district where mines are
situated for the publication Of min
ing notices in said district, and fix
the rates TO be charged by such paper, |
and to the end that the Commits |
sioner may be fully informed on the
subject, each applicant shall file with
the register sworn statement of all
charges ami fees paid by sue | appli-
cant for publication and surveys. tc-
gether with all fees and moneys paid
the register and the receiver of the
land Office, which statement shall be
with the other papers in
the case, to the commissioner of the
general lard Office"
SEC. 1926. Rev. Statutes provides
how to proceed to obtain patent, aud
requires the notice of application for
patent to be published 10 newspa-
per published nearest the CAIN
sought to be patented.
The following clearly indicates the
rights of applicants and shows them,
instead of the land office, to be the
real parties to the giving of patron
age to tie newspapers, and that
when local land officer so far for
,ets his duily under the official oath
Is to ignore the law or the regula-
ions made Hereunder, and in vio-
alton of the same shall, TO the pref
ldice of applicants, cause publication :
# mineral notices tn be published in
lis own interest or in the inter est of .
PARTICULAR newspapers, he commits a {
in Office, such as in my /
Judgment merits no less q rebuke
han immediate removal.
1t will be observed by reference to t
paragraph "a, page IS, United States I
mining laws and regulations there 9
nder, that applicants must furnish I
ne agreement of the publisher to I
old applicant for patent alone re- g
ponsi5le for charges of publica- v
on, and the last paragraph of circu- 7
IT instructions issued by the COM q
Missioner April 9th, 1880, reads as t
blows, viz: I'm the performance of C
ae dnty of designating the newspa- t
er as that published nearest the v
laim, you are not expected to make r
discrimination, on account of the |,
istance Of the place OF publication O
ON the claim, between different Il
ewspapers published IN the same Fl
'wn or city. Any one of several f
ewspapers so situated may be des- Il
,uated." G
There is no doubt OF the intent and s,
of these instructions, name n
:: That the applicant who has to Il
'ntract for and pay the cost OF pub a
cation may cho Sc the newspaper F
VIII oh his notice Of application C,
II patent shall be published, pro- a
ding the town or point of issuing O.
e paper is nearest TO the claim, e
id place being the main question .
/. the register to act upon in tba n
after of designation, that the pub- e,