The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-02-23
.ion, and pending decision. the senate .d-

The army and fertilization bills, with the
senate amendments. were received from the
senate and referred.
RYAN submittedtthe conference 'eport on
the Indian appropriations bill. Agreed TO.
Burrows, Of Michigan, submitted the con-
ference report on the consular and diplo-
matte appropriation bill. Agreed to.
The house then went into committee OF
the whole on the sundry civil bill.
The pending amendment was that offered
by Blackburn, reducing to S2s2 900 the APP
! preparation for the geological survey.
Though debate was limited TO half an
hour, the confused discussion took wide
raGge and embraced the constitutional
| power of the government to carry the sur
vey into states in which the United States
owned no land.
warrant under the constitution for such
proceeding, and was sharply answered by
Dunn, who characterized the doctrine Of
state rights as an old fossil.
In reply, Black burn asserted that Dunn
had convinced the house that he was per-
feet adept in the matter of swallowing every
political doctrine he ever had, for the pur-
pose of appropriating money from the
treasury to convict private citizens.
The amendment was lost-2S to So.
The committee then REQUIRED to that por-
ton Of the bill relating to the survey of
public lands, which had been passed over
Informally.
On motion OF Ryan, the amendment was
adopted authorizing survey which may
be required for Identification of land TOR the
purpose OF evidence in any suit or proceed
ing In behalf of the United States.
After discussion, the paragraph making
an appropriation for the survey of private
land claims in New Mexico and Arizona,
was amended so as to prohibit any of the
appropriation to be used for the prelimi-
nary survey of uniformed private land
claims.
Pound offered an amendment repeating
the pre-emption laws, together with all
laws authorizing the filing OF declaratory
statements for the entry of public lands by
the agent or attorney.
Washburn advocated the amendment,
contending that the presumption laws
should be repealed, The manner in which
public lands were taken up under those
laws was q perfect scandal. No honest man
could file legitimate claim without being
prosecuted b. adventurers and land sharks.
Now was the time to. have This matter
stopped. The public lands had been
dedicated to actual settlers, and they should
be guarded for that purpose. Congress
should shut out this army Of sharks and
adventurous, who went out west in order to
sap the lite.blood of that developing coun.
try.
The amendment was adopted, ard is in
full text, as follows:
Provided, that the pre- 'emption laws. to-
gether with all laws authorizing the filing
of declaratory statements for entries of pub
lie lands by agent or attorney, be and are
hereby repealed. Provided, further. that
this repeal shall not affect the disposal of
lands under the treaty stipulatons
with the Indian tribes, nor be deemed to
impair any legal rights heretofore acquired
under laws hereby repealed; but all exist.
ing entries, settlements or filings may be
perfected upon proper proof OF the lawful
and bona ide character claims, and
of due compliance with the proyis-
ions and requiem, nts OF the laws under
which such entries, settlements or filings
were made; and, provided. further, that any
person who has heretofore made, or NAV
hereafter make bona fide entry of public
lands, under the homestead law, shall have
the privilege ofpaying the minimum price
for the quantity of land so entered at
any time before the expiration of five years
from the date of entry and after actual resi-
dence, improvement and cultivation for a
period OF not less than two and half wears
after the entry, and it shall be the duty of
the commissioner OF the general land office
to require evidence of actual compliance
with the requirements of law in
respect to the settlement, residence,
improvement and cultivation, in which title
is now or may hereafter be claimed, under
the homestead or other settlement or i'm.
provement laws of the United States:
and provided, further, that any
person applying for the benefits OF
of the timber culture laws shall make his
entry in person, at the proper local land =.
office, and shall make aflidavit that he is an
actual resident of the county and state, or
territory, in which the land is situated and
that he has not entered INTO any contract or
agreement to relinqush the entry he may
make, and that he has no present or pro-
spective purpose of making any such relin.
quishment, and the offering for sale,
as matter of traffic or specula-
ton, Of ACCOMPLISHMENTS of entries
made under the provisions of the timber
culture laws shall be deemed prima facIe
evidence that such entries were made for
speculative purposes and not in
good faith, as required by Ian,
and such entries shall thercupon be
liable to cancellation nv the commissioner
OF the general land office, and land CON
veyed thereby shall be deemed subject to en-.
try by the first legal applicant under the first
section OF the act of May II, 1880 authoriz.
ing lands covered by relinquished claims to
be held as open to settlement and entry
without further action by the commissioner
Of general land.oilice. And all other acts and
parts of acts inconsistent herewith, are
hereby repealed. And, provided, further,
that when timber culture entry
shall once haveg been made
on q tract of public land
subject to such entry, and the same shall be
cancelled or relinqu she'd the land covered
thereby shall thereafter be subject
to entry only under the timber
culture laws and no patent
shall be issued for such land until the re.
quirements OF such laws shall have been
fully complied with.
The committee then rose, and the house
adjourned.
Railway STATISTICS.
CnIcAGo, Feb. 22-The Railway Age will
publish summary of railway construction
IN the United States for the year 1852 The
account covers only the main tracks, and
shows the construction in forty.fye OF the
forty. seven states and territories, of 3iH
lines, of an aggregate Of 1913 miles, n
| about 1000 miles more than in 1881 which