Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-01-29
SENATOR MATL0CK.
His Brilliant and Exhaustive Speech
in Defense Of the Ter
rell Bill.
A Flea for Law and Order, and the
Rights Of Property.

the whole, the pending question being
the adoption of the majority report OF
the committee.
Mr.. Matlock offered the following; /
ne IL resolved, that il is the sense 81
,,,;s committee that IL Is tho duty of
this legislature 20 pass this bill now
under consideration, or some other ON
or substitute for the same embracing
the following ideas: ,,
I. All pcrsops owning over a limited
number of stock TO have somewhere IN
the county, owned orleased land, ade-
auate for their support before they are
turned loose to Craze.
=. To prohibit any one owning pas
lures from turning stock loose on the
surrounding range unless he owns un-
iuclosed iandsenough to support them
8. To prohibit one man herding MS
stool. on the land of another.
4. To prohibit the use OF grass IN
closed in large pastures by another
without his consent without paying
reasonable compensation therefor.
5. To regulate as matter OF right
the nruaber of cattle man whose
lands are inclosed 10y another may
turn loose in the pasture in proportion
to the land he owns.
G. TO give the right of egress and in
gress to those whose lands are inclosed
by another.
:. To make penalties for the viola
ton the law.
Mr. shannon raised the point of or
der that the resolution was out oil or
der ms the senate was in committee OF
the whole to discuss a certaia bill
with certain amendments.
The president sustained the point oil
order.
senator Matlock then spoke rs fol-
lows:
NV object in introducing the resolu-
ton is this: j want to get the sense o.
the committee upon the questions con-
! tanned in this bill, while acting as
committee OF the whole. We are now
discussing this bill with view TO per
feet it if it contains any principles that
should become IA law, and the object
OF the resolution is to get an expires.
sion OF the committee upon the evils
/ that now exist in the courts, and II
possible TO provide remedy. | would
| like for the gentleman who raised the
point of order 10 permit us to discuss
! this resolution. it is simply for bring
| ing this question before the committee
for an Intelligent vote.
Shannon-I certainly insist upon
! the point OF order.
Matlock-The gentleman from Par
ker county insiats upon his point OF
order, as he has the right to do, but /
cannot see what object he can gain by
! it unless it Is to prevent
this committee from coming
to fair and square vote upon the ques'
/ ton. II will not prevent the friends
of this bill or the friends Of the lead
ing measures in it from dis
cussing the points which /
make in the resolution. This question
! Mr.. Chairman, is one of vast impor-
tanea to the whole stSte and it deserves
our honest and earnest consideration.
do not favor any wild or revolution
airy legislation on this subject that will
disturb the condition of things in this
state worse than they aGe; but | do
want laws made that will * once ar
rest the evils complained o.. 1t has
been alleged by the opponents to this
bill, the underlying principle az which
in the main approve, that there are
political diseases in the country and
that we have in this bill attempted to
prescribe remedy and have failed.
We have gone further than they have.
We have attempted in this bill TO
point out what the diseases are. We
have said that ii is wrong for any per-
son owning more than twenty-five
head ofstock to allow themlto run upon
the public lands without owning or
leasing lands sufficient and adequate
for its support; and there should be
law passed prohibiting
anyone owning pastures from turn
ing his stock out on the surrounding
range unless he owns or controls UNI
inclosed lands adequate for its sup
port. We have said that we ought to
prohibit men from herding their stock
upon the land of another without his
consents we have said that 1t was
right to prohibit the use of grass in
closed in large pastures by another
without his consen without paying n
reasonable compensation for the same.
That there should be law regulating
rs matter of right the number OF cat
| lie a mau whose lands are inclosed by
another may turn loose in Il pasture in
! PROMOTION TO the land he owns. We
| huye said in this bill that there should
be law giving TO every person whose
lands are inclosed by another the
| right of egress and ingress
|
| penalties TO enforce those provisions
Gentlemen of the opposition say we
| have failed. Perhaps we have. IL i,
easy enough for senators to come before
the committee and talk about the polit
zeal prospects of the senator from
| Travis; it Is easy enough TO call III
| quack doctors; 1t is easy enough tC
IN Ike fun of the bill and TO say thai
that the doctors have failed III their
remedy, but they do not dare to discus.
the principles embraced in II, nor dc
they point out remedy, neither have
they attempted 1t. The senator from
BeXar and the senator from Cook hay(
made long speeches, but they have
not pointed out in their speeches a
single evil that exists, neither do they
propose to remedy any evil. l would
like to have the gentlemen vote upon
these questions separately. Are you
In favor of allowing persons who
own their thousands of head o
cattle and no land TO Craze
upon the public domain without pay
ing anything for it? Or do you say
with us that there should he law re.
quiring these parties to lease or buy the
lands they use? A desire for free grass
has been one of the chief causes OF the
wire fence trouble that Is agitating this
whole state. you say with us that
free grass is one of the causes TO be re-
moved before order can be restored TO
the country, then you should come up
and help us.providea remedy. There
can be no question but that desire
for free grass, assisted by n communist
ic spirit that Is gaining strength and
1.. Ia. "A 4 Ia.