Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1885-12-08

~ iisha nho 'esiel under the grant I
common principles Of Law are 10 hav,
weight In determining rights and obi
cations when one Of the parties 10 !,
contract Is the Governments and IN.
otner private corporation. IN n.
rights bad vested under the grant. M
,itie had been asqairsd by the grantee
IL no title had been acquired, no deel.r
alton Of forfeiture was pece.sary /,
avoid title; there was nothing Ieit y
forfeit. IL no rights had been seuoiret
oy the grantee, no obligations remained
apon the Government. L. auy svept
grave doubts existed whether the Nev
Orleans and Pacific Railroad COMPANY
or the New rlesus. Baton Rouoe and
sieksSurR Railroad Company, had any
right TO receive patents for auy land
Ihe session OF Congress Just sxpirins
md not acted. Osber sessions vtr.
coming which might act. The old ad
ministratiou, at the command OF tbs
people, was retiring from public respon
sioility. A new administration, a. the
commaE OF the people, was at tee
threshold. proper respect for the " I
OF the people might have suggested tba,
the question within the Jurisdiction OF
Consress to settle shoald nave been lef,
TO the representatives of the people
already elected. A modest regard 10,
efheiai propriety might have transferred
70 the incoming administration a cues
ton OF executive authority of suct
doabtful character as the passing of ths
titieof the United States to nearly three
quarters of q million acres OF the La sIie
domain upon a forfeiIed II not au ex
tingaished grant.
1 have not heard that any writ Of man
damus had been sued ont TO compel the
Issue OF these patents, aud do not know
what Law or official obligation woRld
have been violated If the clerks in the
General Land Office had nos been kep,
at work at unseemly hours to get oui
the patents before IL O'Clock on the Att
day of March. One of your first official
acts, the withholding of further patents,
indicates that the haste With which
these final proceedings were conducted
had good foundation in fear that the
new administration of the 9overnmen,
might have more regard for public
rights than for soms corporate or pri.
vate interests.
Ii appears TO have been practice 10
late years, during the tendency in Con
gress OF the question of eaforsing the
forfeiture OF grants where roads were
not constructed in time, to saspsnd the
issue OF patents at the commencement
Of a session OF Congress and to resume
such issue upon the Adjournment. I
have not regarded it my duty as an ex-
ecutive officer of the Government to
take any steps during q recess Of Con-
gress that would place il beyond the
power of the legislative branch Of the
Government to protect the public rights
and interests by an enforcement of for
feitures which nave been incurred.
THE NORTHERN PAcrFIu GRANT.
These grants were forfeited under the
terms of the granting acts for failure
Of grantees TO complste their respective
roads within the time required by the
acts making Q grants. Most of them
are of the character of those held by
current Interpretation to be present
grants, conveying title by force Of law
and requiring a Legislative resumption
of the grants to divest such title out of
the grantees. | de not class soch grants
as the Northern Pacific or the New Or
leans, Baton Roaae and VicksborR as
grants Of that character; the acts in
those cases, and in some others, pre-
scribing that the land granted should
be such withinl prescribed sections and
limits Al might be free from prior appro-
priation, DO, and to which the United
states should have full title, DO, at the
time the line of the road il definitely
liked" The line Of the irst named of
these two roads has not yet been def
nisely fixed as an entire line. At the
date prescribed in tbs statute for the
completion OF the road July 4, 1870 a
parpor,ed definite location had been
made of part OF the line only from
near Dnluth, Minnesota. to the Missouri
river In Dakota. and from ksiama to
Tacoma, Washington Territory. The
second OF these roads vas no, definitely
located within she time limited by Law
for lis completion.
IL is not easy to perceive how legal
rights can be acquired under exeoutory
contracts after the period Of their exc
cution has expired, time being Of the
ess noe of the contract. But whatever
the GLASS or nature of any of the grants
named in the foregoing table, or the
extent or limitation OF rights there
under, the paramount right Of the gov
erument TO repssssss Itself Of the isnds,
whether granted or contemplated to be
granted, 10 unquestiouable. The osu-
ditions have failed, and the grants are
subject to resumption by the Rrantor.
10000 600 ACRES SUBJECT TO YoRFErvURE
Tie matter of declaring these for
FIXTURES and restoring the forfeited
lands to the public domain is promi
nentiy before the country, and has
awakened and excites keen public In.
teress. The amount of unpatented
lands embraced In all the grants sub
iect TO declaration of forfeiture 10
estimated az 100, ,000. 900 aares-an area
equal TO that of the cuDbiued States OF
New York. New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The
restoration TO public settlement and
entry of this great body of lands Is a
subject of the firss magnitude and oi
profound National importance. The
question presented 10 strictly enc OF
legal right. The rights Of the corpora
tions have been upheld for twenty and
thirty years. The Government has not
been in iaohes. The lands have been
kept In reservation. material for build.
lag the roads has been freely supplied
fron the public domain. and exten
sious OF time for construction have
been allowed. The default OF the com
pAnies has been voluntary. The rights
of the public are now to be considered
the right Of the people to repos sess
themselves Of their own. The case is
not one calling for sympathy 10 the cor
poraiiens; 10 is one calling for justies
10 the people Of the country. In the
mansgement of their giants, as oi
their roads, railroad companies havs
shown little sympathy for the public
none for settlers and citizens whose
presence and labor we're building uE
traffic, and whose earnings we're psyins
ali the traffic would bear over roads
c.nstructed By public bounty. HoldinG
their own claims through the indul.
cence of the government. delinqusnl
corporations have porsoed settlers With
the strong fcsces Of corporate power
uos only from local tribunals to the
executive department. but from the
executive departDent TO the courts. %
vrsst frem them the homes they had
ACQUIRED within the boundaries Of rail
road erants. IL is nv Information that
A pateut from the United states TO
sstt,sr under an award by adjudication
OF this department 10 not security q
\ !. ~s..hx. ao~sust q railroad COMPANY