The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-11-26
DEPARTMENT NOTES
':.ily D5ings in and Around the State
Department s.


Department
!. CONTROLLERS DEPARTMENT.
Yesterday Tarrant county paid SIG
| compound interest on money borrow
| ed from the public free school fund.
| NT-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT
Lieutenant Scott'scompany OF rang
erS is now Ell route from Cvalde to
WilbaTger county where it viii go in
to winter quarters. The other COM
panies will winter a: their present
stations unless extraordinary require
mentS of the service demand a change.
The men at the different posts are en-
| Joying good health.
| STATE LAND BOARD.
| Grass commissioners w. T. Gass,W
NJ. Bains and G. w. Swink returned to
the city Saturday and Sunday. Com
missioners II E. McCulloch, j. D.
Stepens and L. j. Wallace arrived
some days previous.
| A meeting of the state land board
was heald yesterday afternoon, in the
senate chamber. The meeting was
called to order by
| STATE TREASURER LUBBOCK,
chairman of the board, who stated the
object Was to settle COLLECTS between
actual settlers, but as all the grass
| commissioners were present he sug-
gested that possibly the board would
like to take some action on their re-
ports.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TEMPLETON
said he had not read the reports, and
was not prepared to act intelligently.
He had learned the reports were in the
hands OF the printer, but he preferred
to be posted before taking any decls
i've action upon th5ir recommended
tions.
LAND COMMISSIONER WALSH
said he had read enough to satisfy
himself, that the school lands had been
deprecated upon, and re wanted some
steps taken to prevent these depreda-
tions, as the reports show matters
were much worse than anyone ever
thought they would be. He was enX-
iouS to devise some means to make
persons using public lands pay for the
same or move their fences.
Co.. Templeton said ne would go as
far in that direction as any one.
COMPTROLLER SWAIN
recommended that the governor issue
his proclamation ordering tresspassers
off the lands, and in case of refusal to
go, to order out the rangers ar d cI1t
the fences down. He thought it the
duty OF, and he believed the state had
the authority, to move the fences. lie
was quite positive in this view Of the
matter.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
thought this could be done where the
state was certain the fences were on
the public lands; but he doubted If
the governor had authority, under
present laws, to order the rangers to
take down fences, as the pr sent MAJ
chlnery of government would not
permit the enforcement of the en-
closure act as proposed. Nor could it
be enforced by civil process, as in man.
otohe districts where the law is openly
defed, the district judges, district at
torneys and grand juries >sympathize'd
with those violating the law, and if
an Indictment was found it would bp
impossible TO convict.
TREASURER LUBBOCK
: argued that if that was tue case, the
judges and attorneys should be
removed, and he wanted to know
ii there wasn't a law by which
i6 could be done. He said
; if the sheriffs in the districts could
not enforce the law ne wanted the
rangers to be called on. He alluded
to Charles q Goodnight having 100000
/ acres of public land enclosed, on which
not cent is paid, and said, Lets go
for them; let us make sc OF this"
AN EXTRA sEs On.
/ Acknowledgement I, lpletoo said
it could not be done Under present
laws.
: Gov. Lubbock-''Then let the gov.
ernor call an extra session of the
legislature and make law. Enis is a
serious business, and it there is no law
, to reach the case we should have
one"
4 GOVERNOR IRELAND,
who had been al attentive listener to
all that had been said, now spoke very
5 earnestly to the meeting. He insisted
! that there was no law authorizing the
/ governor to use troops to remove
fences, and that he didn't intend to
5 turn the state into military satrapy
in violation OF the constitution and
all law. He had suggested remedy
, to the last legislature, which all know
: now would have removed the evils
complained of, but that body had re-
! fused to adopt it. He wanted a law
, passed making the offenses COM
: planned of returnable in some 10
, terror county, where the
officers were not interested with those
!, who are violating the law and where
convictions could be had. IIe said
, further, abiding to the cutting of
, fences by rangers, that as soon as their
; backs were turned the fences would
| be put up again, and to keep them down
required an army of one hundred
thousand men.
. COMPTROLLER SWAIN
: said, he thought the military should
| b. used, and that the governor should
use it i'll enforcing the law.
The governor-'Yes , certain enthu-
siasts wanted me to use the military
, to arrest fence-cutters without war
rant of law. had no authority hen;
have no authority now to Or any
mans fence cut. You Wcnt state
to do something, because it has the
physical power, even if there is no law
for it. cannot and l will not do it,
and it did, the legislature would
wisely have me promptly impeached.
AFTER SOME FURTHER DISCUSSION,
in which it was evident that Comp
troller Swain and Commissioner Walsh
were willing to try military force to
drive off the free grassers, the COVER
nor INDUCED in some calm suggestions
to the board. 1t was his judgment to
continue the present commits
sion in the field, to represent
the state as the surveyors now do.
Districts can be mapped off for each
, commissioner and he be located per-
manently to show people desiring
lands where they can be had. They
can also furnish reliable information
to the board, 50 it can act entelIlgent-
~. They can
, REPORT VIOLATIONS OF LAW,