Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-02-12

anywhere within the clalued boundaries
of the grant, provided they would leave
a sufficient amount of the money depos-
tied for the survey of the grant by metes
and bounds for the survey OF the twenty
two square leagues. This decision would
be considered final unless, says the sec
rotary, by reference of the whole matter
to congress, some other specific interpre-
tatien be given by legislative act to said act
of confirmation of June 81 1860. The
commissioner was instructed by the sec
rotary that, upon the terms of his de-
eision, he-the commissioner-was under
the laws governing the public surveys,
Efto take notice of the grant
as such; in other words, to go right on
with the public surveys as if there was no
grant.
The grant claimants made but one eff
fort to get rid of the secretary's decision.
This was in 1871, when they applied to
the successor of Secretary Cox-zthe Hon.
Columbus Delano-to reverse the deci-
sion of his predecessor; but Secretary
Delano decided, May %, 1871, that he
had no ability TO reverse the decision Of
Secretary Cox; that it was binding upon
him in law; and that, therefore, he must
refer the parties to congressional or
other remedy - But the grant claim
ants did not choose to try the scongress-
sional or other remedy and so, four
years after Secretary Cox decision the
grant claimants, having failed TO comply
with the secretary IS decision, the COM
missioner of the general land office-the
Hon. Willis Drummond-ln confor-
nifty with the said decision, on the 28th
of January, 1874, instructed the sur
veyor- general of New Mexico to regard
and treat the entire tract claimed as the
Beaubien and Miranda or Maxwell
grant, Gas public land and extend the
public surveys over the same, - the in
struction being immediately complied
with and the public surveys extended ),
and the entire tract opened to homestead
and presumption settlement and entry
under the following order.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GENERAL LAND OFFICE,
WASHINGTON, Jan. %, 1874.
James K. Proudft, Esq, Surveyor General,
Santa Fe, n. NJ.
SIR herewith transmit copy of the
decision of the secretary of the interior
bearing date December 81, 1869, in regard
to the Beaubien and Miranda private
land claim No. Is, confirmed by con-
gress June 81, 1860, statutes at large,
Vol. y, page IL AS the claimants have
withdrawn their whole deposit and re-
fused to comply with the terms of the
decision you will regard and treat the
lands claimed by them as public lands,
and extend the public surveys over the
same. Your obedient servant,
WILLIS DRUMMOND,
Commissioner.
THE LAW DEFIED.
Certain officials in New Mexico, how
ever, determined that the 3 900 ,000-acre
tract, claimed as the Maxwell grant,
should not be ''treated as public land. -
The assessor of ColfaX county, N. NJ.
unlawfulIy taxed the land then being
surveyed as public land, as the Maxwell
grant for the years 1875 and 1876; in jan
uary, 1877, the land required by law to
be treated as public land was unlawfully
sold at public auction at Cimarron, then
the county seat of ColfaX county for the
unlawful taxation-the Hon. NJ. w.
Mills, a member of the territorial
legislature, being the purchaser
for SI4 600. Mr.. Mills, for a
valuable consideration, transfers his
fraudulent taX-title to the Hon.
Thomas B. Catron, United States attor
ney and law partner of the Hon. S. B
fers his fraudulent tax-title, fora valua-
bic consideration, to the Maxwell land
grant company The Hon. s. B Elkins,
at this time delegate to congress from
New Mexico, induces Commissioner Will
Hanson and Secretary Schurz, in defiance
of the final, unreYersible, unreversed de-
cisiOn of Secretary Cox, to survey in 1877
the tract required to be treated as public
land as the Maxwell grant, and to issue
the Maxwell grant company quitclaim
patent for the same.
MISPLACED CONFIDENCE.
Commissioner Williamson s excuse to
the settlers for the grant survey of 1877
was that Secretary Cox IS decision of 1869
had been cOllaterally reversed by the de-
cision of the supreme court in the case of
John G.. Tarneling VS.. the United States
freehold and emigration company,
rendered at its October term, 1876 T93
Q. S.. GA This false information of
Commissioner Williamson led the
settlers to believe that the grant survey
of 1877 and the grant quit-claim patent
of 1879 were legal, and that their only
hope now was to attack the patent for
fraud in the survey, in unlaw-
fully including in said sur
vey lands that were not within
the described limits Of the grant. The
Encouragement was induced to bring
suit in the United States circuit court for
the district of Colorado for the recovery
to the government of the Colorado por-
ton of the so-called grant, as being I'M
lawfully included in said grant of 1877.
After this suit was well advanced the I'M
dersigned discovered that the decision of
Secretary Cox had not, as represented by
Commissioner Williamson, been collater-
ally reserved by the decision of the SUI
preme court in the Tarneling case.
then proceeded to Washington, in the
spring of 1885, with petition to Secre-
tary Lamar, in behalf of the settlers, to