The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-10-17
THE PROLOGUE.

Ill INV, WtIC llOlii viz SOttOO "
said Waco and Northwestern"
9. "That most, if not all the certifi-
Gates to the Houston and Texas Cen
trail show that it has obtained sixteen
sections to the mile for 'sidings and
switches in addition to every lineal
mile of road completed under the law,
thereby acquiring improperly more
than 100000 acres of land than
it was ever entitled to-"
You say further faction to settle
these questions in court has thus far
been delayed on account of other inn
portant heavy litigation and other du-
ties that required the undivided at
tention of the force in this depart
ment. Feeling that you have never
been fully advised of the premises this
letter is, with profoundest respect, ad-
dressed to you."
SOME REFRESHING FACTS.
deem it proper to call your atten-
ton to the fact that it appears from
the records of this Office that up to
January, 1879, most, if not all, rail
roads received certificates for sidings
except the International and Great
Northern. Hence, the reasons given
by you for the Withholding of patents
on the land grant made to the Hous-
ton and Texas Central Railroad COM
pany, apply with equal force to many
other grants, the more important of
which are the Southern Pacific, the
Galveston, Harrisburg and San An
tonic, the Galveston, Houston and
Henderson, the Gulf, West Texas and
Pacific, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa
Fe, the Houston and Great Northern,
the Texas and Pacific, the Texas
Western Narrow Gauge, the Denison
and southeastern, the East Line and
Red River, the Houston, East and
West Texas. In fact, in all the larger
grants to railroads except the Intema-
tional and Great Northern, certificates
were given for sidings.
My information is that the lands
granted to nearly or quite all the rail
roads above named have long since
passed from the ownership and control
of the original grantees, and are now
held by innocent purchasers in good
faith. The utmost limit of the inter
est now retained by the original
grantees being an equity of redemp-
ton in portion of two or three
grants. Most of the certificates
received by the roads above men
toned were issued in the period from
1872 to 1878 inclusive, or during the
official terms of Governors Davis, Coke
and Hubbard, who, under the law,
determined the amount of land to
which the roads were entitled. In
this same period certificates were is
sued for more than half the lands ever
granted to railroads.
Few other governors of Texas, per-
haps, in popular estimation, have been
more competent to construe statute
than these gentlemen. Hence, it is
not strange that tens of thousands of
citizens of this and other states have
invested their money and labor in
these certificates, and the lands ac-
quired by virtue thereof. Governors
Davis, Coke and Hubbard uniformly
authorized and directed the issuance
of certificates for necessary sidings, as
is shown by the records of this office.
1t is not possible now to determine
which certificates were given for sid
ings; hence, an attempt by the state
to recover will involve, at least for the
time, the whole of given grant, to
the impairment or destruction of its
commercial value and use, and bring
distress, perhaps disaster, to the in
nocent citizen.
A STATE MUST ACT HONORABLY.
l feel constrained to say that with.
out surrendering any reasonable or
Just claim to any of the domain which
was once hers, the state should, on a
basis of good faith and purity of inten-
ton on the part of those with whom
she must deal, act Justly and honestly.
Where innocent people are involved,
as in this case, she should have some
regard Tor the acts and contracts OF
her agents, especially when those
agents carried the dignity and prestige
of chief magistrate OF Texas. She GER
tainly cannot indulge in conduct. the
like of which by a citizen, she would
not tolerate, or adopt for herself Il
code OF morals such as has never pre-
vailed among honorable men. 1t is
with the greatest esteem for you per-
Sonally, and the utmost respect for
you professionally and officially, that
| now beg permission to attempt to
clear this department from the impu-
tation contained in your letter, that
it has been issuing patents to. the
Houston and Texas Central railroad
without legal sanction.
IGNORANCE Is BLISS.
So positive are my convictions in
the matter that l am persuaded that
your conclusions would have been