Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-06-14
A REJOINDER.
DIR. HURLEY's APPEALING ACT
 DODGES sCRUTINY
The Effect of the Attorney General s Opinion not Necessarily a Bar to Vested Rights---The Courts
 may Decide Other
 wise.
PHEN1x, AR1z. June 9th 1890.

your issue of 7th inst letter from J. M Hurley, which insinuates that At torney General Mille-, Secretary No ble and your humble servant, although of the legal profession, are somewhat deficient in common sense in our respective methods of dealing with the Act of October 2nd, 1888, in it's relations to desert land entries made since its passage.
 While might perhaps be induced to admit the correctness of the soft in its application, on general principles, to the Attorney General, inasmuch as that gentlemen has seen proper to give to the act a construction which 1 deem entirely untenable when tested by the we'll established rules of statutory l must, however, Ill candor, demur to the charge, even as to him, as made by your correspond ent, on the grounds of the insuffi- ciency of the evidence on which it IS based; and for the Hon. Secretary and for my self claim the benefits of the stock verdict of "not proven"
 A few days since received a letter from MT. Hurley in which he made the same startling disclosure, which he reiterates in his communication to your, viz that the baneful effects of the Act of October End, 1888, on the desert land entries, had in some mysterious manner, known only to himself, been knocked into smith CTS" by subsequent act in March, 1889 Though somewhat skeptical that 30 important fact with regard to public lands legislation should have escaped observation for so long a time by those whose duty 1t IS to know and administer such laws, that it might be first brought to public attention through the superior un- derstanding of a resident of this Territory, confessedly unlearned in the law but possessed of more than ordinary common sense, l neverthe- less proceeded at once to prospect the discovery shaft thus indicated, with the result that my research was suddenly brought to halt by what might be denominated in miners par lance Ia horse" Upon due search of the Session Laws of the Fifueth Congress, passed during March, 1889, I failed to find an act which even so much as hints at repeal of the obnoxious features of the act of Oc- tober 2, 1888, with reference to desert lands, and concluding that the lead had worked out I abandoned the job.
 If indeed your correspondent has made the important discovery which he claims to have done, he owes 1t to himself, that he may receive the prop CT amount of credit therefor, and to an admiring and grateful public that it may reap the benefits thereof, to pursue still further his efforts as a common sense expounder of the law. and give to the public through the columns of your paper not only the title of the act of congress to which he alludes, but also that DOT ton of the text thereof for which he claims such potent power. When he has done this, I may possibly, should the act produced justify his claims in its behalf but not otherwise, be ready to admit that common sense, as he understands the term, IS fair substitute for legal rules in the in depreciation of statute laws:
 It may perhaps be well in this con. nection to suggest to those of your readers who are holders of desert land entries made since October 2nd, 1888, that while Attorneys General Miller's opinion in relation to the statutes of those entries is much to be regretted as being productive of more or less trouble to such entry men in perfecting their claims, they should bear in mind that such opinion does not carry with it the weight of law outside of the General Land Oficey and that the recognition of its correctness by the courts is yet an open question. It is to be hoped however that under the recent re commentators ot Secretary of the Interior Noble, congress will afford an effective and speedy remedy for threatened evils by an early modifi- cation or repeal of the law upon which they are based. But in the event that congress fails in its per formance of this duty and cancel ation of such entries IS attempted by the General Land Office under the interpretation given to the law by the Attorney General, it is more than possible that the courts will ignore such interpretation in so far at least as to declare that those hold ing such entries have certain vested rights in the lands covered by them, which cannot be so readily divested as the authorities at Washington seem inclined to suppose.
 H. B. LIGHTHIZER
 MT. O. A. Hyatt is in from Oracle, and reports that the mines in that region are very good, considering the developments. It is expected that some mining propositions will soon change hands. If all goes smooth there will soon be reduction works erected, which will greatly facilitate the business ill that region. The mines are working chiefly on silver and lead, copper also being found in paying quantities. Gold properties there are liable to soon change hands. The Southern Belle is about to begin operations under some New York parties control. The mine has been idle for some time past on account of trouble between former owners, but all is now fixed and 10 stamps more are to be added. This is very fine property. The Inter Ocean Cattle Co, E. o. Stratton superintendent,
 has nere one of the finest cattle ranges
 in the country, and all the cattle are
 looking very good. This region has
 the finest resources for the mining
 business wood, water and grass being
 there in abundance. It has had g
 black eye on it in the past on account
 of the Apache scares, but that is now
 over, and it is lively country of
 which Arizona can well be proud
 Citizen.
 G. w. Lang came in town on Friday
 last with a band of 293 steers and B
 horses the same havino haen driven