Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-04-27

oftwo years from the date Of issuance
OF receivers receipt upon final entry
In cases existing, AMI where two years
had elapsed before the act Of March
',rd took effect, a. well as in those AZ
forwards. Many thousand homestead,
desert land, presumption and timber
culture entries are Involved In the
opinion. The secretary says In part:
Iftho statute Of March srd were 10
be construed TO invalidatc all contests
or protests not filed within two years
after the date Of final receipt ana be-
fore this statute took effect, the result
would be that many thousand frnudu.
lent claims would 10 TO patent without
further question being possible, al
though contcsts or protests were legally
penIipa al tho date OF the act, and with
great loss to many cltikuns. A'contcst
4 a statutory means Of acquiring home.
stead or other claims against Illegal
entry, aud thus, II successful, to pre-
serve tho public domain for honest
settlers. To construe the present act as
to annul and, as II were, wipe out all
those contests aud protests existing be-
fore March =, 1891, not filed within two
years from stlie Issuance OF the hnnl
certificate, would amount substantially
TO repeal pro taato Of the statute Of May
IL, 1880. :.
But a statute cannot be legally held
to be repealed by implication and. least
ofall, where II would allow patents 10
issue In 70 many cases where the cx-
porience Of the department leaves no
reason 10 doubt fraud has been prnc-
ticed upon the laws regulating land
entries, and which can be proven " the
contests and protests are allowed TO
proceed to hearing.
II II had been the purpose OF Con-
gress 10 provide that contest or pro-
test must hs pending within two years
after tho receivers receipt upon nnal
entry In all cases before the statute Of
March 2, 1891, as well as after, II Ger.
tainly would not have used NO am
biguous term az we here find. The
makers OF this law were well acquaint-
ed with the situation Of affair, tho
land laws have been the subject OF
great discussion for many years, In and
out Of Congress; tho committees on
public lands arc distinguished for their
Industry and intelligence, and they
were fully aware OF all OF the facis
stated. Had they desired 10 accomplish
the purpose claimed by some that this
act does accomplish as II reads they
should, and doubtless would ,have used
language too plain and direct to rc-
quirc construction. On the contrary,
they use the present participle In this
clause and say, "When there shall DO
no pending contest or protest" mean
Ing thereby, clearly, think, pending
then, presently, at the date OF the act,
~ It was not intended to be limited TO
contests pending within two years after
the date Of final pceipt, when the case
had arisen before tho present act took
effect and two years had elapsed. The
statute thus becomes one Of Limitation
M 10 tho future. without overthrowing
pending contests or protests. When
the two years did not terminate before
the date Of the act the protest, TO lie
valid, must be- Bled within tho two
years.
There IL no force, think, In the point
that thc statute enumerates cases, un-
der the timber culture or pre-emItion
laws, for these laws, although repealed
by the act, have been eiiicacious 10 In.
sugurate entries which either proceed-
cd to final entry or may yet do 80. No
new cases will arise under the timber
culture or prescription laws, but It In
necessary that this act should notice
them 10 cover the whole ground. Meth.
or does the proposition seem n sound
one, that. by this statute II was intended
10 expedite public business. The way
Congress must expect 10 have patents
Issued il by furnishing sufficient cleri-
cal force TO accomplish the work, and
not by suddenly rushing great masses
Of cases 10 patent, although contests
legally instituted arc pending, and In
which experience leaves no reason TO
doubt fraud exists. To thus reward
fraud and .squander Tire public lands
could not have been the purpose Of our
national Legislature. These are my
views upon tho law presented, and NIL
the points l deem II necessary to dis
GUS.