The St. Johns herald., 1892-09-08

Iidi SIdilt papers V6TS lOSV, put Una
 they had been in existence and wer
 either destroyed or lost by the al
 calde of the town prior to the Amer
 ican occupation. They claimed
 that the grant was perfect at tn
 time of the cession of the territor,
 to this government and that the At lantic & Pacific railroad compap,
 had no right or claim whatsoever tc
 the odd sections contained within
 the limits of the grant, as the lanc
 was claimed and occupied and 1T
 adverse possession to the railroad grant in 1846, and also in 1866, the
 date of the roads charter, and
 March 12, 1872, the date of the de.
 finite location of the road.
 Messrs. Frost and Howard also established in the case the loss and destruction of certain archives dur
 ing the regime of Governor Pyle, which archives it is believed con- tained valuable papers bearing on grant and other matters.
 Mr. Chief Justice Reed visited the tract in question in person and took the testimony of the old men and most important witnesses then and there, as these old men were too infirm and weak to be moved to Santa Fe. Two of these old men. original grantees and settlers and fathers ot some of the present claim ants, have since died.
 United States Attorney Reynolds contended that there was no grant and that none such had been:proved. The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad company filed an intervener, claim ing that 1t was entitled to the right of way and the odd sections within the grant, as such were given it by a subsequent act of congress. Capt. N. C. Sterry, general counsel, and Karl A. Snyder, assistant counsel, for the railroad.
 A number of witnesses were ex- amined for the claimants and few for the United States. Two of the witnesses examined for the claim ants were over 100 years old, and two were between 80 and 90 years of age.
 The court this morning in it's de- cision sustained the grant, declared 1t perfect grant, that it was valid It the time of the cession and ac- luisition of New Mexico by the United States, that it was properly made, that the grant papers were ost or destroyed. that the grant vas made for the lands within the boundaries claimed, that as the and in question was at time of the definite location of the Atlantic & Pacific railroad not public land and lot free from claims or prior grants, t could not be granted by the Uni ed States to the railroad, and that decree should be entered up giv- ng and confirming the entire claim, the odd sections of land 7ithin it, to the people of the town f Cubero, except the right of way f 200 feet in width which right of ray was held to be good to the rail- oad, the grant claimants laying no lam thereto. It was ordered that
 decree be drawn in accordance 'ith the decision.
 This case is of vast importance { s it settles, as far as the court of riyate land claims is concerned, le rights of the Atlantic & Pacific t lilroad to the odd sections of land ( ing within unconfrmed Spanish nd Mexican land grants and claims Z est of the Rio Grande, which were . lb-judice, and as fully one-half of le grants claimed are in that sec on of New Mexico. The decision is deemed so far in its results that, more y lan likely, the United States at- a rney will carry it up to have the Il lestions finally passed upon by .