The morning call., 1893-10-10
MINING LAWS.
Legislative Measures Considered by
q Convention Conn ruittee

Convention Committee.
In the evening the miners headquarters
were visited by delegates and friends, and
as many of those present appeared 10 have
special business to transact it was ap-
parent that matters of general importance
were seriously discussed. In one corner
of the large paror the committee on legis-
laton met at O'Clock. Sen ator T. t.
Ford of Sierra presided and around him
was full committee.
Senator Ford in calling the meeting tc
order said tnat there were three very i'm
pOrtant questions before the legislative
committee-the Caminetti bill, the pro-
posed Stewart bill and the rulings of the
United States Land Office.
L. A. Belcher OF San Francisco made a
minute analysis of the Stewart bill from a
legal point of view, while the committee
followed him attentively. The bill is
aimed at the correction OF abuses under
which legitimate miners suffer-l0catiOns,
patents, ownership and operation of mines.
j. Ii. Keow of Placer County interrupted
Belcher. Cant we do something TO stop
this land grabbing" said he. ANY fel-
low who can run a theodoiite and make
surveys calls himself a mining engineer
and grabs all the land in sight. 1t is nearly
as bad as the railroads grabbing. They
survey land and run tunnel some place
and then claim thousands of acres. This
should be stopped some way. Why. on
my ridge there are three men who own
pretty nearly the whole ridge. Two OF
them have 10000 acres. How many old
miners have grown poor in trying TO get
patents, while these loafers who hang
around the junction grow rich? 2"
FulweiIer Of Placer also analyZed the
bill at length, after which it was discussed
by the committee, resulting in the passage
of resolutions regarding the three subjects
considered.
On the Caminetti bill a resolution wes
adopted recommending that the conven-
tiou ask for Federal appropri alton for con-
structDg imponndlng dams so that hy-
draulic mining may be resumed under the
law.
Resolutions that rulings of the Land
Department be made more favorable to
mining interests in order that miners may
secure patents to claims to their lands
without so much litigation and expense as
at present were adopted.
The proposed Stewart bill was changed
in many places and will be submitted TO
the convention to-day in form approved
by the committee.
j. M. Fulweiler of Placer. j. M. Walling
of Nevada and S. A. Smith of Sierra, a
subcommittee on Land Office mining
patents. reported as follows:
We recommend the following as an amend.
ment TO The present mining laws of the United
States:
Section -. That the officers of the Land De-
partment OF the Government in continuing the
provisions OF the laws relating TO the acquisition
OF the Title OF the Government to its mineral
lands to its citizens shall construe and apply
the same with great llberality and with view
to aid the applicants in procuring said titles,
ana that The rules ana regulations prescribed
By said department for its government and that
OF Its officers in disposiDg of said lands shall
be SO formulated and administered as to assist
the Government In diSposing OF said lands to
bona fide applicants, and not so as to impede
said sales or impose onerous burdens on appli-
cants.
Charles Yale was appointed committee
of one to draft resolutions OF thanks TO the
press and Board of Trade of San Fran
cisco. and Fred Searles TO prepare resolu-
tions expressing the sentiments of the
convention toward the Midwinter Fair.