The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-10-24
THE MANDAMUS Proceedings.
LAND COMMISSIONER BAKER
is THE TARGET IN THIS
INSTANCE.
Interesting Proceedings Instituted in
the Supreme Court Yesterday Morn
ing That Will Probably Make
the Fur Fly.


Mckenzie of Tom Green county to
force Commissioner Baker to award him
lease to certain lands described in the
annexed petition. This case is very
liable to produce no end of discussion as
it will effect millions of acres of Texas
lands, and will also in all probability
test the validity of some legislative en-
actments. The court will take the mat
ter under Amusement and it is highly
probable that they will be heard from
on the mandamus issue sometime this
week.
The following is the text of the petit
ton:
In the supreme court of Texas, October
term, A. D. 1895.
III. Mckenzie VS.. A. j. Baker, commits
sioner of the land Office. To the Honor
able the Supreme Court of Texas:
First-Your petitioner, HI. Mckenzie,
who resides in Tom Green county, State
of Texas, and who is citizen of said
county and State, complaining of A. J.
Baker as commissioner of the general
land Office of the State of Texas, res
pectfully represents. That ON the End
day of October, A. D., 1895, he made
application in writing to the said A. J.
Baker, commissioner of the general land
office, for the lease of the following two
sections of land, situated in Tom Green
county, Texas, for the period of ten
years at the price of cents per acre.
which said lands had been previously
surveyed and set apart for the benefit of
the public free schools of the State of
Texas; to-wit: Section No. IL in block
No. p, of $40 acres of land, surveyed by
virtue of certificate No. 42-5420 issued to
the Houston and Texas Central Railway
company, classified as dry grazing land
and section No. 20 in block No. 81 of
$40 acres of land, surveyed by virtue of
certificate No. 41-5424 issued to the
Houston and Texas Central Railroad
company, classified as dry grazing lands.
A certified copy of said application for
said lease is hereto attached and marked
exhibit A." and the same is hereby
made part hereof. That said two sec
tons of land were prior to the making
OF said application for said lease classi-
ned according to law as "dry grazing
land" That said classification of said
lands was duly and legally made, was
approved by the commissioner of the
general land office, and is on file in said
ONCE: A copy of said classification of
SAID land is hereto attached and marked
exhibit E-and the same is hereby made
part hereof. That said two sections
OF land aforesaid have never been sold
or leased, although for several wears
they have been on the market for sale
and lease under the various statutes of
Texas authorizing the sale and lease of
public free school lands of the State.
Ihat said lands are not now, and never
have been in immediate demand for the
purposes of actual settlement. That
the bid of this applicant for the lease of
said land is the highest and only bid that
the State has ever received for said
land. That under the law and the facts
it was the duty of the said A. J. Baker,
commissioner of the general land office.
to have accepted the said application of
petitioner for the lease of said land as
aforesaid, and to have executed and de-
livered to petitioner lease for said
lands in accordance with said application
for said lease. That notwithstanding
the plain duty of the said A. J. Baker
commissioner of the general land office,
in the premises, he rejected petitioners
application for said lease upon the sole
and only ground that the minimum
prices of cents per acre as fixed by sec
ton II of an act passed by the Twenty
fourth legislature entitled, "An act to
provide for the sale of all lands hereto
fore or hereafter surveyed and set apart
for the benft of the public free schools
and the several asylums, and the lease
of such lands and of the public lands of
the State. and the patenting of any part
of said lands for church, cemetery or
school house sites land to prevent the free
use, occupancy, unlawful enclosure or
unlawful appropriation of such lands,
and to prescribe and provide adequate
penalties therefor" which is chapter Al.
acts of 1895, page 50, was changed to
cents per acre by an act passed by the
Twenty fourth legislature; approved
April 16, 1895. and entitled AN act to
repeal section 20, and to amend sections
II and "a of senate bill No. 95, entitled
An act to provide for the sale, etc.
passed at the present session." Chapter
4S of the acts of 1895, page rs. AS is
manifested from the endorsement made
on said application for said lease which
is as follows, to-wit: Rejected 1917.
"See letter of this date.
ANDREW J. BAKER.
Commissioner General Land Office"
HdL lue Sdlu letter reIerreQ to DV the
said Baker in the said endorsement is
hereto attached and marked exhibit c."
and the same is hereby made part here
of.
Petitioner further represents that on
the 18th day of October, A. D. 1895, for
the purpose of securing the lease of said
two tracts of land aforesaid, he rendered
to w. B. Workman, treasurer of the State
Of Texas, the sum of S25 for one years
rental of said land at the rate of 9
cents per acre, but that said treasurer re-
fused to receive the same upon the
grounds that the commissioner of the
general land Office had not awarded the
lease of said lands to your petitioner,
all of which more fully appears by the
certificate of said treasurer hereto at
tached and marked exhibit D, which is
hereby made part hereof, of which part
the said Hon. A. J. Baker, commissioner
Of the general land Office, was duly no
tilted.
Petitioner further AYERS that chapter
81 of the acts of 1895, and particularly
sections II and IS. of said law, which
iXes the minimum lease price of said
ands at 10 cents per acre, is in full force
md effect, that the same have never
been legally amended or repealed, that
said chapter 4S of the acts of 1895.
which attempts to repeal section 20 and
% amend sections II and "a of said
chapter Al, is wholly null and void, be-
.ause said chapter AZ, which was senate
dill No. 80, was presented to the govern
,r for his approval at 4:30 p. IN. of the
I+l, Jov, of Anil n 1907 and bo bo,,