Arizona weekly citizen., 1895-06-22
THE CALABASAS CIR ANT.

Private Land Claims in the case of the Calsbssas land grant. General Jehn- son is in Santa Fe in attendance upon said court as a witness in the Peralta Reavis claim. Aside from the latter the | Cslabasas grant is the most important measure before the court from Arizona The decision in this case, aside from its { great moneyed interests, is ot unusual | Importance for the reason that the valid- | ity of Mexican land grants in this terrl- tory hang largely npon this issue. The Calabssss grant was considered "per- feet grant" and as such was purchased
 and held by its present occupants. The
 settlers and thelr advisors maintained otherwise and the great legal battle for | its existence was begun. The govern ment attorney, Reynolds, who is un- doubtedly the greatest land lawyer of bis age, considered his work On this grant as the most difficult to grspple
 with, but that be was equal to the oc- cssson is manifest by the results. The court says:
 "That decree, in terms directed the sale by the Board of Sales of all proper ties "that pertsined to the department of temporalities" and prescribed the manner in which the sales should be conducted and the terms upon which they should be made. It contains no words of limitation as to the power to sell conferred by it, nor is there any re-
 ference to the former decree. but Is general direction to the Board of Sales to sell all properties of the class designat- ed If therefore the property in ques- tion belonged to that class 1t is clear that the Treasurer of the Department did not have power to make the sale.
 The lands in question belonged to the Indian village of Tumscscori, which was uninhabited for many years before the sale of the grant was made. Lands pertaining to the Department of Tenn
 poralities are understood to be those formerly occupied by the Monsstic and other orders, which were suppressed by the decree of the cortes of October 20, 1920. It was contended that the as
 sum ption by the officer making the sale that the property in question pertained to the Department ot the Temporalities
 was erroneous, that upon the abandon ment of the property by the Indians it became psrt of the public domain of the nation, and could be disposed of the of-
 icsrs having authority to sell lands be-
 longing to the public domsin. This con- 5ention may also be conceded, and he question is whether the departmental treasurer had authority and power, un- ,ale in question. By the law of January 36, 1881, general department of rev snue WAS created to which was given all branches of the treasury, except the administration of the mail and the
 mint. By the 22d article of the law it
 was provided that it should not go into effect until those that regulate the gen. eral treasury and the commissaries should be promulgated. On the 2lst
 of May following a law WAS enacted
 creating com mnisssriRts and commits
 saries and on July 7th of the same year
 a circular was issued which was entitled, Regulations Under the Law of Jan- usry 26th, 1S31." By the former it was provided that there should be commis- saries general in certain demarkations, among which was the state of Sonora and ia which the lands in question were situated. The fifth article of the law defined the powers and duties of the commisssrists, among which was to col lect and distribute the funds belonging to the federation under the orders of the Treasurer General. By the circular of July the General Department of Rev. enue, created by the law of January 26' was divided into three sections under whose charge should be the different branches of the treasury to the first sec- tiop, the chief of which was the First Auditor, to whom was given iurisdic- l ton of nationBl property. The tenth
 article provided that the general depart | ment should take an exact account of | the number. location, value, condition
 and present method of administration of | all the property and estates of the na- | tion, and should see to the thorough col
 lection of the proceeds thereof. By s
 decree of July 20, 1881, IL was provided
 that all contracts, purchases and sales on account of the treasury, should be
 made by boards of sale, consisting of the
 commisssrIes general and certain other
 designated officers. The decree also
 contained explicit rules prescribing the manner ID which such sales should be
 conducted and the record thereof made.
 In 1885 the state governments were
 abolished or suspended and the country
 was divided into departments of which Sonora was cne. Under a decree pro.
 muleated April IF, 1887, the principal officer of the general treasury in each
 department was designated as the Sup
 erior Chief of the Treasury, and on him
 was conferred the powers and duties
 formerly exercised by the commissary ! general. The decree also created the
 departmental treasuries at the capita of each department and defined the du tIes of the departmental treasuries. Il