Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-10-28
SMALL LAND HOLDINGS.
Santa Fe Land officials Receive In
structions Regarding These Hold
ings-NO Provision for Giving
Public Notice to Conflict
ing Claimants.

The register and receiver of the U. s
land Office in this city have received from
the commissioner of the general lane
Office circular of instructions respect
ing the taking Of proof for patent Of
what is known as "small land holdings
claims for which have been duly filed
with the surveyor general in compliance
with the act of congress creating the U
8. court of private land claims.
In order that these claims may be ad.
Indicated. the register and receiver are
instructed to procure from the surveyor
general list of all such claims filed with
him as have been surveyed and all others
as soon as surveyed together with the
names and addressed the claimants. Each
of the claimants will then be notified that
he will be allowed ninety days to submit
proof of his possession and occupation
in accordance with the following:
l.. Each cf the claimants under the
provisions of section 16, who was In
actual, adverse, bona fide possession of
his claim twenty years prior to the sur
vey of the township in which the land is
situated, and has 80 occupied and held
the same continuously from that time on
to the making of such Survey, will be re-
quired to make affidavit to that fact,
stating therein the character and origin
of his claim, and the material facts re-
lied upon to show such possession.
2. Each of the claimants under the
provision of said section 16 who was not
in the actual, adverse, bona fde posses
sion of his claim twenty years prior to
the survey of the township in which the
land is situated, but who bases his
claim upon the actual, adverse, bona tide
possession of those under whom he holds,
will be required to make affidavit to that
fact, stating therein the name of the per-
son SO occupying the land claimed twenty
years prior to such survey, and the name
of each of his Successors In such occu-
pancy during the said period Of twenty
years; the respective periods, as near as
may be, that the land was so held by each
of such successive occupants; the mate
rial facts relied upon to show such posses
sion during said period; and giving a
complete history of his title to such
claim, from the first of the occupants
mentioned down to the present claim
ant.
8. Each of the claimants under the
provisions of section II will be required
to make affidavit in accordance with the
foregoing instructions l or 2, as the case
may be, stating therein the additional
facts necessary to show that he became a
citizen of the United States by reason of
said treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo or the
terms of the Gadsen purchase, or that
some former occupant or claimant of
said land from whom he derived his title
or possession so became a citizen of the
United States; and in the latter case Civ
ing a complete history of the title to his
claim from the ancestor oy grantor SO
naturalized down to the present claim
ant. Geg
4. If documentary evidence of the
title of such claimants is in existence
such evidence or duly authenticated cop
les of the documents must be produced
and fled by them.
S. Every material fact set forth in the
claimants affidavit, or necessary to the
validity of his claim, not established by
competent documentary evidence, must
be substantiated by the affidavits of not
less than two disinterested witnesses hav-
ing personal knowledge of the facts.
It will be noticed that these instruc-
tions make no provision whatever for
giving public notice to all who may be
concerned of the intention of claimants
to prove up on their real or pretended
holdings. The proceedings contem-
r1o I'd nf purnlu nQrfa nofnro
The claimant is required to come for
wavd with such proofs as he may actually
have or such as he may see fit to manu-.
facture, and he must also bring with him
'two lisinterested witnesses" to ''sub.
stantiate" his evidence, but, besides him
self, his two witnesses and the officials of
the land Office, no one else need know
anything about his proceedings until
they are consummated and patent issued
to him. 1t is needless to explain that
this method of proof leaves the door
wide open to the practice of frauds of
various kinds, and, as 1t is a matter of
common notoriety that many of the SO.
called "small holdings" are in direct
conflict with other apparently bona fide
claims, it is plain that the merely e1
parte proof mentioned is certain to re-
suit in serious injustice and to prove a
fruitful source of annoying and expensive
litigation. As this method of procedure
il contrary to the we'll established
wise and conservative policy of the gen.
eral land Office, which has uniformly
aimed to guard against frauds, injustice
and future doubt, the New MEXICAN il
persuaded that the neglect to do 80 in
this instance is the result of an over
sight and that additional instructions are
likely soon to follow.