The herald., 1896-01-18
The Subject of a Presidential
Message
TIME SHOULD BE EXTENDED
For AnnuIment of Unauthorized or Un-
lawful Grants
The Statutory Time for Bringing Action viii
Expire on March sd Next and
Should Be Extended

Associated Press Special Wire.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1.-THE president
today sent the following message to con.
gress:
WASHINGTON, Jan. II, 1896.
To the Congress:-I desire to invite at
tention to the necessity of prompt legisla-
ton in order to remove the limitation of
time in which suits may be brought by the
government to annul unlawful or un-
authorized grants of public lands
By the act of March 5, 1887, the secre-
tary of the interior is directed to adjust
each of the railroad land grants which
may be unadjusted and it is provided if it
shall appear, upon the completion of such
adjustment, or sooner, that the lands have
been from any cause erroneously certified
or patented by the United States for the
said grants, it shall be the duty of the
secretary of the interior to demand a re-
conveyance of the title to all lands so
enormously certified or patented; and on
failure of the company to make such re-
conveyanbe within ninety days, the attor-
ney-general is required to institute and
prosecute, in the proper courts, necessary
proceedings to restore the title to said
lands to the United States.
The demands under this act have been
numerous and in some cases have resulted
in the reinvestment of titles to lands in
the United States upon demand, but in
most cases the demands have been re-
fused and suits have been necessary.
The work of adjustment has been I'M
avoidably slow. The said act makes pro-
vision for the reinstatement of entries er-
roneously cancelled on account Of railroad
Withdrawals, and upon certain conditions,
provided for the confirmation of titles de.
rived by purchase from the companies of
land shown to be excepted from the grants.
1t contemplates a disposition of every tract
described by the granting act, and in
spection of each tract certified or patented
to the company, within such limit, to de-
termipe whether such certiiication or pat
enting was proper; the listing of these
tracts tracts shown to be enormously Ger.
titled and the determination for which
tracts lost to the grant indemnity is to be
allowed.
Itis necessary, in making such an adj
justment, that all questions of certifying
claims, either between settlers and the
roads, or between two roads, the grants for
which conflict or overlap be finally disposed
of, so that proper disposition of the land
can be shown in the adjustment. While
adjustments have proceeded with the ut
most rapidty consistent with due regard
for the rights of the settlers of the United
States and of the railroad companies, and
while to this end the force of adjusters has
been largely augmented in the general
y
unadjusted.
In some OF the grants, notably the cor
poraton grants, the lack of surveys up to
the present time made the completion of
the work impossible.
Decisions rendered by the interior de-
partment in numerous conflicts have been
carried into the courts. The construction
of the interior department has generally
been sustained when final determination
has been reached, but many of the cases
are still pending. not yet having been de-
cided.
Some of these cases, while involving i'm
mediately the title to only one particular
tract will, when decided, furnish a rule of
construction to control the disposition of
the title to thousands of acres of other
lands in the same situstion. Until the
courts pass upon these questions final ad-
iustment cannot be made.
By section 8 of the act of March 4,
1891, it is expressly enacted that "suits
by the United States to vacate and annul
any patents therefor issued, shall only be
brought within five years from the passage
of this act"
This period of five years will expire on
March 3, 1896. Or course, suits by the
United States to secure the cancellation of
patent in this class of cases after that
date would not be effective. Indeed it is
now too late to initiate proceedings looking
to any such suit, inasmuch as demand has
to be filed on the company, and thereafter
ninety days allowed for compliance or re-
fusal in accordance with the act of March
8. 1887.