Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-04-26
LAND CIR ANTS.
Cases Before the u. y. supreme Court
Argued and submitted-The Co.
chiti, san Miguel del BadO, An
tonic Chayes and Canon de
Chama Under COnsidera-
ton.

Among the cases now under advisement
by the Supreme court on appeal from the
court of private land claims are several
of far reaching importance. The cases
thus argued and submitted recently are
the Canada de Cochiti, the Canon de
Chama, the San Miguel del Bado, the An.
tonic Chavez and the Bartolome Baca.
The first of these, the Cochiti grant case,
affects the rich Cochiti mineral region
west of Santa Fe. The decree of the
court reduced the grant as claimed to a
very small area, whereas the claimants,
both in the land court and in the Su-
preme court, commended that its boun-
Carries where properly fixed would include
the towns of Bland and Allerton and the
surrounding mining camp. The result
in this case is being eagerly awaited not
only by the people now interested in the
region involved, but also by thousands
in Colorado and elsewhere who will in
vest in this new Eldorado as soon as the
title question ia Strengthened ont.
Canon de Chama grant claim is for
several hundred thousand acres in Rio
Arriba county just south of the TERRA
Amarillo grant. The land court reduced
the area to few thousand acres and the
Supreme court will have to decide which
| construction of the title papers is the
proper one. The San Miguel del Bado
claim is for al area similar in size to that
of the Canon de Chama grant, the town
of San Miguel in San Migul county be-
ing about the middle of the tract. The
land court confirmed TO the claimants the
area asked for, being about 100000 acres
and the government in it's appeal is ask
ing the Supreme court to declare this de-
cree of confirmation erroneous. Both oil
the cases just mentioned involve impor
tant questions as to community granite
and the construction to be given them.
The Antonio Chavez grant claim was
rejected 5y the land court, despite lit
able presentation and prosecution by
Mr.. John II. Knaebel, attorney for thu
claimants. This alleged grant is situated
in Socorro county and consists of abou
100000. A far reaching question that tn
Supreme court will be called upon tt
decide In disposing of this case is as tt
the power of the political chief or gov
ernor of New Mexico to make a grant be
tween September 81, 1921, the date of th,
achievement of the independence of Mex
loo aud November 81, 1928, the date upol
which this power was expressly given tt
the governor by decree. There are
number of grants in New Mexico mad
between the dates just given, and the de
cision in the Chaves case will be conclu
sive of these.
The Bartolome Baca case, which wa
argued only last Monday, is claim TO
100000 acres in Valencia county. TIL
land court confirmed this grant to the ex
tent Of II square leagues or about 5000
acres, whereupon both sides appealed
The attorneys for the claimants, MI
Catron and Messrs. j. W. Vroom and j
d. O'Bryan of Denver, coutend that tn
grant is perfect one and that even
imperfect, the section of the land cour
act limiting the courts powers to con
firm in that class of grants to II squar
leagues is nconstitutional-and in contra
vention of the treaty of Guadalupe Hi
dalgo. 1t ia commended by the govern
ment that the grant ia at best mere in
choate one and that by it's abandonment
the original grantee lost all rights if an
he had. In all of these cases, by specia
appointment, Hon. Matt G. Reynolds ha
represented the government in the So
preme court.
1t is anticipated that these cases vii
be decided at the present sitting Of tn
Supreme court. This conclusion vii
contribute very greatly to the settlement
of land titles in New Mexico and will en-
able the land court to complete with &c
lerity the work which it has thus far s
ably performed.