Arizona republican., 1901-12-21

paid and no single applicant can nave more than forty acres. This is to be. in the nature of a homestead right to be possessed by each citizen and only one filing is allowed
 A fee of twenty-five cents per acre is to be required upon those filing on third class land and upon final pos session there is t5 be a further pay ment of SIPS per acre. The amount to be taken by each citizen is to be i'm ited to 160 acres. People who have already located land and settled upon public lands to be designated as third class lands. prior to April 30. 1900. and who shall have made substantial i'm prcvement upon the same shall have preference right for thirty days after the land offices are organized in which to make entry for the lands on which they have settled.
 Applicants for public lands of either the second or third class shall not be considered eligible if they are the own CTS, holders or lessees of any other lands either public or private, in the territory of Hawaii or in any state or territory Of the United States. either in their own or their wife's name. except ing one lot in any city or town not exceeding one acre.
 The fact of an applicant having en- tered any public land or having en- tered any title thereto prior to July :, 1898. shall not disqualify him If such land is not owned and held by the ap- plicant in his own or his wife's name at the time of making application for this land under this act.
 Every person who is head of a fam fly or a single person who has arrived at the age of tw,enty-one and is citi- zen of the United States shall be en- titled to enter forty acres of second class land or one hundred and sixty acres of third class lands. All such homestead entries are to be for the sole use or the applicant and any agreement to the contrary vitiates the same.
 No certificate shall be given or pat ent issued for this land until the ex- riration of five years from the date of the original entry and within three months after making the entry actual residence upon the land must be es- tablished. All the laws of the United States governing homesteads and gen orally known as the United States homestead laws, except as provided in the proposed act are to be extended to cover all of the second and third class lands in Hawaii
 The most important feature of the bill and the one which will seriously affect the great sugar planters of Ha- waii is contained in section 17, which provides that all leasing of public lands of any class shall cease and be Giscon- tinued from the approval of this pro- posed act except that all existing leases in conformity with the law shall not be impaired until the expiration Of said leases.
 It is also provided that all funds de- rived from sales, leases or disposal Of the public land in Hawaii shall be re turned by the secretary of tine treasury to the territory of Hawaii after de ducting all the expense of administra- tion- The secretary of the interior is to be authorized to withdraw from settlement all available sites for stor- age reservoirs in contemplation for the future need of irrigation or other pub lie water works. No private franchise for the use or conveyance of water on the public land in Hawaii is to be granted to any person or corporation except by act of congress.
 The secretary of the interior is also authorized to establish such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry this act into effect and two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is appropri- ated ito pay the expense of inaugural ing the proposed system
 In regard to the lands of the fourth class the secretary shall have a thor ough investigation made and report upon the same to the president for further action by congress. pending which no private rights shall attach to such land until their disposition and management shall be determined by congress.
 There will be considerable opposition to the enactment of a law such as is proposed in this bill owing to legal in terests affected by discontinuing the leasing of crown lands and the appli- cation of homestead law to large areas now held under lease by the sugar planters. There is pressing need, however of land legislation for Hawaii and the general tendency of land legislation in the United States now is to reserve the public domain for homeseekers and give scant attention to the wishes of those who have se- cured valuable monopolies through obsolete systems of lack Of legal re- strictions.
 J. D. WHELPLEY.