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Show 460 LEADING FACTS OF NEW MEXICAN HISTORY SPANISH The act of July 22, 1854, reserved to congress the province of finally passing upon all private land claims by direct legislative enactment. No provision was made for adversary proceedings, nor for surveying the boundaries of the tracts reported by the surveyorgeneral, so that intelligent action might be taken upon cases as they Notwithstanding this difficulty, however, came before congress. congress proceeded to confirm the greater part of the claims. This action was had in 1860, congress acting upon a report of the house committee on private land claims.**? New Mexico, resulted in a collection of 1,014 grants and documents relating These have all been classified, to land titles, of which 197 are private grants. alphabetically arranged, and constitute permanent official records. ‘‘Brom the advices received at this office from the surveyor general of New Mexico and other sources, it is evident individuals claiming lands under former governments before the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, are very averse to respond to the call made on them by the surveyor general’s notice of January 18, 1855, to produce the evidence of their claims to his office at Santa Fé; some from fear of losing the evidence of their titles, inspired, it In many instances the Pueblo Indians is supposed, by designing individuals. have been deterred from filing their title papers with the surveyor general, in the apprehension they would never again get possession of them. Others conscious of an indisputable possessory right of landed estates, feel perfect security on the subject, and do not care to exhibit, much less file, their title papers, for the purpose of enabling the surveyor general to report upon the claims to congress for confirmation under the act of July 22nd, 1854.’’ | Surveyor-General Pelham reported, September 30, 1855, that fifteen claims had been filed for examination and adjudication, and in commenting upon the ‘‘The difficulties and expense to which parties filing small number said: claims in this office are subjected will account for the limited number which have been filed; and I respectfully recommend further legislation on ei subject, as the present law has utterly failed to secure the object for whic it was intended.’’ J 381 The act of June 21, 1860, confirmed the private land claims recommende for confirmation by the surveyor-general in his letter to the commissioner 0 the general land office, January 12, 1858, Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, and the claim of E. W. Eaton, with the proviso that the claim of John Scolly and others (No. 9) was not confirmed for more gor five square leagues, and the claim of Vigil and St. Vrain (No. 17) for no more than eleven square leagues to each. ual The same act declared that the heirs of Luis Maria Baca, who eee the land confirmed to the Town of Las Vegas (No. 20) might select and loca " in five parcels, the same quantity of vacant, non-mineral land, the vere? tions by said act only to be construed as relinquishments on the part of United States, and not to affect adverse rights. i. At the time of the passage of the act of June 21, 1860, the commen private land claims of the house of representatives had reported, among ot i ‘‘It is now ten years since the Territory of New Mexico beds matters: acquired, and nearly four years since the surveyor general of the Territory a authorized to examine and although and protected, report to us, the as is supposed, private land claims of its by treaty, in the enjoyment property, no man in that Territory, without that his title, however acquired, would hold some action against any gt of nr of Congress, oat, claimant, who mig AND MEXICAN LAND GRANTS 461 In the instructions to the surveyor-general special attention was given to the lands belonging to the Pueblo Indians and, with its usual promptness in dealing with matters affecting the rights of Indians, congress, on December 22, 1858, confirmed seventeen Pueblo Indian grants. In 1861 there had been surveyed twenty-five claims of town and private land claims, covering an area of 2,070,094 acres. claims, In 1862-3 there had been examined of all classes forty-eight and approved by congress thirty-eight. The surveyor-gen- eral constantly protested his inability to do justice to the work, urging the appointment of some kind of a commission, and congressional committees fully realized the impossibility of founding correct decisions on the meagre data furnished, predicting much more serious difficulties in the future; but no change was made in the system, and matters were allowed to drift.*8? The whole number **8 of private land claims filed in the office of the surveyor-genpurchase his lands from the government. . . But ax Congress may not create such a board, and as it is due to the parties interested that the titles by which their lands are held should not be passed over to be settled: by another generation, your committee have authorized me to report favorably (with one or two modifications) upon all the claims recommended for confirmation by the Surveyor general; with the understanding that, should the action of Congress conform to the views of the committee as to this board, the claims may be finally determined under the new law. . . ‘But for the gross injustice to the people of New Mexico of delaying for an indefinite period action upon their claims, and the certainty that under existing arrangements Circumstances than to report upon any Congress can never consider them under more favorable at thig time, individual your claims, committee would for the reason not have been willing first stated — want of time to examine fully, and the unknown quantity of land claimed by most of the parties, * “his last difficulty can not be obviated, without_a survey of the lands, and that, it is presumed, will not be ordered by Congress, in advance of recogni- tion of title.’’ iM 882 The honorable, the secretary of the interior, in his Report, in 1880, sald: After the lapse of nearly thirty years, more than 1,000 claims have been filed with the surveyors general, of which less than 150 have been reported to Ongress, and, of the number so reported, Congress has finally acted upon only The construction of railroads through New Mexico and Arizona, and the consequent influx of population in those Territories, render it imperatively Necessary that these claims should be finally settled with the least possible elay. I have, therefore, the honor to recommend that the attention of Congress be called especially to this subject, with a view to securing action the claims pending before it, and upon the pending bill providing for he settlement of the remaining claims.’’ N *88 U. 8. Land Office Reports, 1864 et seq. ew Mexico, congressional action “ess.; 40th cong., 2d sess., H. Rep. appears in Bearing upon U. S. Gov. Doc., land grants 39th 71; 3d sess., Senate Report, 198. cong., in 1st Keports On various claims 41st cong., 3d sess., H. Hx. Doc. 106; 42d cong., 2d sess., » Ex. Doc. 296; H. Miscl. Doc. 181; 42d cong., 2d sess, Senate Journal, 344, |