supresed that these reports of U.S. general were never printed in a“final ther in-ifed Doos or AG reports. Thess were never printed as Ag repor oheck has heen mede of Fed Docs Leonard. hy Ber , “ e : REPORT OF ‘THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITZD STATES UPON SURVEYS IN CALIFORNIA. ~ AND OTHER MATTERS P@RTAINING TO MEXICAN LAND GRANTS. BY JAMES F,. SHUNK PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE ATTORNEY SuNSRAL. Washington, may 15,1861, Sir: Under instructions from your cepartment, I sailed for California on the llth day of September last, and reached San Francisco on the 6th of the following month. I lost no time in setting about the performance of the duties with which I was charged, and, in compliance with my instructions, I now proceed to. embody in a report such information as I conceive may be of value to the Attorney General, either in the prosecution of pending cases, or as a matter of future reference, The first of my instructions related to the hiexican Archives, I was directed to make a survey of these Archives, report upon their condition and value, and furnish any general information touching them which I thought might be useful to your department. At the time of the conquest of California by the 4mericans these Archives were scattered over the country; some of them at Monterey,some at Los Angeles, and others at Sonoma and Santa Barbera; others stiii found their way into private hands, and were lost through carelesness, or destroyed to serve the purposes of fraud. The portion of these papers which relates to the last days of the Mexican rule in California was subjected, after the conquest, to many vicissitudes, and met with some losses. Pio Pico, the lest of the Mexican Governors, fled from Los Angeles on the night of the 10th of August,1846. Before his departure ( no has sworn on many oceasions) he had thé petitions for land, and other public papers, as FIiGCA: _ ULF ee=2- : packed in boxes, a portion of which were moved from the office of the Sesretary to a " designatcd zlace *. The rewainder of these poxes, in the hurr: of the flirht, were left in the governuent house, fhece deys after Picots rlight, on the 13th day of august, 1846,Col, Freemont entered Los Angelus, cad on the ne.t dey, under the orders of Commodore Stockton, took ocharss of the Archives, which he found in the possession of Don Luis Vignes, an old residunt of the pleoe,. They were " in reasonably good condition". Frocmont retained thom in his possession until the and of Septembor, when he packed thom in bales on the backs of two mules, and conveyed them to Sutter's ¥ort, on tho American River, Hc was awarc of their valua, and covered them with blankets to sceure then from loss. In Maroh 1847, Gensrel Kearney ordei34 him to deliver them up, and thoy wors accordingly consigned to the cero of Mr.Hall of Montcrey. Here Col. Freemont's connection with ths body of the Archives endad. Whon he last saw them thoy were in the house of Thomus 0.Larkin,in Monterey. Some of them which Freemont oarried with him as specimens wore subsequently lost on a journey through the mountains; and others still were destroyed in the fires which ravaged Sen Francisco in its carly days. Those which remained finully found safc shelter in the office of the Surveyor Gencral of the United Stetes, where thoy are still kept. But although there were undoubtedly, soms losses from tha Archives, through neglect and ignorance of their valuc, it is just as clear that they were not of such character as to render tho proof of nny good title in California hopeloss, or oven difficult, The papors lost by Col.irocomont were, with fou excuoptions, papers of small value, and those: among thum which were of importanse aro well known and nobody hes suffcred by their disappearanoo, In tho Surveyor General's office in Sen Francisco, thurs oxists an index known as the Jimeno Index, compiled in the year 1845, by Manuel Jimeno, thon Secretary of State, from the original records at that time existing in his officc. A copy of this indux, I heravith present, All the cxpedientizs and grants of the land notud by Jimeno end nubored in this index are now in their proper plecus, prooisely in the order in which they left kis hends. It is not likely thet a public officer ss faithful end industrious cs Jimeno vould suffer any documents in his office, nucessary to the completion of his index, to escape his cye. It is possible thet he may have been guilty of unintentional ommissions, but it is impossiole that they could hove boon otherwise than rare. Hence it is thes any grant clsiming to nave been made previous to the yoar kate 1846, ond of which thors is ne record in this index, should be regordud with ercat suspicion, end should be sustcined by cn overwhelming arrey of proofs. The presumption that such a papsor has besa concocted sinec ths grovth of Celifornia hes mide the accuisition of land cn object of anger pursuit, is vary strong, There is, likewise among the Archives, a book called the "Toma Q@2 Razon" for the yoors 1844 ané 1845. This book is cn origincl record of cn undoubted authanticity of all tbe crants of Lands modo by the govorniaent during those two yeurs. The oxpedicntas correspo- néing with the entrics of this book cxist complete. Hones grants Claiming to- have beon made during these tra ysoers, cné of whieh thor . yy ” f is no notc in the “tomnm do Rezoatt are open to strong suspicion, bP TG Cini dwet eatin i onan-S- The register of titles for the year 1846, during six months of which year the Mexicuns continusd to hold California, hes never voen found. It is a Well understood feet that it wes not lost, but purloincd by persons to whose claims its entries would heve proved fatal. There is yet another index among the Archives, compiled in the years 1847 and 1848, by W.E.P.Hcrtnell, who, at tact time, had cherge of them, and which is known as " Hartnoll's Indcx". Of this document I herewith present a copy. It is a continuation of Jimeno's indox, Hartnell heving begun to number the expedientcs in his charge at the plece where Jimeno left off. But the mere fact thet a grant is to be found noted by Hartnell proves nothing in its favor save that it wes not made icter than the year 1846. Between the hoisting of the Amcrican Flag at Montercy upon the 7th day of July,1846, and the dey of Pico'ts flight c month inter, he is said to have mode a great many grants showing, in the language of Judge Hoffmen, A disposition to retricve with his pen 211 the territory his countrymon hed lost by the sword", Tt is quite possible that Pico, ignorant of the time st which it vould be held by tho United States, that his power to make grants had pressed away, considered himself fully competent to revard his flying friends in this fashion, until he wes actually driven bodily out of the land ke was giving away to them At 211 evonts the valuc of Hartnell's indcx is vastly impaired by the fret that it contains cntries of grants made nt this disastcrous poriod WHEN THE POWER OF PICO TO MAKE GRANTS HAD BEEN WREST.s FROM HI? There is another objection to this index which ronders it of little value as evidence tc ostablish the genuiness of any expedient. or paper found noted in it. There is no doubt that all the genuine records of land titles belonging to the Mexican government were left by Pio Pico in Los Angeles, and their history can be accurately treec from the day of his flight to the time when they passed into the custody of the United Stctes Surveyor Conoral. But in the winter of 1647, Captain Halleck, Secretary of Stat oicked up in the custom house of Monterey, then used «s a hospitel tor soldiers end seamen, 2 peper vhich he discovered to be a fragin% of an expecioarty, Phere- upon he had all the documents in the custom-house, of -°. sh there wes on ammense mass, taken to the Secretary's office, .. put into the sare of Hartnell, who was then compiling his indcz, To this undigested heap of trash Hartnell peid as much respect as tn the urdoubtedly genuine Archives which had comwe from Los Ange~ les, &.d proceeded, by the aid cf u weappcr, a number, ond an entry on his Lindos, to dignify with the cheractor of on expedicnte, loose paper. xhich undur the Mexican governm-at, were cithor altogether worthless, or mere inconplste memoranda not thovght worthy of record. “artaell's cxpedientcs are not, therefore, entitled to the consiteration of records, coming directly from thc custody of tha Mexican officers and vecring their officicl stamp, but are to be regardzd cs the cullings of an American clerk, whose pen wus as incapable to transmit prpers into records cs it was to make original érants for lond. Soms <:podientcs noted by Hnrtnell sre gonuine boyond doubt; but the fect that they cre so nutcd does not prove them to be genuine, beomuss they stand, sido by side, with others which sre cloarly fnlse. Hence, in cases whers this indcox is cited, othor record evidence should be produccd to sustain it, and that failing, a grant should fail.. When the Land Commission wee astablisheg, %kS lovsea from the | Archives were greatly exaggerated, with the intént of sustaining bad or doubtful titles upon the assumption that the papers necessary to support them existed at the conquest, ‘but were destroyed in the. tumults that followed it. The o14 rule of law waich requires that. the existence of a paper must be shown before its loss can be proved or inferred, was in many instances entirely ignored. The fact that a man CLAIMID land being once established by his petition to the Land Conmission, he dispensed with the production of any title, other than @ naked grant, and sometimss even dispensed with that, by offering testimony that in the hospitals of Monterey ceitain publio papers had ones been destroyed, or that a bails of documents had been lost from the back of a mule’ among the mountains. No evidence that eny paper relating to his title was part of those lost documents was offered or required. The facts, FIRST, that papers had been lost, and SECOND, .that the claimant in any given case was destitute of papers, were considered to be the foundation of an impregnable title. I could namo cases in which claims were built upon no better base than this. Even the celebrated Santillion claim was founded upon a mere naked paper produced from the pocket of the claimant, and its scanty fragment of a title was sought to be eked out in the fashion to which I have referred, by proofs of the destruction of papers in hospitals, otc. Gradually the Archives were collected from different portions of the State. Private persons surrendered to the authorities books ana -~" Papers which had fallen into their hands. But there were accessions to this publio store of manuscripts of e kind for which the govern~ ment hed little occasion to be thankful. Parties who had fastened covetous eyes upon some rich sheep-walk, river bottom, or the site of & growing city, displayed an industry end skill in FINDING papers necessary to establish a title to it almost without parrailel. If tho documents first deposited weve decided, under some aew ruling of the Supreme or district Courts, to be insufficient, the title was not suffered to languish long for want of nourishment. Fresh papers were found, with strange speed,in miraculous places, end were produced, soiled with the touch of man’s hands, yellow, avparently with years, sealed, signed and sworn to by hosts of witnesses, when, in truth the ink was hardly dry on the sheet, and the document probably. not three days old. Smoke, heat, forgery and ingenious manfpulation did the work of time, and often deceived the most skilful oye. I have becn assured by persons of the highest charactor that the business of finding documents was for years practiovd ad a profession in San Franocisoo, and was even found so laborious and profitable as to justify the formation of a society to practice it. -I have myself seen the affidavit of a person who belonged to this fraternity, who freely — admits the nature of the business ang explains the method in which it was practiced. It was an extremly sclect body, and for a long time a very prosperous one, but of late yoars tt has greatly decayed, trade being slack and competition lively. The last accession made to the Archives was during tho visit of Nr.Stanton to California in the year 1658, as counsol in the Linantou:i ease. Under his direction large boxes of papers, some of them of greut value, were brought from Benicia, Monterey, Les Angeles and other | : places, and deposited in the Surveyor Generals office at San Francisc - fhey were at the sage time paged, and bound ia some four hundred larg: volumes. But it is to bo regretted that thesc immenso folios arc not indexed. As sources of information, even. to @ person skillod in the. dotitesciss etm Aye ites Mase aso, amd oblle te ras, 44 manuscri~ WM@ll-nigh useless. oxfilese’ ef ais aonep this: usdigesicd-massa of _. . manuscripts is as worthless ag old newspapors, consisting of records _ of the petty edjudioations of MAlcaldes and profscts, official : sors cee ndenee upon matters of\passing interest, militcry returns, “8ecount books, inventories of -psock, and thc likc. hers is much“5. intrisacies of the Spanish language, and able to read it, in “s, manusoript, well-nigh useless. A great proportion of. this undigestetn_ : masa of manuscripts is as worthless as old newspapers, consisting of records of the petty adjudications of Alcaldes and prefects, official ! correspondence upon matters of passing “interest, military returns, — account books, inventories of stock, and the like. There is much, however, scattered through even these portions of the Archives which have no direct bearing upon the litigation concerning land titles, to attract a student curious about the early history of the country. But the papers of practical value, and of constant reference, ag bearing upon the questions of property are those whioh accumulated since the year 1824, in which year the Mexican Congress pessed laws for the colonization of California. Under the law and the regulations of 1828, which was designed to define its meaning and give it force, neerly all of the subsisting land titles of California took théir rise. But the precision with which its formalities were respeoted varied much under different governors and in the latter deys of the Mexican rule the authorities grew exceedingly lax in its observation. I present herewith a photographic copy of a complete expediente of the time of Figueroa, showing how faithfully, in his day, the requirements of the Law were kept. (Vide photographic exhibits,Page 68). A compar- ison of this elaborate document with some of the meagre titles of Pio Pico’s time, will illustrate the contempt into which the law had fallen, as well as show the small foundation upon which claims to immense tracts of land have boen built up. { must not omit in this place to say that the practical value of the Archives to the legal profession has been vastly énhanced by the labors of their present keeper, Mr.Rufus C.Hopkins. Mr.Hopkins hes given yeers of his life to the study of these manuscripts, bringing to the work on unwerid industry and « knowledge of the Spanish language profound and critical beyond that of most scholars. Tt herewith present a communication from Judge Hoffman of tho Unitod States district court, oxplaining ot large the nature of his services and their value to the government, in every word of which I heartily conour. I would rosnectfully suggest the propricty of having the Archives collated, indexed and rebound end thet the supervision of this work be confided to Mr. zopkins. In his written instructions to me the Attorney General held the following Lunguage: "Tt may also become necessary for you to give your attention to the. surveys mado or to be made in California under the Ast of June 14th, 1860, Very great injustices has frequently bccn done horetofore by the improper location of private lend -cleims, No subject haa been more fruitful of compleint to this office. The govcornment hes not been go much injured as parties claiming interests under pre-emption settlement or other right or title derived from the United States. The first proviso of the third scotion givus to such persons the right to ve heard before the district court on tho\ quostion of location, but couples thet right with restrictione| which may possibly be.used so as to meke the right itself of very little valus. It is a feshion amongst those who are intcrested in the claims under exico-~- which I think have spread extensively through the legal profession-- to maintain that the class of people who are calied squatters have a0 rights at all, or as goog os none, in these proceedings, Thoir rights, however, are certainly as sacred as those of anyone else and should ho protected as carcfully. Thore ig no protection for them whatevor-6= ; against the errors which may be committed in a survey, unless they oan be fully and fairly heard before the district court in opposition to it. After a decree is once made in favor of any particular location, it will be impossible for them to contest the title of their adversary. Hence it is that this law should be construed liberally, as giving them & fuli and fair hearing through counsel they may think proper to employ". = propose in this place to give a brief sketch of the course of practice pursued wita reference to Surveys down to the passage of the Act of June 14, 1860; and of the evils which have resulted to a large ciass of worthy persons from the ill-conceived provisions of that law. Under the law of 1851, the survey of the land was made after the claim hed been adjudicated by the land commission and the district court, and finally confirmed by the Supreme Court ef the United States. The mandate of the Supreme Court was returned to the district court ard filed. A certified copy cf this mandate, which contained the deorec of the court, was furnished to che Surveyor General, who thereupon issued his instructions to the deputy. The ficld notes, with tha plat of the survuy made under those instructions, when approved by the Surveyor General, were transmitted to the Commissioner of the General: Lend Officco. That officer, in casc his decision upon the survoy was objestad to by any party in interest, appendod such objections to his report to the Sseretary of the Interior whose action was final. If the Sccretary approved the survey, the patent at onco issucd. But if he failod to approve it, new instructions were sent te tho Surveyor General of California and a fresh survey was made undor thase instruct: Under this law settlers upon public lands, whose rights were affostcd by a survey, could appear as contestants, and have a hearing before the Secretary of the Interior; a privilege which at the present time is not accorded them, when the Fossat case was decided, it was construed by the distric sorrt at San Francisco es conferring jurisdiction until the patent issues; and the United States, by their District Attorney, erst or tho claimants by their counsel were permittcd by the court to obtain an order directing the Surveyor General to return a copy of his plat to the district court for examination and revision. Tho objecting party was aliowed to file his exceptions; both parties took testimony, and the case was heard in the same manner, ond with as much consideration as when the validity of e title was in question. , But fow cases were decided under this practice for the reason that the District Judge left the state in Decembeor,1859, and did not return until after tho law of June 14,1860 was passed. To this law I desire to oall your attention cspocially, and most carnostly. The first section provides thet the Surveyor Genoral shall, whor the survey is made, and the plat returned, advertise that fact, and retain them for inspection four wecks, ctc. The second section gives authority to the district courts upon the application of any party interusted, to order the survey into cour’ “The third section, which contains ths very pith and marroy of th law, I will transcribe at length:" Section 3. And be it further enacted, that said order: shell be .- Feanted by said court on the application of any party whom the district. pourss or the judge thereof in vacation shall ceem to have such an nteresi in the survey and location of a land claim as to make it just Bad >roner “shat he should be allowed to teke testimony and to intervene for ais interest therein, and if objections ‘to the survey and location shail. w> sinde on the part of the United States, the order to return Hho wuwrey inte court shall be made on the motion of the district gauvorne:, Pounded on sufficient affidavits; and if ths application fo. sucu order is made by other parties claiming to be interested in, or that thoir rights are affected by, such survey ang location, tho Boourt, or the judge in vacation, shall proceed summariiy, on affidavits Bor cthurwise, to inauire into the fects of such intercst, and shall, ir. fits discretion, determine whether the applicant has such on interest f Provided howover, that all parties claiming interest under pre-emption sottlemont or other right or title derived from the United States, shal: fnot be permitted to intcrveno separately, but the rights end interests of seid pnrtics shall be reprosonted by the district attorney for the United States, intervening in the name of the United States aided by - counsel octing for said partics jointly, if they think propor to employ such counsel, ctc." This law is exceedingly beneficial to all parties claiming under Mexican grantees; whether they hold under deeds made before or after the sonquest; whether they hold six acres or six thousand; whether the lend sovered by their titles is within the survey, or only borders on it, ine doors of the United States court is wide open to receive them ali. Fut the privileges accorded to the settler by the clause of the Law wish ellows him the United States attorney for counsel, has turned cus tc ne @ most barren one. Judge Hoffman has decided that no atter2y appearing for tho settlers has ony standing in court, except SUvl ae may be given him by the district attorney, and has no right to ac..ivovert any opinion from his, no mattor how a@ireotly it may be at varices with the views an@ interests of his clients. Ha has also @retucd that no person holding a patent from the State of California, for ary portion of the swamp and overflowed lands donated to the state by the general government, can intervene soparately, but must elso asorcar by the district attorney, or by counsel maintaining the theory of trat officer. ‘the hardships to which the pioneer of California is exposed by this law, as interpreted by the district court, aro ecrtainly worthy of ths iracdiate attontion of Congress. Judge Hoffman's ruling, it mus‘. bo coneudce, aro in accordance with the lettcr of the act, but they bea vory herd on the carly settlers who came to the country years ago in ,seacch of a home. Ho was careful bofore ho availed himself of the pre- emption (homestead) laws of the United States, to be satisfied that the land upon which he was about to spend his labor was public. lens. Ze inquired of Mexican grantees, of old residents, of evervbedy likely to know the truth, and to whose interest it would be to teli it, cnd tzey told him with one voice that THIS was PUBLIC LAND. He lighted his fir+ built his home and commenced his work of redeeming a farm from. tbe Wilderness, Certainly he hed a right to look fcria7t to years cf neese and plenty. as the reward of his labor. But by ani ov the Boata of Lead , Commissioners, the district court, the Supreme Goars of the Vetted Sta. vB= confirmed divers Mexican grants, ranging in extent from one square leas to eleven. The Surveyor General despatched his deputies to survey these grants, Perfectly honest and incorruptable himself, he was compelled, in the selection of agents, to choose parties possessing the rcouisite scientific skill. He nad little or no opportunity of Learning anything of their integrity, and was thus constrained to trnst *o strange and ( as the result showes ) in many instances, ; trlse hands; interests, lying ncarer than any other to the future | prosparity of California. The doputy was soon taken into tho pay of tLe Mexican grantee, or as oftentimes happened, was chosen by that person, and appointed at his solicitation, His business was, not to follow with hard fidelity the culls of the grants, and tenderly respect sre lines of the diseno, but to swallow up, within borders freudulent}; extended miles beyond the land which tho Mexican government had given away,the home of the settler, his harvost ficlds, every inch of soil to which his labor had given veluc. The deputy who could anchor a floating title over the fattest farm, who could stretoh his false lines around the largest number of acres of improved land, was the most eminent, of courso, and the most popular and prosperous of all his profession. But OUR settler felt himself sefe from ony such lawless intrusio:. upon HIS lends. He had taken care, whon ho built his houss, to got ecsurance from averyone of these Noxioan grentecs, whose titles yore rev confirmed, thet his farm wes without their borders. He was safe, he folt sure, oven from the ravages of o deputy, Never wos man more greviously mistaken, The dsputy proceeded to lap the lines cf his omployer's grant over the fields of the settler, as cooly ond imtnlessly as though the employor had owned them and ploughed then sires the boginning of the world. He suffered no decinty bit of land uithin ten, fifteen, sometimos twenty leagues, to csenpe his ‘nsutieble gronte Beggry secmed very nigh the settlor, and he set out for San Francisco to sec what the lowe of. the. United .States, acer whose assurance he had spent years of lebor, could do tu save uli, from it. The survey hed been ordered into court. The intervenor, v. claimant under the Mexican grantee, had only to make 4 prima veda showing, under omth, -that bisa grant claimed to cover tho Lama. iu issue, without producing his dceds or muniments of titlc, His “ ~.cuding-tn cotif¥ was thon established and our scttler found hin “hore with .the best counsel in the state psid to maintain his theory ot tho survey. But the law allowed the settler no counsol save the \mited States attornoy, or some lawyer whose views might happen to ecncup with his, Before he could even move one stop, or ovon enter _ the aourt house door, he must gain the car of the United States o , 43torngy, win him to look kindly on his casc, and persuade him that tie survey was incorrectly or corruptly mdc. Buf, as happons . oiensimes, this officor, the only counsel which the Law vouchsafed t- the sottlor, wos prepossessed against him, before he had hoard one vord of his story. Some other party interosted in keoping the dovouri . lines of the survey away from HIS door, hod becn fortuncts cnough to sooure the cor of tho government ogent first. It was not nis feuLt the: he could not serve two settlers equally meritorious, but whose tnzori- of the survey were inconsistent. It was the fault of the luv, which denied the settler a hearing in the United States Court, sere by vu public officer, who, without any breach of duty, right [ight “rn bis voice to the direct destruction of men,who,if HE wailed them rea uc other resort. It cannot be too steadfastly remembered thai an: tan acicing under a Mexican grant, whother it be but the title -{ an tore of Lang, which he has purchased for a trifle end on specnle. ion, Fiicu he usaQa It cannot be too steadfastiy remembered that any man holding © under a Mexican greQs, whether it be but the title to an acre of land, which he has purchaged for a trifle and on speculation, which he had never occupied, and perhéps never seen, has an emphatic and separate atanding in the United States Courts, denied to the scttler who velies én his pre-emption (homesteeas right. It is not hard to sce the immense advantages which the sub-gsrantces and colindantcs possess cvcr the settler by reason of the position allowed thom in court. One cf them can produce a witness; another oan, by collusion, examino him in such & fashion as to develope facts ruinous to tho settler, under the protonded plea of maintaining his own rights; while the victims of this conspiracy must sit spocohless without the pover to ask a question which may call out the truth. Under these circumstances it will not be strange if judgment goe: against the settlers. They are even denied the chance of a hearing, in the Supremo Court, unless the district attorneoy,in his good pleasure, seos fit to take an appeal, which oftuntimes be will not do, for eo docision fatal to thom may be ontirely ogrocable to hin. But supposing the appeal to be token, the record upon whioh the teibynal of last rosort must rest its judgacnt, goos up badly prepered and altogether lacking in the evidence which the lew denicd the sottler tho power to pub in. Worse then this: If tho case goos to tho Supreme Court it will most likely go upon the suggestion of ona of the intervonors, against enothor intorvonor or claimant, in which case the interests of tho settler aro ENTIRELY IGNORED. It must be undorstood that no imputation of unfairness is intondc by those romerks to be ecst either on the prosent or any former distric attorney. It wes, cnd is, and must romain, impossible for any porson so perform tho functions of that office undor the Act of Congress, and the rulings of the court, in such © mennor as even to approach justice. fhe interests of the different settlers are oftien in conflict, -indeed nearly niwaysa,- and the district attorne#® cannot in the nature of things be the advocate of inconsistent claims. Noither oan he be regar. 2a the propor judge of the several rights of tho settlors; sinee thore le no means provided for o hcaring before he decides. He may, (nty,ho ust), determino what course ho will take,whom he will favor, ond whom ne will rugs, before he knows the facts, or examines the law; and, ia mony casés he ean herdly help buf make up his mind without knowing hot. hig-decision mey effect the rights of adjoining claimonts, Tho whole « “tis proseeding, in short, is conducted under an Act of Congress, in strengo and unprecedented disregard of thot great principal of fundamental justice which declares that no man shall bo deprived of his property except by duo process, or course, of lew,= that is, afta: a ivil and fair hearing before an impartial judge. In this strait,denicd justice on every hand,compelled to argue me eonse, first, before the United States attorncy,cnd if repulsed by him,soft without any other resort,tke settler,if he would goin a footing in court, MUST BUY If. He is driven to purchese an individua™ interest under a Mexican grantee, and thus obtain,for moncy, a little drop of that legal justice which ic denied him in his own 11421: Too poor tc do this, he is absolutely ehiftiess.-10= One ergument used against taese people by their enemies is, that their efforts to maintain their rights protract litigation. But it is difficult to see that they are more oulpable in this regard than partics holding under Mexican srantees, whose capacity to keep up strii is Limited only by their patience, and by the terrors of an exhausted VUPSE « . . I must not omit to draw the distinotion between the " squatter " wnd the " scttler * (homesteader), turms sometimes regarded as convertible but widely different in meaning. "Squatter" is oftentimos a word of reproach. It is not my purpose here to show that in many quarters of this land, it is a tcrm which has been worn by the worthi- est citizons of America; but as applicd, as a term, of reproach, and in the acceptation current in California, I conceive it to mean a person who plants himself upon private land in dofianoc of its owner’: rights, trusting in the strong hand of tho power of numbers to overcome rights which have no bottor protection than tho moral force of the law. In this sense it is applicd indiscriminately in the United Stetes Courts to the ruffian who doliberateoly scoizes Land which he know to bo enothor’s and to the honost Laboror ( homostcader ) who redecems public Land from tho wilderness by the foroo of oxa and plow. But the very people who are most lavish in the use of this torm,. and are swift to apply it to every man whose intorosts conflict with thoirs, aro oftentimes squatters themselves, ond squattors of the least reputable kind. Under tho suthority of the Freemont decision, a man who has a grant of ton leagues of land, within Limits which comprehend sixty or a hundred leagues, .can vlect any ton loagues ho ploases withir thoso exterior boundarios,<- a right not sllowed him under the Moxican dominion. He is, likewise, held, undor the Stato dectsions, to be a cotcnant with the United States of every acre within those ifmanse limits, As an illustrntion of tho possible sffeot of these rulings, let us suppose thet the ITURBIDE CLAIM, which wes rojectod upon a mere question of jurisdiction, had boon confirmed? Theat was a claim for four FOUR HUNDRED SQUARE LEAGUES WITHIN THE EXTERIOR LIMITS OF The STATE OF CALIFORNIA. Under the Frecmont decision, which gives o mon his clection within tho exterior bounderics, ond under the State ~*. Decisions, which give him an eloction of ejoctmont against everybody. within those exterior boundaries except other Mexican grantees, the ~ ITURBIDE psople might have FLOATED THZIR CLAIM OVER THS RICHEST PARTS OF CALIFORNIA, and turned out of house and home every settler and farmer upon a domain greater than a dozen German Principalitics, The Mesne profits which they might have recovered would have been no taconsidcrable accession to the coffers of the mighticst Kingdom. Are not people armed with such power as this, and wicked enough to exeroi- it, Squatters of tho very worst kind,-- wretches, perverting the machinery of tho law to the purposes of private plunder?? ? ? ? ? ag There is another objfection to this survey law which has not yet €rison in practice, but which can be readily forescen. Section 5, provides a survey. The Surveyor Goneral must, without dolay, transmit a plat of that survey to the land office, upon which the patent MIST IMMEDIATELY ISSUE. At the same time an appeal to the Suprems Court _ is allowed within six months after the ontry of this final decree, se that a case may happen in which an appoal will be ponding in the Supreme Court of tho United States upon a claim in which tho patan. _(to tho lands involved) hes actually issued, end whilo that Tribu. _is considcring the appoal, an ojectuont suit will be going on,uinder _¢ tho legal title, in the State Courts,which doxve not go behind a pav-:#ll-= fhus the settlers may be driven from their lands before the Suprme Court has rendered a decision upon the survey. In view of the great defects of this law, and of the grevious vionge whach have been suffered under it, and which is Largely rroniged in the future, I would suggest that by a new enactment, tne -3talers be allowed a hearing through their own counsel, ontirely indenerdent of the distriot attorney. Even then their position will yo che least advantageous of all the parties in interest, for the reason that the settler, having nothing but his pre-emption right eéa pay but little for legal services; while the olaimants under Mexican grants, holding immense landed estates, can secure by contin- gent or cash fees the best counsel in the state. There is another olass of people in California of whose wrongs i must not fail to speak,--the carly Californian,-~-the Moxican pioncer, who came there years tofore the conquest, got a grant under the colonization lew and became a sheep grower, a farmer after the rude fashion of the Spaniards, or traded with the Boston ships whioh came there in those days freighted with morohandise, and carricd hidos and tallow back, The Board of Land Commissioners demanded of every man his title, The ola farmer who had grown grey on his ranch, was summoned to San Francisco to show his right to 1%. Ignorant of our laws and language, he was compelled to employ counsel to presont his ease. Too often he fell into the hands of wicked and dishonest lawyors. His title was verfect and unimpeachable, his papers were compicte, hie possession under them was not disputed. A simple statoment of his sasc. in a formal petition, was 411 that was required. But the attorney was careful to frighten hig client with the terrors of bogery. and to exaggerate the difficulties of getting his case through the board. He demanded half of the ranoh as a fec, its extent bsing five square leagues, within oxterior boundaries containing aleven. But ho waa careful to take a deed for the whole ranch, under which ho suceceded to his clicnt's right of clsotion within the oxterior bounderies. Thon ke conveyed back to the Mexican two leagues and a half of land, carefully setting out its metes and bounds in the conveyance. Of course 4 title so perfeot was oonfirmod without any objection, and without much delay. By the aid of a compliant deputy taken into hi: pay, the lawyer now floeted the survey of the grant confirmed, outside cf the borders of the land which he had conveyed to the Mexdoan snd th- left that wretoked person baggored and without a foot of soil which he night call his own. Nore then this. 4 settler in search of public lond ascertains from such a Mexican grantee the boundaries of what he believes to be bis ranch, as set out in the deed from the attorney. But ho finds hinself in a few yeara, after he has built his home ond improved his fora, covered by the survey of the speculator holding under the very hexican who told him where to go. This has actually happened more times than onoc. In many cases which go to the Supreme Court ( the Sutter cose mey be instanced ) the name of the Original claimant is used, when, in point of fact, the land is.cwned altogethor by spcoulative purdt i These persona of course fight for their prey with ec diligence which~l2- the district attorney can berdly be expeotcd to emulate or cqual. Shese are tho very men who attack settlers, vhon thoy come into the courts 28 witnesses on the score of intcrest, so that thoy are doniod . hearing, either by their own tongues, or those of counsel. i firmly believe thet the bad character of Californie witnesses +. eesulted less from eny intrinsic want of integrity or disposition ve i, S2aué others, than from the instigation of dishonest Americans. one more case let me not,-- 4 ilexican grantee had a title to ‘our .eagues of land, and, under that title, unlawfully sold to six pPrties a league each. These sub-grantees were permitted to petition ibe Land Commissioners separately. Each had his claim confirmed, provided he could show it to be within the diseno,-~ a rude map often vaguely and inaccurately drawn. Zcch man then got his patent, end the United States thus parted with many leagues of land to which the Mexican government had never relinquished her title. Again--under these decrees of confirmation cach of the subgrantees had his action of cjectment against the settlers on the whole. tract, Nor was anything asked of thom but a prime facia derdignment of title from the original grantee, But it has hoppened that, efter thoy have all got their prtents, the original grentce impeaches their connection with hin, Alleges thet no legal title has passed from him to them, and gots nis petent for the wholo number of leagucs cclled for by his title. Phe fneilities efforded to Mexican witnesses to swear freudulcnt | surveys through court far excecd their opportunitics to sustcin forged | erents. In the latter easc they have 2 record, or the foar of one, to restrain them. But they con, with little danger of boing impenched, swoer to ereeks, acturcl land marks of cll kinds, occupation, every- thing which can help to float a grant over lands never contemplated by its ecllas. Cases have happencd=rosecution,and upon conviction to a punishment of three years in the yponitontiary. This law has not yet been cnforced against any of the .~erous persons who are obnexious to its provisions. But the time is “'‘uing when some of the guilty partics should be made to fcel the ‘Ke, esty of justice. & much stronger light might be thrown upon the nature ond character of these contents by the voluminous correspondence which this office has had with the local officers and special agents of the government in California. But I have not thought it right to communicate that correspondence for the reason that most of it was strictly confidential. Its publication at this time might seriously affect some of the persons through whom valuable information has been given to the government, and perhaps it would endanger their livExamples are not wanting of men who have been murdered to prevent them revealing what they knew. The cases of Casteneda and Guiervero sic terrible instances of the vengeance which disappointed olaimar.ts ‘Liev false titles can take. Besides that, the correspondence eferred to would unjustly affect men concerning whom it expresses -vepicions which were not verified by the subsequent evidence, Muoh Labor and responsibility about this business have cevoi.ved upon the district attorney of Galifornia for which adequate ansation is not provided by law. The late district attorney, 39201 de la Tour, rendered highly important and valuable services 1, the defense of land claims, under the instructions of this separtment, for which he is justiy entitled to be compensated: but in «be present state of the law I am not, in my opinion, authorized to utke such compensation to an officer of the government without the express sanction of congress, I would therefore, recommend that Congress vote him such additional compensation as it may deem proper. I am very respectfully yours, eto, /s/ 5.S.BLACK To: Chairman Senate Judicial Committee,