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Show Department ov the Interior, i General Land Office, November 4, 1S70. J Register and Receiver, Salt J tike City, U. T. : Gentlemen In reply to your letter of the 12th ult., 1 enclose en-close herewith a copy of our circilarof the 24th December, 1855, containing general instructions to the Registers and Receivers of the District Land Offices for the protection of the public timber in their respective Districts. There is no authority of law to permit per-mit any one to cut timber from the public lands for the purpose of speculation specu-lation or sale. Parties who have made settlements under the pre-emption and homestead laws are entitled to cut and u-e the timber on the lands embraced in their settlements to the extent necessary nec-essary for domestic purposes, for clearing, clear-ing, building, fencing, fuel, fee, but not for sale, until, in the former case, they have proved up and entered the land, or, in the latter, after five years continuous sjttlement and cultivation, have made the proof as required by law, and obtained their final certificates. louwill discharge with energy the duty devolved upon you by the enclosed en-closed circular, having duo regard, however, to the rights of homestead and pre-emption settlers, and to the circumstances of the community requiring re-quiring a supply of timber for mining, manufacturing and other business pursuits. pur-suits. In cases where timber may be cut from the public lauds, and extenuating extenu-ating circumstances exist, you are authorized to compromise with the parties committing the trespass on their paying all expenses incurred and a reasonable stumpage to be fixed by you according to the condition of the market, but not to fall below the minimum mini-mum rate of $2.50 per M feet. Where objection is made to the rate fixed under un-der this rule, the matter may be submitted sub-mitted to the Judges of the Supreme Court of the Territory, in which case you will be governed by their decision as to the stumpage to be exacted. Iu cases where no compromise is made, you will seize the timber cut on the public lands wherever found and identified, iden-tified, on sfficient proof, and sell the same, after due notice, at public auo-tion, auo-tion, to the highest bidder for cash, furnishing the names of the trespassers, and the witnesses by whom the offense can be established, to the District Attorney, At-torney, in order that, if deemed expedient, expe-dient, he may proceed against the trespassers tres-passers according to law. You will report to this office the cases acted upon, describing in each the public laud from which the timber was cut, the quantity of timber,amount of stumpage paid,and where submitted to the Court, that fact will be stated, with the decision rendered. All moneys col ected. either on account ac-count of timber sold, or stumpage in compromised cases, you will deposit without abatement with the nearest United States Depositary to the credit of the Judiciary Fund, taking triplicate tripli-cate certificates of deposit therefor, the original of which you will send to the Secretary of the Treasury, the duplicate dupli-cate to this office, and retain the triplicate, tripli-cate, and you will submit an account showing all receipts and expenses on account of the timber business to this office for adjustment. I return herewith the paper you enclosed. en-closed. Very respectfully, your ob't servant, Jos. S. Wilson, Commissioner. As General Maxwell designs carrying out the instructions thus received, while believing he will give the whole letter due consideration, we especially direct his attention to the opening of the third paragraph : You will discharge with energy the Juty devolving upon you by the enclosed en-closed circular, having due regard, however, how-ever, to the rights of homestead and pre-emption settlers, and to the circum-ttances circum-ttances of the community requiring a mpply of limber fur milling, manufacturing manufac-turing and other busmen purpose. This, we think, covers the ground, as the- timber so far cut in this Territory Terri-tory has been absolutely demanded by the requirements and circumstances 'of the settlers. There has none ever yet been exported, so far as we are aware ; indeed so different are the facts, that timber 13 being largely imported at present We think, however, the matter is worthy attention by Congress, for when the law was passed, on which the circular and the letter of instructions instruc-tions are based, these mountain Territories Terri-tories had no existence, and such a contingency as they present had not arisen. We respectfully invite the attention at-tention of our Delegate, Hon. W. II. Hooper, to the matter, and also that of the entire Congressional delegation from the Territories, for it is one in which all the Territories aro alike interested. |