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Show TIMBER CUTTING 0B30LETE LAW. The discussion in the United States Ben ute on the "2d instant, over Secretary Sec-retary Scl.urz' limber policy, waB as amusing as it was severe upon the secretary. The delate waa participates partici-pates in by leading senators, many of whom denounced Scburz' course in dealing with the territories aa "sma!l, I conti'iiiptihlu laiaiucss." They hhoed plainly that lue laws fur the protection protec-tion cf timber on the public land , were never intended to apply to the Rocky Mountain region. Hud the 8.imo Btrint;nt course been pursued fiom the finit, the vast country from tho Miibouri to tbe Sierras would be t)-day a barren wilderness, a desert in fact as it was in name until a few yars ago. It will be remembered that Mr. fc'.iurz defended bis conduct on the ground tbat it was in accordance accord-ance with law. for ivbica be was not responsible, Mr. Sargent asserted that the law'j were obsolete "obsolete notwithstanding not-withstanding they are incrnated in the Ke vised S'.nutea, obsolete bo far as being put in operation ia concerned that the practice is sought to be mad illegal." He referred to the Keviatd Statutes as. a sort of dray-net in covering cover-ing ao many ol the obsolete laws, and to support him, Senator Cameron of Wisconsin called attention to a couple ofsections which provide that, Section 16-5. Every able-bodied male ciliivn of lbs ro-poctiva Btatos resident ibersiUi hi is of ihe hro of IS years and ut:.ljr i-e ago of 45 years, shall bo eo-rollii eo-rollii 1 in l ho militia. beet' on IG'J. Kvivy citizen sbfcll,fter notic ot" his enrollment, bo constantly provided wi:h a g'Hid market or tirelock i:'.' a bore 'rutin ient t'or halls of tho eight-tenth eight-tenth pmrl of a rmued, a lurticient bayo-n.; bayo-n.; aud belt, two spare tlinU, and a knpv-k, a pouch with a bci tlierein to eonttin not Iva Ihaa twenty-fur cart-TiJgos cart-TiJgos suited to tbe bore of hi? musket or firelock, eacti csrtrivlge ty ejntaia a prpo- miMitity of powder or ball; or vfitb a g'HKl ntle, knRi ssrk, shot pouch and pj.vdor bom, twenty lialls suited to the tro-e of hi- rillj, ai..l a o,ua:ler of a K)und of powder, Oti. The abcTe provision of the Revised Statutes is ia force, as much aa tbe timber laws with reference to the Rocky Mountain ttrritories; yet who wesld think ot entorcing it? Probably Prob-ably in the future some secre tary of war may have a soul as expansive as that of tbe gniiod gentleman who stands at tba heal of the iuter.or department; depart-ment; some wir secretary whose ideas of fjliowing tbe strict letter of the law will be as mechanically correct cor-rect as those of M. Schuri; then we will al! Ii..ve to enroll in the miiilia, CA-t aaiJe air breech -lenders and our improvni needle guns, anJ rtturn to tho fizzing, tUihint: musket, to the knapsack of cur la then?, at,d above uI! to eu;ip!y t urse'.ves with two spare 11 its. We can imjgine Mr. Scburz, ;t3 toe war eecretary, issuing his n. ao Lite, and i io consequent run lb .1 would ensue upon museums and pr.vate duelling for flin's. Accord ing to the logia of Mr. Bcburz and the contlemen whosustain him in strictly enforcing tbe limber law, the cabinet officer who neglects to put in eflect i the militia sections ia derelict in his duty. Up to the time ol the pasi&ge of tbe Revised Siaiutea, a Uw was in 1 force in tlie Disord of Columbia, which read aa fjliows: '1 h&t if any per too ah al I hereufur, within this proTinc, will i ugly, mali-1 uiously, and advistdly, by writing or1 p akiug, blanpheinu or curse (jd, or oony our Svioui Je-us Cbriit to bo the Son of God, or shall deny tho U!y Trinity, tho Father, Hon ai;d,Holy Ubosi, ir tho Godhead of any of tbe threg jiorrisns, or tho unity of tha Uodflead, or dull utter any profane words concerning tho Holy 'Irinity, r any i.f the person ihoNuf, and ahull bo thereof convicted by vi-rdict, or citntuiun, shall, fur tbo llrdt "!t:nce, be bo ed lb:ouh ihu tungufl and lined twenty jiound3 sterling to tlio lord proprietor lo bo ttpplit-d to the use of tbe country where the olleQso shall b coni-mitud, coni-mitud, to bo levied on the otlondor' Ixijy, good.i and chattels, lands or tone-munU, tone-munU, and in cmbc tho said line cannot be levied, the olldnder to sunor (ii monihs' iniprivonnient without bsil or uiuiuprise; aud that for tho second ott'ont, the oHendor being thereof convict as nforciaid, shall bo stiginalized ly burning burn-ing in the fo.ahead wun tho letter B and tli.id forty pounds storling to tbe lord proprietor, to be applied and levied as I fcl'or-Bai i, and m ca-e tbe same cannot, bo Inviid, the oH'cnder shall suifertwelve niontbti' iiiipristinmont without bail or j mumnrbe; and ibnt fur third otfeuee, tho oil -ruler being convict at a'oreiai-J, shall sulUr diaih without tho bene lit of the clergy. , I It is fortunate for Bob Ingersoll, and our own Judge fiennult, and tb 1 crowds wbo believe, or rather disbe- i lieve with tiiera, tbat Mr. Ctrl Schurz had not the administrationof that law, or it might have been revived to their peril. Tbe judge's tongue would have long flinco presented the uppoir-tuice uppoir-tuice of a pepper box lid, aud his broad forehead would be too narrow for the massive B; while tho eloquent elo-quent Bob would bo writhing in ihe late hell without tho benefit of clergy. The secretary of tbe interior is too narrow a man for an officer of this government. When he talks about tho "great forests on the mountains ol Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Color- for tbe press, he simply talks non Benec, and ehowa his inexcusable ignorance of the couulry and his unfitness for administering tbe ufTurs of so important a department as the interior. Thero are no vast forests anj where in this region: nor is there timber here that iu other sections would even Umpt the axe of the woodman for his cutnp fire. To require a tax from !he li irdy miner and horny banded farmer, who are forced from circumstances to content themselverj with this scr ib limber, is a despicable extortion, unworthy the government, and without authority iu actual law or justice. |