Show CIRCULAR LETTER TO MINERAL SURVEYORS hon edward H handerson anderson of this city U S surveyor general has sent copies oi of the following circular letter to all of the U S deputy mineral surveyors in the state the text of which is that no authority exists in law for the eban changing gink of the course or boundary lines of a patented claim the circular is as follows U S deputy mineral surveyor dear sir referring to official surveys of mining minina claims which conflict with prior mineral surveys that have been patented I 1 have the honor to herein quote for your information and guidance extracts of decisions of the land department showing that conflicts must be shown and exclusions made to conform k to such prior patented surveys viz in letter dated april 10 1900 from the honorable commissioner of the general land f I 1 office addressed to the U S surveyor gen I 1 erol of new mexico he held that you are advised that inasmuch as the nonpareil lode has been patented this office t has no jurisdiction relative thereto and said claim must be recognized as covering the ground for which patent issued the survey of the emma lode should be excluded with out any further reference to the nonpareil lode than is necessary to call attention to the discrepancies therein as marked by monuments and as surveyed A conflict will be shown by the emma survey which of necessity must be excluded should application for patent be filed for said emma lode etc in letter from the honorable commissioner of the general land office dated march 1901 addressed to the theu U S surveyor general of colorado said letter among other things states the contention of the appellant company is that the survey in question was made to conform to the boundaries of the claims surveyed and of the adjoining patented claim as said boundaries are marked or indicated on the ground by stakes and monuments and that such stakes and monuments should control as against the courses and distances given in the surveys of the adjoining claims and in the patents issued wherever there is a discrepancy between said former surveys and the one here in question this contention cannot be sustained the adjoining claims been patented according to the surveys thereof the land department part ment is without the power or authority to correct any mistakes that may appear to have been made in said surveys as long as the patents remain outstanding nor can patent lawfully be issued upon the present survey embracing as it does in part lands already patented to other claimants the survey must therefore be amended as re quiren by your office or the entry must be canceled j I 1 by letter dated june 17 1899 from the I 1 honorable commissioner of the general land I 1 office addressed to the U S surveyor gen eral of colorado in re silver pine et al lodes sur no am the commissioner holds that when a mining claim has been surveyed and patented in accordance therewith the land described therein is disposed of and so longas the patent is outstanding the jurisdiction of the department in regard to that particular tract is terminated it therefore follows that land thus patented cannot be properly included in a subsequent patent merely because years afterwards a deputy mineral surveyor in making a subsequent survey reports to have found the true corners of the old survey to occupy a different position from that reported in the survey which was the basis for patent of the old claim and the same thing is true as to reported discrepancies as to the length and courses of lines of prior approved surveys where such a state of things actually exists the owner of the new claim applied for who desires to include an area in his claim conveyed in a patent of an older claim which as a matter of fact is not embraced in the lines of the old claim as staked upon the ground should procure the surrender of the old patent by the proper method through the courts coarts if necessary and then show in a new patent of the old claim its true position as staked and thus eliminate from the patent the areas desired not in conflict by letter IN from the honorable commissioner of the general land office dated march 6 1902 addressed to this office with relation to the survey of the taurus lode sur no the honorable commissioner states this survey no is adjusted to what the deputy finds to be the true lines of said surveys and instead of to the lines of said surveys as appears in the approved surveys and in the patents this is error and you will advise the claimant that it will be allowed sixty days within which to apply for an amended survey the same to show the lines of said survey nos and as approved or to appeal and that in default the said entry no 2906 will be cancelled without further notice from this office see case of mono fraction lode 31 L D 11 by letter I 1 IN dated may 2 1902 from the honorable commissioner of the general land office to this office with relation to the survey of the troy lode the honorable commissioner among other things states that the deputy surveyor who made this survey reports errors in the courses of the ad joining and conflicting claims for no 95 washington lode lot no miners home lode and lot no highland boy lode all of which are patented claims there is no authority of law for chang inz iner the courses of a patented claim and surveys adjoining or intersecting such lines must be made to conform thereto A new survey is therefore required in conformity with the above named patented claims reference is also hereby made to the decision of the honorable secretary of the interior in the case of the mono fraction lode as contained in vol ai 31 land de decisions c page which among other things holds that the land department is without jurisdiction or authority to correct any mistakes that may have been made in the surveys as long as the patents remain outstanding nor can patent be lawfully issued for lands already patented to other persons etc in conformity with said decisions showing the rule of the department to be that conflicts must be shown and excluded as per the surveys of prior patented mining claims this office must insist in having conflicts with patented mineral surveys shown as per their surveys and patents regardless of the facts as they may exist on the ground and if errors be shown to exist in prior patented mineral surveys then the only relief to be had for the claimants is to surrender all such erroneous patents and have a correct survey made to property properly describe the ground intended to be covered as a basis for a new patent to be issued in lieu of the one surrendered you will please take notice and be governed accordingly very respectfully EDWARD H ANDERSON TJ S surveyor general |