Show LAND REVIEW pending legislation mr iol hoi mans latest ili id the bagi beginning cuing of this series geries of letters mention is made of what is known as toe the holman public laud land bill and of the bill ing ipg railroad lina grants and it was stated that neither would pass both houses kiouses of congress at the present session subsequently the tact fact was announced that bills had bad been passed by the house of representatives and aad the opinion that they would not get through tile the senate at were rp reiterated iterated mr holman seems to nave have arrived at a ll 11 in harmony with those opinions aud and nas has adopted a very unusual r not to say bliwise course with a view to im securing curing by bv suspension the objects he be fears will prove brove unattainable by the ordinary methods of repeal and straightforward declarations of forfeiture On August 28 he introduced A bill to suspend all laws touching tile the disposal of public lands except the homestead law and for other purposes by which it is provided that the public lands of the united states shall be disposed of only under and according to the provisions of the homestead laws and that the commutation clause of those laws shall be inoperative until the pending legislation affecting such lands shall tie be disposed of or until the present session ot congress Cons ress shall adjourn and that any isolated or disconnected tracts of public laal less than acres may be ordered sold at private or public sale tor for not less than 1 25 per acre when in the judgment of the commissioner of the general land office it would be proper to do sa so during and after tae of measures now before congress relative to railroad grant forfeitures no act done by any of the grantees granlees gran tees shall enlarge their right or claim to any lands cove coreed ed ny the grants nor shall this provision be construed to diminish or waive any right of the united states to declare a forfeiture ol of any of the grants la in a brief letter like this it would be impossible to point out all of atie errors embraced in this proposed law in the first place it violates well established legal principles in attempting to accomplish by indirection that which has keerl found impossible to do in a direct legal manner next it undertakes to prevent persons who nave have made homestead entries from exercising the right to commute their entries which is vouchsafed to them by the laws under which the entries have been made it denies to the persons and their assigns who for waivers ot of legal rights to valuable lands have accepted crip from the government the right to locate such scrip in the manner by law and the terms of agreements between them and the government it undertakes to wipe out ot existence that rule of law laid down by the supreme court of the united states by skien contracts aitu the government are held to run until legibly revoked by competent authority and to iru impair pair the rights of citizens should mould it be carried into effect it would word WOI IE incalculable injury to the progressive communities of tile the northwest and luter tere fere with alvale private rights in every gitlic land tate and territory in the U euion aion it would stop proceedings towards completing every entry that ha been initiated under any other tian tan homestead law and provably cause cau e the suspension of work on every line of uncompleted land grant railroad the commissioner Commissi OHer in the report which he will probably be called upon to in make ke upon this bill should emphatically disapprove its enactment into law hickry N COPP |