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Show MEWTIMBERLAW. 1 Its Importance as Applied to j the Western States. I An Interesting Heservoir Ca39 That ! Aro3e In Salt Lake City and "Which j Ailects Utah. Washington, Aug. 3. The broad J scope and effect of the important act of j Congress ot March S, lS'Jl, known a j the "Act to repeal timber-culture laws, ! and for otiier purposes," are made inan- iit-st by the many and various deci-Isioiis deci-Isioiis and rulings that are now coming j daily from tiie officials of the t'epart-! t'epart-! ment of the interior. Not only does I that recent act repeal the tiin! er-cul- ture laws, but it makes important and I far-reachin alterations ;i!id amendments amend-ments in other laws, all of which liavo : direct effect and bearing in the western I portion of the Union. i The desert lands act is amended so ! as to require, among other things, that i tilings shall exhibit a plan showing the j mode of contemplated irrigat ion and reclamation. of land ami preparation to j raise ordinary agricultural crops, etc., ! and the new law especially requires i that the desert lands aft and the j amendments made to it by tiie late act, . 'shall apply to and be in force in the stale of Colorado, as well as in tite J states named in the origin, tl act." j Then this l ew act oi March o. lS'.'l, j repeals "all laws allowing pre-emption j of the public lands oi thv tuned States." but all bona !ida claims law- fully initiated belore the passage of v this act," may be perlcetcd upon due I compliance w th law, in the same terms and conditions ami subject to the same limitations, forfeitures, and contests, as I if this act had not been passed. In short, the late act relates directly ! to all entries made under the pre-etnp- j tion. homesteiM, desert-laud or timber- I culture laws, and the mere statement I of this fact is sugge.-nive of tiie great I amount of work, ami the importance of f j the work that is imposed upon the in- I tenor department in deciding tin I ! thousands of questions that arise. f ! An interesting case, involving the ! I construe: ion of the intent of Congress I in its acts rei.wive to !!,,; .-election and J reservation lrom entry or settlement ; sites for reservoirs, has just been decid-j decid-j -d by the secietaiy of the interior, ami ; in his de i.-i-ui the policy of Congress, as well as the duty and disposition of the j department, are clearly explained. The eonim jsMoin-r of the general land i office held for cancellation the desert j land entry of .Mary L'. I :i.-f i n-r. for a lot ;oi land in the ."-ait. Lake, L tab, land : district. Tnis was done on the ground i that as the director of the geological survey had reported to the interior tle-' tle-' part meiil ll.i'l the township in which ; these lands are .-Uuaied v. as selected ! for reservoir purposes (under the act ' of Coiigre.-s o! Ociobtr2, lV-Se, the land j in question was not subject to entry j under the ie: crt land act. From this juogment the entry woman i appealed to tm .-eel etary of the infer-! infer-! ior, claiming ti at she had vested rk'ht in the land, by virtue of an entry, im-' im-' provt tiieiits and reclamation prior to I the time notice rea'-hed the local land oliice that the land was withdrawn. r"' j The secretary of the interior, in de- ciding the c:i.-e, quotes from an opinion j of the altoiTey-geiiera!, cu-dming the intent of Congre.-s upon this subject, hi which the attornev-gi-nerul says: The object of tiie act of Oct. 2, lst, isinaiufe.-t. It was to prevent the entry upon ami the settlement and sale of all ot that iKtit of the arid region of the public and of the United States am! all lands which might be designat-I designat-I ed or Selected by the United Slated surveys site for the reservoirs, ditches or canals in sseh system. It was therefore the purpose of Congress by this act to suspend ail rights of ent ry upon any lands w hich would cohie within the improving ; operation of the plans of the irrigation to be reported by the director of the geological survey under this act. ! Tiiere can be no question that if any ; I entry Was made upon laud which was ! thereafter desig-iat'd in a United ! Slates survey as a site for a reservoir, (r which was by such re-ei voT made susceptible of irrigation, the entry would be invalid, and the land so entered en-tered upon would remain the property of the I'ntred Males, the leservation thereof dating brn-k to the passage of ; this act." I Follow ing this rule the secretary of the interior savs that the entry of Mary I E. Bisbirg having been allowed after j the said act. was p.ts.-ed, ihe entry-j entry-j woman acquired no right thereunder, and it was proper!-.- held for cancellation cancella-tion as the law stood at the date ( Dec. 17, lSKiij of the decision by thr commissioner commis-sioner of the general land olliee. Rut Congress, by act of Aug. 3o, 1 !". repealed re-pealed so much of tiie act of ls;s.s as provides for the withdrawal of public lauds from entry, occupation and settlement, set-tlement, and '".ill entries nude or claims initiated in good faith and valid but for said act. shall be recoeu ied and may be perfected in the same, manner as if said law had not been enacted, except that reservoir sites 1 eretofore located or selected shall remain segregated segre-gated ami reserved from entry or settlement, set-tlement, as provided by said act, until S otherxx i.-e provided by law. and reser- I I voir sites hereafter located or selected I j on public lands shall, in like manner, I ne reserv it i rom tie.- oate ot the location loca-tion or selection thereof." It will be pretvived that these provisions provi-sions car.eot benefit the entrywoinan in this case for the reason tiiat the township in w hich the hinds lie was selected prior to the pussa::-' or this law, and by its term-; the land so selected se-lected mu-t rem. "in. segre-.'at'-d and reserved re-served from entrv or set'kment as provided by the act of 1 and this is so, noiwiiustaudhig the circulars to which the h ml office decision refers have be.-n ivm-ind-'d. By set tion 17. of the act of March '', i.V.d. it is provided, that reservoir sites located or seleC'ed. and to be located and selected, under tie- provisions of the to-t of June :;n, iss.i, ami amendments amend-ments thereto, .shad be restricted to : and contain onlv: so much I.ind as is ac-I ac-I tually nece.-sary for trie construction and maintenance oi reservoirs, excluding, exclud-ing, so far its practicable, lands occupied occu-pied by actual settlers at the date uf the location id' saitl reservoirs," etc. In view of these ivstrictivj features, and the fact that the whole township in which L'.isbing's entry is located was selected for reservoir purposes, aud the further fact that the reservoirs, when constructed, may be located upon such portion of the township as not to cover the entry of jffsbing, in that case the entry might be protected if the law under which it was made had been complied with. Therefore, Cue secretary secre-tary of tiie interior directs the commissioner commis-sioner of the general land oriice "to i suspend said entry, to await the action ; of the proper authorities in the matter of the actual location and tiie construction construc-tion and maintenance of such reservoirs; reser-voirs; then, it' it shall appear that the i tract in question is not necessary for the construction and maintenance of such reservoirs, the entrv may lie completed; com-pleted; but if it shall" turn" out that said lands are necessary for the construction con-struction and maiid-naiiee of such reservoir?, then the entry must Lie canceled." |