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Show Irrigation Bill in Legislature. The most vital bill of this session ses-sion of the Legislature was introduced intro-duced into both houses Friday !the grantor in the conveyance I in expressed terms, water rights I may be transferred by deeds in I the same manner as real estate, j , deeds shall be recorded or be- j come void against innocent purchasers. pur-chasers. The fees that may be collected by the state engineer are specified, speci-fied, and it is provided that they j shall be paid iato the state treas jury. That no existing water rights are to be interfered with is specificially set forth iu section sec-tion 73, which provides that no rights acquired under former laws shall be affected. Ic is the purpose of the joint committee as well as other friends of the bill, to rush it i through the committees and ! enact it into law before the close I of this session. ! afternoon. It is the irrigation measure that has been engaging! the attention of the joint com- j mittee,-assisted by State Engi-' Engi-' neer Doremus and Attorney P S Richards, together with authorities authori-ties on irrigation and water rights. The bill embodies 34 printed pages and 73 sections.. It proposes to wipe every law relating re-lating to irrigation, from the statute books, as it is believed that every aspect of the subject is covered by the new bill. The first section of the bill provides for the appointment of a state engineer who shall sup-' ervise the waters of the state. J In the succeeding sections there are provisions for his salary, tbel location of his office, his oath' and bond, his reports to the governor gov-ernor which must be open to thei public, the requirement laid upon him to make hydrographic surveys sur-veys and keep maps of all river systems in the state, giving not-1 ce before making hydrographic j surveys; inspecting all plans for dams and keeping duplicates of the plans, examining the oA, pleted work, inspecting all di-' verting work. j The state engineer shall file , statements indicating the names and post-office addresses of all persons using water from any river system and giving all necessary nec-essary information. Within 30 days of the filing of this statement state-ment the clerk of the court in which the statement is filed shall give public notice that all persons claiming rights, must within six months, file written statements, setting forth their rights to the use of the water, the nature of the apropriation. I the flow per second, the chai-ac-iter of the diverting works, the j extent of the land irrigated, the extent of the water power. A I failure to file the statement bars the derelict from asserting his rights. There is a provision for the' appointment of referees to decide de-cide controversies and the manner man-ner in which the court shall be conducted. Appeal may be made' to the supreme court. It is contemplated that the state shall be divided into water divisions, and sub-divided into districts by the state engineer from time to time.' The governor and the state engineer are to ap point superintendents of divisions divis-ions and supervisors of districts, and also fix their compensation. Water rights may be acquired by appropriation for any useful purpose, first in time, first in right. The bill provides that flowing water is public property, that water percolating through the sou oeiongs to me owner or inej soil, water rights are lost after, seven years of abandonment. ' i irrigators shall have right of. way over public, private and! corporate lands by condemnation, condemna-tion, water rights shall pass to 1 the grantee of land, provided that they may be reserved hT |