Congressional Record-House

2310 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. APRIL 8, ment and cultivation of lands granted them by act of Congress, the gress ha£1 the power of disposing of the public lands and prescribing the roles and money to be loaned for six years at not more than 3t per cent., to the regulations concerning that disposition, but that illinois possessed it. That would · tt f W d M be to make the laws of lllinois paramount to those of Congress in relation to a sub· C omml ee o ays an eans. ject confided by the Constitution to Congress only. And the prn.cticn.l result in thiR By Mr. RIDDLE: A paper relating to the petition of Mrs. Laura very ca~e would be, by force of State le~islation, to take from the United States M. Lessessne, to the Committee on the Post-Office and Post-Roa(ls. their own land, against their own will, a.nd against their own laws. We hold the By Mr. SINNICKSON: The petition of David Griner and other true:tJrinciple to be this: that whenever the question in any court, State or Fed citizens of Cumberland County, New Jersey, that the tariff laws re- eral, 1s whether a title to land which had once been property of the United Stat~.s bas passed, that question must be resolved b~ the laws of the United States; bn.t main undisturbed, to the Committee of Ways and Means. that whenever, according to those laws, the t1tle shall have passed, then that prop. By Mr. SMITH, of Pennsy1 vania : Memorial of tobacco man nfac- erty, like all other property in that State, is subject to State l:Sgislation, so far as that tnrers of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, for the rednc- . legtslation is consistent with the admission that the title passed and vested accord- tion of the tax on tobMCO to sixteen cents, to the same committee. ing to thu laws of the United States. - Also, the petition of envelope manufacturers, printers, stationers, ·It is competent then for Congress to pass this bill, at least in ita I and lithographers of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for a change of the prospective character. There is a necessity for this bill. Every law ') law by which the Government secures a monopoly of printing stamped yer understands that in the ordinary modes of acquiring title to land envelopes and cards, to the Committee on the Post-Office and Post- from the Government, the legal title or fee-simple does not pass until ~ Roads. the patent issues; certificat.es of entry under the pre-emption and l By Mr. THOMPSON: The petition of Goodrich & Porter and others, homestead laws, and under the laws authorizing sales, only convey an \, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, that duty on English lastings and serges equity or equitable title. (Carroll vs. Safford, 3 Howard, 441; Frisbie be changed to an ad valorem duty, to the Committee of Ways and vs. Whitney, 9 'Vallace, 187; Bagnell vs. Broderick, 13 Peters,' 450.) :Means. It is equally well settled that while the legal title remains in the Also, the petition of L. Johnson & Co. and others, of Haverhill, Government the statute of limitations does-not run in favor of a party Massachusetts, for an amendment of section 30'20 of the Revised Stat- in possession ·of land. This results from a well-known principle, u tea, by inserting the words " boots and shoes " after the words "Nttllunt tempu.s occurrit t·egi." The resnl t of this is sometimes pro " United States," to the same committee. ductive of gTeat evils, great wrong, great hardship. Let me illns- By Mr. WHEELER: The petition of Mrs. Peter Stryker, chairman trate: A party makes an entry of land and procures a certificate of of the executive committee of Woman's Christian Temperance Union entry from the proper land office. By this he is the owner of an of New York, and of 6,000 temperance and Christian men and women equitable title to the land. He neglects to procure a patent, and the of that State, that Congress appoint ~ commission of inquiry to inves- legal title remains in the Government. He sells the land, receives full tigate and report upon the eftects of the alcoholic liquor traffic on ·payment, and makes a conveyance to the purchaser. The purchaser pauperism, crime, revenue; taxation, and the general welfare of the goes into possession, occupies, improves, and sells to others, who do country, and that the liquor traffic may be prohibited in the District likewise. When the land has been occupied for half a century the of Columbia and the Territories, to the same committee~ heirs of the party who originally entered it procure a patent and By Mr. WOODWORTH: The petition of Ed. McGinnis and 576 other bring ejectment, and at law they may recover, so far as any protection citizens of Youngstown, Ohio, for the repeal of the resumption act of can arise under the statnt.e of limitations. The statute of limitations January 14,1874, that national-bank notes be retired, and that a bond gives no protection~ I know a court of equity might, in so.ch case, bearing a rat.e of interest at 3.65 per cent. per annum, payable in na- afford relief to the occupant. But suppose the first purchaser from tional legal-tender notes, and interchangeable at the option of the the party who originally entered the land has lost the evidence of his \ holder for national legal-tender notes, be issued, the proceeds to be purchase, or never, in fact, procured a deecl of conveyance. In such applied to the payment of out-standing gold-bearing bonds, to the same case a court of equity would afford no relief to the party in possession, committee. unless it be upon the doctrine of a "presumed grant." If, in such case tl1e patent had issued at the proper time, the legal title would have _passed from the Government, and the party in possession could protect himself against an ejectment suit by pleading- the statute of HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. limitations. His defense would be at law. He woula not be required to go into a conrt of equity for relief. SATURDAY, April 8, "1876. In the Virginia military district in Kentucky and in Ohio it is no ' I unusual thing for entries an.d surveys to be made and the issuing of I Tho Honse met at twelve o'clock m. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. the patent to be delayed many years. I know of cases where entries I. L. TOWNSEND. ancl surveys have been made eighty years and yet no patent is issued. ORDER .OF BUSINESS. I have heard it said that in the Virginia military district in Ohio, only ) The SPEAKER. By order of the Honse made yesterday the session a few counties of the State, there are more than 40,000 acres covered { of to-day is to be devoted to debate only, without the t.ransaction of by ancient entries and surveys occupied by parties whose possession l any bnsiness. 'fhe gentlem:tn from Illinois [Mr. EDEN] will resume and ownership date back from twenty to seventy-five years, and yet { the chair. they ~re unconscious of the fa.ct that a patent may suddenly issue to QUmTING L~'D TITLES. some adverse claimant who will or may barrass them with a lawsuit, '·, Mr. LAWRENCE. On the 12th of January I introduced a bill (H. or extort money to secure a H compromise." R. No. 844) relating to land patents, which was referred to the Judi In all such cases I believe that either a court of law or equity should ciary Committee, by whom it has been fully considered and directed and would afford relief to the occupants by " presuming a grant" t.o be reported to the House with a recommendation that it be passed from the original owner of t:he entry and survey after a posse sion by-this branch of Congress. The bill is in these words: which the statute of limitations would protect, if the patent had been That all patents for land which have been or may be issued shall in all actions issued at the date of the survey which perfected a right to a patent. hereafter commenced to recover the title or possession of said land tor all purposes The reasons for this and the authorities which support it have been of any statute or law limiti.ng the time · for commencing actions have effect as if stated somewhat fully in an article which will be found in the Phil issued to the party entitJetl thereto at the time such party was or may be author ized to ma.ke any proof of a. right to such patent. adelphia American Law Register for February, 1874, pages 69 to 76 inclusive. I will not repeat now what is there said. I will state in brief the ground upon which the authority to pass But there are some other rea ons why this bill should pa.ss. It will this bill rests and the object of and necessity for it. quiet land titles without the aid of the courts, at least to such an ex There can be no doubt of the right of Congress to pass it. In Bag tent that those who seek to speculate against occupants by "com nell vs. Broderick, 13 Peters, the l::;upreme Court said: promises" will fincl "their occupation gone." It will settle the ques That Congress .lllvl. the sole power to declare the dignity and effect of a.

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