The appropriation asked for preserving the Spanish archives in this office is needed now even more than it was when my last estimate was made. The act of March 3, 1891, to establish a court of private land claims, renders a more perfect system of indexing, as well as more extensive recording, than has hitherto been possible under the inadequate appropriations, an imperative necessity. There will probably be great activity in the way of taking steps to perfect title to Spanish and Mexican grants from now on, and this office, unless its effectiveness is to be destroyed to a great extent, must have an appropriation large enough to insure prompt attention to the demands of the conrt of private land claims and to the inquiries of claimants and other interested parties. With my present clerical force it is with the greatest difficulty that I have been able to keep pace with the current work of the office, and to bring up to date the work that has been left undone in the past under the present conditions is impossible. Notwithstanding the progress that has been made during year just past in comparing, correcting, and recording Spanish archives, there is a vast amount of this class of work still undone. The appropriation for clerk hire should not be less than the sum estimated. It must be remembered that the work which must be done in this office to carry out the provisions of section 10 of the act of March 3, 1891, will necessitate a large increase in the clerical force of the office. Section 16 of the same act, providing for the survey of holdings of 20 years' duration as separate legal subdivisions in township surveys hereafter to be made, will also multiply the work to be done by my clerks. The situation of this office because of the insufficient appropriations for clerk hire has been recognized by the General Land Office, and it will be plain to you that an office which has been obliged to work an hour extra each day for several years that the current work may be dispatched, must be furnished with more clerks as the duties of the surveyor-general are increased. It is hard to estimate the cost of surveying private land claims confirmed by the court, as that will depend on the number of cases brought before it and the length of time required for consideration of the cases which will be pending. In view of the great volume of business that is awaiting the organization of the court, I am of the opinion that a smaller estimate of the cost of surveying confirmed claims can not safely be made. Because of the great uncertainty which will be found to exist as to the location of the boundaries of many of these claims, it is more than likely that preliminary surveys will have to be made that the court may arrive at an intelligent conclusion respecting the exact location and boundaries of claims under consideration. It is therefore my opinion that such an emergency should be provided for. For the good of the surveying service in New Mexico, it is to be hoped that Congress may appreciate the exigency of the case, and that the appropriations made may be commensurate with the demands of public business. Referring to the statement by the surveyor-general for New Mexico of the difficulties to be met, and which appear to be insurmountable as the law now stands, in adjusting that class of small holdings intended to be provided for by sections 16, 17, and 18 of the aforesaid act of March 3, 1891, and especially those claims over which the public surveys have been extended, it being impossible to describe but a few, if any, of them by legal subdivisions, it is therefore respectfully recommended that Congress be asked at it its next session to enact such further legisla tion as will suffice to carry out more fully the evident intention of th said act in that regard. Proper provision should be made for surveying such irreg shaped claims, not exceeding 160 acres, as embrace lands alread veyed by the United States under the rectangular system and closing of the lines of the public surveys upon such claims. Undoubtedly the time within which these original Mexic or their legal successors in interest may file their claims law should be extended. Provision ought also to be made for the publicati partment, in Spanish and English, of such portio this large number of small farmers who have r in the lands they occupy and cultivate in the enumerated in the sixteenth section of the ac CALIFORNIA SPANISH ARCHIVE DEPARTMENT. I quote the following from the surveyor-general's annual report: In the archive department the work of compilation, reported in my last annual report, is still being carred on, and if no interruption takes place will be completed in about 2 years. As the government has expended about $20,000 already in bringing the work to its present stage, it would be a matter of much regret should it become necessary to suspend the work for lack of sufficient appropriation, the necessity for which should not arise. The importance of this department, as shown by the many applications for examination and copies of its valuable contents, becomes more apparent daily, and I very much desire the completion of the work now in progress, in order that the copies being made may be recorded, and thus take the place of the originals, which from constant handling are fast becoming more and more dilapidated. It has been reported to me that there are many of the ancient Spanish and Mexican archives existing in the southern part of this State which have never been placed in this office, as required by law. Should this prove to be the case I shall take steps to have them brought within the custody of this office. LOUISIANA. From the surveyor-general's annual report I make the following extract: Last year I called attention to the fact that citizens were unable to obtain patents on at least 5,900 private claims, solely because this office did not possess a sufficient number of clerks to prepare plats of survey and at the same time meet the many other requirements of the office. SATISFACTION OF CONFIRMED CLAIMS UNDER SECTION 3 OF THE ACT OF JUNE 2, 1858. During the year just closed this office has adjusted sixteen of these claims, and I again call your attention to the reference made in my last report to the remarks of my predecessor, found on page 448 of the bureau report of 1888. E.-SURVEYING DIVISION. The work performed in this division during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, was as follows: 1,965 Pages of press copy, nearly all typewritten Pages of record copied Copies of field-notes: Pages of field-notes copied for official and individual use. Surveying returns: Plats and corresponding transcripts of field-notes of surveys of public lands Reports of examinations of surveys: Special agents' reports on field work of surveys pending July 1, 1890.. Reports received during the year Reports acted upon and disposed of during the year.. 8 90 94 Remaining on hand July 1, 1891 Surveying contracts: Contracts pending July 1, 1890.... 0 Contracts received during the year 167 Special instructions (in lieu of contracts) received during the year.. 32 167 Special instructions acted upon during the year.. 32 Public lands surveyed in the following land States and Territories up to June 30, 190, during the past fiscal year, and the total of the public lands surveyed up to June 30, 1891; also the total area of the public domain remaining unsurveyed within the same. a The figures given for Indian Territory include the area of the Cherokee Outlet, which is 9,790 square miles, or 6,265,600 acres. b The figures given for Oklahoma Territory include the area of the former Public Land Strip, 5,738 square miles, or 3,672,320 acres. e Counted in former reports and hence not added in this column. d This est.mate is of a very general nature and affords no index to the disposable volume of land remaining nor the amount available for agricultural purposes. It includes Indian and other public reservations, unsurveyed private land claims, as well as surveyed private land claims, in the district of Arizona, California, Colorado, and New Mexico; the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections reserved for common schools; unsurveyed lands embraced in railroad, swamp land, and other grants; the great mountain areas; the areas of unsurveyed rivers and lakes; and large areas wholly unproductive and unavailable for ordinary purposes. The area of land in the nnsurveyed portion of the public domain suitable for homes and subject to settlement under the laws of the United States is of comparatively small proportions. MILITARY RESERVATIONS. Names and locations of existing military reservations in the public-land States and Territories, and the area as far as known or estimated with reference to executive orders or authority other than the Executive by which the reservations were established, enlarged, or reduced. [For reservations relinquished under act of July 5, 1884, see list following this schedule.] |