Wednesday, January 25, 1860 - Weekly Council Bluffs Bugle

From the following letter from L. S. Hills, Register of the U. S. Land Office in this city, it will be seen that the Commissioner of the General Land Office has canceled a number of entries made under the pre-emption act of 1841, on the ground that the settlement was made after the survey for the Railroad was made. These settlements were made, however, before the line, survey, or location of the road was filed in the Land Office, either at Washington City or in this city, and, therefore, no one can be blamed; but it does seem to us quite clear that the right of the Railroad Company did not attach to those lands, until the Company had filed a plat of the location in the General, or local Land Office. If it did not attach before that time, we would like to know at what time the right of the warrantee in a Bounty Land Warrant, attaches to the 160 acres granted to him. Does it attach at the moment he makes his selection out in the prairie one hundred miles from the office, or at the time he files his application to locate the same? In both cases Congress has made a grant of land, and we cannot see any good reason why any distinction should be made between a railroad company, and the poor soldier, as to the time their right to the land granted attaches. We shall recur to this subject again, at which time we may make some observations relative to the right of the Commissioner of the General Land Office to cancel an entry. Without going into any argument at this time, we will say, that the rights of the pre-emptor and the Railroad Company, in our opinion, are subjects for the decision of the Judiciary, and not for executive officers:

LAND OFFICE, COUNCIL BLUFFS     )
                            January 24th, 1860.    )

Eds. Bugle: The pre-emptions proved up and located by the following persons, have been canceled by the Commissioner of the General Land Office - because the tracts claimed "are parts of elected sections within the 150mile limits of the Burlington & Missouri R. Road, where the election was made before the settlements," and the parties are requested to surrender the certificates of location and receive their warrants:

George Boyer
John Brewer
C. G. Bridges
A. B. C. Buck
Wm. Chase
John C. Crouch
Truman Curtis
Aaron Daniel
Isaac Davis
Harrison Dubois
Samuel Dynes
Mark Elliott
Oliver J. Hyde
John E. Jarrett
Erastus F. Landon
John Larimer
Franklin McCurdy
George A. Morton
George Osburn
Robert H. Palmer
Edwin Sheets
E. P. Richardson
Cyrus G. Straw
Robert Wallace
William C. Wright

L. S. HILLS, Register