Stealing Thirty Million Dollars' Worth Of Public Lands

One of the latnst develoimcnts connoctod with thü jobcery at Washington is a recent decisión ot tbe Interior Department by vhioh n railway company is to receivelanda worth SÜO.OOO.Oüü. The following statement was mudo publie somo days ago, and we have seen no denial of tbo faets. In the Act of July 2d, 18G4, Conpress granted to the Burlington and Missuuri lliver Railway Company for an extensión of its road a distance of 220 miles, ton alternr.te seetions per mile on eacli sido of the line of the road, uüdcr certain restrictions, somo of whiob wow - purposely, no doubt - made vague, although the usual constructious of such grants wuuld ijroj:erly ftpply to thia. In the ibllowing year, af ter the comp'ny hrA Bied the map of theil route, tfiey claiinol that uader this lav they wtie not limited to any particular distaiico from the line of the road in selecting the ten odd numbered seotiona per milo on each sido thercof, but tli it they miglit select thein at auy distance lroiu the road that it was neeessary to go in order not to conf'ict with the claims of settlers, and to observo the other cxomptioiis of the law. This claim of the company was allowed by Seoretary Harían in 1866, and lic gave them pormission to select their lauda accordingiy. Under this authority and construction of Harlaa's the company went right on and usted ubout thrce million acres of land in oastern Kansas and Nobraska, tiiking tbc íinest they could find, without regard to the limit prescribcd by their grant. Under Andrew Johnson, Mr. Browning succeeded Harían as Secrotary of tho Interior, and reversed the decisión of bis predeoossor, ruling tbat tlie grant extended tbo right only to twenty miles from each sido ot' tlic road, and that in the absence of the idemnifying clauso in the grant, the company was entitled only to sucb odd numuered sections not otherwise disposed of, and not excecding ten ut inile on either side, asmightbo found vithin that distance. This latt?r and ust construetion gave the company only about half the quantity of land they would havo received under the formor, or omething over a million and a half of cros, bat yet more tban sufEcient to acomplish the purpose of the act. The statement is now made, and not dcnicd, that Secretary Dolano has roversed Srowning's decisión and affirmed Harlan's riginal swindle ' The effect of tuis r(eisal is that this Western Kuilroad Com any will obtain Bome 3,000,000 acres of and, amongthe best in the United States, anging in v;tlue from $2. 30 to $20 per ere, and averaging $10 or $11 per acre, nd amounting in the aggregato sum to 33,000,000 or tbereabouCto huild a local nd comparatively unimportant road, 220 miles in length. This road, leading along he valley of the Platte, cannot exceed in :hc cost of its construction and equipnont tho averago of $53,000 per mife, vliicli would eunoonf to some $7,500,000. Juder the construction of Secrutary Jrowning, tho eompany would receive bout; 1,400,000 acres, which at the average of $11 per acre would auiount to (16,00,000, or about #9,000,-000 more than he requirements of the eompany for tho onstruction and equipiüent of their road. The exposures of land stealing herotobro made, and the manner in which the jress had denounced this kind of jobx iTv, had led to the supposition that the worst had been told. These new revela ions will excite a foeling of surprise that uch brazen robbery should be continued. 'his opens up an interosting field for the nvestigating Uommittee, if they will ony work it up. Perhaps that is too much o expect. - -Aüiarui Araüs. A London husband, poundinp; his wifi!, was attackcd so fiercely by the Umily cat that the womun had to take ícr ofF to savc his lifo.