PAPERS OF MIRABEAU BuoNAPARTE LA.MAR 173 the work until such returns were made as would enable him to proceed in the discharge of that duty without future embarassment or difficulty. Had a different course been pursued, and patents issued indiscrim- inately without the necessary maps, one of the unavoidable conse- quenses would have been the granting of two or more patents to di:Q'er- ent individuals for the Rame or a portion of the same land, which would have produced such a general distrust of their validity as to render them almost valueless in the hands of the holder. Nor could the Execu- tive perceive any serious injury which could result to the honest claim- ant from this delay; for he who holds a certificate founded on a just claim and legally acquired, cannot be dispossessed of the right which it confers either by the Government or by individuab:, and he is there- fore as secure in the enjoyment of his lands, without a patent as with one; and the only advantage which he is likely to derive from a patent, is the facility which it might afford him in the disposal of his laml- an advantage which would be destroyed if the patent had issued here- tofore under circumstances which must have rendered its validity ques- tionable. Insted therefore of being injured by the temporary post- ponment, the holder of a good certificate will be greatly benefitted by it, for the delay may be the means of his receiving from the Govern- ment a patent which will admit of no dispute. Not withstanding my desire to issue patents to lands legally claimed, I have nevertheless been forced to entertain doubts of the propriety of doing so, until some further legislation could be had upon the subject. That extensive frauds were practised in obtaining certificates of Head rights from some of the' Land Offices had become a matter of such notoriety, as almost to make it a part of the history of the land claims. At all events the _rumors of their existence were too strong and fre- quent, to permit me to pass them by unheeded; and of consequence I felt it to be my duty to institute an enquiry into the condition of the seYeral Offices, to ascertain the manner in which the business c.,f •issuing these certificates had been conducted, and if fraud had been practised, to expose the same to the consideration of Congress. Agents were ac- cordingly appointed to make the desired examination, the result 97 of whose investigations, I regret to say ham not only confirmed the gen- eral suspicion, that a large number of Certificates have been is3ued illegally, but have also satisfied my mind, that a still larger number beyond their Scrutiny have been obtained by the most unlawful and· corrupt means. The reports of the different Agents are deposited in the General Land Office; but· being considered too voluminous to lay before Congress, a brief abstract has been furnished by the head of that Department, and will be found accompanying his Official Report. Whether individuals who haye no claim upon the bounty of the nation, and who have attempted to defraud it of its rights, either by the production of forged testimony, or by invoking- the aid of perjured witnesses, shall be permitted to participate in the benefits conferred by the law on the honest settler, is now most respectfully submitted to the consideration and wisdom of Congress. The difficulty of passing any "A lengthy report of the investigations made by the Committee on Public Lands is printed irr the Telegr~h Olrtd Texas Register of Dec. 25, 1839, a -copy of whicb. is in the Texas archives.
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