to be put to the peril of the Government's refusal to ratify the gift, or to the expense of bribing legislators. But if Mr. Hudson had received a gift of lands (and even "an empire" is not—some who have attempted it say—too great for the task) in exchange for the construction of a transcontinental railway, from the General Government, I think, on reflection, he would consider himself harshly treated if, on constructing the same, the Government should withhold ratification of its gift. And if Mr. Hudson, why not a railway company?
But what is a land-grant, or "gift of an empire," since Mr. Hudson prefers that term? To begin with, it is a devotion or dedication of a certain portion of the public domain to railway purposes. Instead of purchasing it at two or three dollars an acre, the railroad company purchased it by building a railroad; not where and when they pleased, but between certain points, perhaps even through mountain-ranges, no matter how great the difficulties or how costly the construction, tunnels or viaducts, banks or bridges; not at their leisure, but in good faith as nearly within a specified time as human industry and allowance for the uncertainty of human events, financial and physical, would permit. Surely, this is no "gift" or "grab," to begin with. But, on building this railroad, does the land thus "given" become the property of the company? Not yet. There are other details; the land must be surveyed by Government surveyors, and the company must pay the cost of the survey in cash before it can take possession. Even Government surveyors do not work for nothing, and land in its native wildness, where human foot hath scarcely trod, is not apt to recoup much of engineering expenses. Nor is this all. If there happens to be upon the "empire" of land (which is granted by the square mile, and without reference to any map, or former record of grant, by general description in terms of quantity only) any acre or plot already occupied by an individual, Indian tribe, or other company, does the Government guarantee its own "grant of empire" given to this company as a consideration for the labor, services, and material it has exhausted in building a transcontinental railway? Strange as it may seem, the Government not only does nothing of the sort, but in its own general land-office sits as arbitrator between this earlier proprietor or these earlier proprietors and its own grantee, upon its own grant; and appeals to the rule (first laid down by Lord Ellenborough) that, whereas a private grant is to be construed strictly against the grantor, a public grant, from a state to a subject, is to be construed strictly against the grantee! This matter (in which the Government's grantee is made that unusual character, a defendant with the burden of proof) is tried before the grantor Government, is heard by the commissioner whose decision is to be affirmed or reversed on another hearing before another employe of the grantor, the Secretary of the Interior. Or should the contesting proprietor or alleged proprietors elect to begin his or their action for trespass in the local State or Territorial court, it can be car-
