NEW MEXICO. 



629 



fraudulent entries or not, thereby punishing honest 

 settlers who are struggling for existence against ad- 

 verse circumstances, upon the flimsy pretext that 

 some fraudulent entries exist. 



We charge that the present Democratic Administra- 

 tion of this Territory, by a system of misrepresenta- 

 tion and slander of our people, has driven or Kept im- 

 migration and capital from among us. We are in 

 favor of the fullest encouragement of the mining in- 

 terest of this Territory, believing that the future wel- 

 fare and prosperity of the Territory depend in a very 

 large measure upon the development of our mineral 

 resources. We are in favor of the continued coinage 

 of silver, and the issuance by the Government of silver 

 certificates based upon the deposit of bullion in small 

 as well as large denominations. 



We are in favor of a tariff which will protect our 

 copper, lead, and wool interests. 



We earnestly submit that all the rights and privi- 

 leges claimed by the cattle-owners of this Territory 

 are equally due to the owners of sheep on their re- 

 spective ranges. 



The .Republican party is at all times a friend to free 

 common schools, open to all the youth of the Territo- 

 ry, to be supported by the public revenues. 



We are in favor of immigration to our Territory of 

 good and law-abiding citizens, but are opposed to for- 

 eign corporations coming among us for the purpose of 

 monopolizing our grazing-lands to the detriment of 

 our own people. 



We are in favor of the appointment of a commission 

 by Congress, clothed with full power to settle the 

 land-grant titles in this Territory, and also that such 

 commission be limited to the shortest possible time 

 in which to fairly accomplish the work assigned to it. 



The Democratic Territorial Convention, 

 which was called to meet at Socorro, Septem- 

 ber 8, did not finally convene until the llth, 

 owing to the detention of delegates by floods. 

 Antonio Joseph was nominated for re-election 

 a: delegate to Congress. The following are 

 extracts from the platform : 



We demand the incidental protection of silver by 

 the unlimited coinage thereof, and assert that the Re- 

 publican party has shown itself inimical to our great- 

 est interests by its course in Congress in heretofore 

 demonetizing silver; and that, as evidence of the fact 

 that the Democratic part? is worthy of trust, we point 

 to the restoration of silver as currency, and to the 

 firm course of the Democratic representatives to Con- 

 gress in resisting legislation tending to depreciate the 

 value of this metal. 



We hereby approve of the act of the present Con- 

 gress, providing a system oi arbitration for adjusting 

 the differences between capital and labor. 



We further congratulate the people of New Mexico 

 upon the solution of the Indian problem in our south- 

 ern counties, and the removal of the Indians from 

 New Mexico and Arizona, and in thanking Gen. 

 Nelson A. Miles for the ability and energy which he 

 has displayed, and which have led to such desirable 

 results, and we deem it fitting to call attention to the 

 fact that, in all his efforts, h& has beenably seconded 

 by the Democratic Administration of New Mexico. 



We heartily approve of the bill presented in Con- 

 gress by our delegate, Mr. Joseph, looking to the set- 

 tlement of claims under land grants in this Territory. 



We believe that those persons who have settled 

 upon, and for a term often years or more occupied 

 and cultivated, small tracts or land in this Territory, 

 should be confirmed in their holdings and given good 

 title according to lines established by neighborly un- 

 derstanding, without regard to the strict subdivisions 

 of Government survey. 



With the funding of the floating debt of the Terri- 

 tory and a thorough revision of our revenue laws, the 

 credit of New Mexico could be placed at once upon a 

 firm basis and warrants brought to par value. We, 



therefore earnestly commend such action to our next 

 Legislative Assembly. 



That we favor the passage of laws prohibiting the 

 issuance by county and Territorial authorities of any 

 warrants or other evidences of indebtedness unless at 

 the time of their issuance there be money in the treas- 

 ury to pay them. 



That, recognizing the fact that general intelligence 

 is the only safe foundation for free government, we 

 unqualifiedly declare ourselves in favor of the enact- 

 ment of an efficient general school law by our next 

 Legislative Assembly. 



The platform favors congressional aid to the 

 schools of the Territory, the repeal of laws 

 taxing denominational schools, the exemption 

 from taxation of all school property and pub- 

 lic libraries, the treatment of corporations as 

 individuals, and the prevention of unjust dis- 

 crimination by them against home industries, a 

 congressional appropriation to pay the militia 

 for services in Indian campaigns, and the equal 

 rights of owners of cattle and sheep to past- 

 ure their herds and flocks on the public domain. 

 On November 2 the vote for delegate was as 

 follows: Democratic, 16,249; Republican, 12,- 

 346 ; total, 28,595 ; Democratic majority, 3,903. 

 The Legislature consists of 7 Republicans and 

 5 Democrats in the Council, and 13 Republi- 

 cans and 11 Democrats in the House. It met 

 on December 27. 



Capitol Building. The new Capitol wag ready 

 for the session of the Legislature. The Gov- 

 ernor says: "I transmit herewith the report 

 of the Capitol Building Committee constituted 

 by the act of March 28, 1884. It affords me 

 great satisfaction to be able to smy that this 

 building has been completed in all respects 

 within the jurisdiction of the committee, prac- 

 tically within the sum appropriated therefor. 

 The building is first class in every particular, 

 and in its material, design, and construction 

 the Territory has received the worth of the 

 money expended." 



Publie Schools. The public-school law of the 

 Territory embodies many of the best features 

 of the laws in force in some of the most enter- 

 prising and progressive States of the Union. 

 It provides for a general levy of three mills 

 on the dollar for school purposes, divides the 

 counties into school districts of convenient 

 size, and authorizes the organization of new 

 districts for the convenience of the people 

 upon the petition of ten or more heads of 

 families. It provides for each county a school 

 superintendent, and for a board of three di- 

 rectors in each district. The superintendent 

 has general charge of the public-school inter- 

 ests of the county, apportions the public funds 

 to the several districts in proportion to the 

 number of persons therein of school age (five 

 to twenty years). He is required to visit each 

 district at least once a year, and to see that 

 the school law is properly enforced. The di- 

 rectors have charge of the schools within 

 their respective districts, receive and disburse 

 the district funds, employ and pay teachers, 

 rent or build school-houses, and do whatever 

 they deem best to forward the interests of 



