The Clerk read as follows: “The trial of these caseshas occupied the register and receiver constantly every working day, as well as evenings, for near eight.months.during which time between 2 and 3,000 witnesseshave beensworn and examined, and th 'r testinion reduced to writing: and betweenfor and fivot on sanddeeds, documents.aflidavits, and the like, introduced and examined."A generalreport of the facts establishedby said evidence is briefly asfollows: whentheU.S. Government took possession of California, Don may riana Guadalupe allejo was in the occupancy of the ranch of Soscol, claiming to own it by virtue of the front from the Mexican nation, which has recent y (December term. 1861, been declared invalid by the Supreme Court of tieU.S. llis occupancywasthe usual oneof the country, and in accordancewith the primitive habits of the people. He possessed the land by herding stock upon it. genecoranlsVisatlilnegjo, asmilitarycominiindaiite of his district. of all Alta California lying north of the bayof SanFrancisco.wasnecessarilytheloadingper sonagcof thocouiitry. Llisintiuence among the rude inhabitants of the territory was almost monarch ical, and his establishmentwas in accordancewith his influence. His residenceat Sonoinawas the cap ital ofbis commandency, and the peopleof the country for 100s of mi cs aroun looked to General Vallejo for adviceand assistancein business, and for protection and defensein time of trouble. These things are part of the history of California." Q C i S I l i C I t “ We have, therefore, to report that the possession that General Vallejo hadof'Soscol, in 1846.was the usual use and possession of the time and the country, and that it was the bestand mostperfectuseand occupation of which the land wascapable. " ho ranchwasthereforereducedto possessmnby General Vallejo beforethe Americanstookpossession of the country. “Soon after the American occupation or conurst, GeneralVnllcrobeganto selloff portionsof the SO5 eol, and continuedthis practiceuntil aboutthe year 1855, at which time he sold the lasfif it and does not appeartohavehad orclaiined anyinterestsince. This sale und consequentdividin the land into smaller parcels producedits usual 0 ect in the way of, improvements. 'hroni 1853to 1860the ‘ranch of Soscof was almost entirely reducedto absoluteand actual possession and controlbyhis vcnilccs.being by the mfenced jup ipto fields surrounded by substantial inclosures, andimprovedwith expensivefarm houses, outbuildings. orchards, and the like, and was cultivated to grain whhaereversuitable for that purpose. uponit 2 cities of considerableim ur tanoe.name ', Benioia and Vallejo, each of which beenat one time the capital of the state of Cal itornia. “No rural district of California was more highly improved than this, and but a very small portion eual to it. the title to ‘Soscol beforeits rejectionby the U.S.supreme ourt, was considered the very bestiii California. All the really valuable agricult urnlland in Californiawoshcldunder Mozioan rants and as a.consequence.all had to passthe or eal of the land commission." “ From 1&3to about 1860 very few had beenfinally passedupon by the courts, so that during that time the questionfor the farmer to decidewas not what title is perfect, butwhat title is mostlikely to prove so by the final Judgment of the SupremeCourt. “Among the very best.in the opinion of the pub lic, stood 'Soscol. Qne conclusive, nnanswerableproof of that fact is this: that therewasnot a single settleron the grant at the time it was rejected. Not onopersonon it ox ceptin subordinationto the vallejo title. Every resident on the whole tract held his land by purchase from Vallejo or his assigns, and held just precisely the land so purchased und not one acre moreor less. This fact was not even disputed during the whole 8 months of investigation throughwhiohwe have just passed, It is a notoriousfact that of the grants in California which have stood the test of the Supreme Court, very many have been entirely in the possession of squatters, and all with more or less of such possessionsa, nd the final intent hasalone succeededin recovering the long‘ 0st possession to the rant bolder. Therewerenosettlerson the Spscol.’ be people had the most perfect confidence in the title. It had beentwice confirmedby tribunals of the high Staauttchsolarintydacnodmgmreisastiloenaernrsina. ngd – fithrsetn by the Distriot Court of the U.S." " “The sales of lands upon the 'Soscof were made at priceswhich called for erfocttitle; they brought the full improvedvalue of the land. Money waslent on mortgagein thesameway." “Thus stood matters until early in the year 1862, gwrhaennt the intelligence reached California. that the had been rejectedby the Supreme Court. The strugglesoonhogan. The row as at the time employed upon the U.S. nnvyyard at More Island. And also upon the Pacific Mail Company's worksat Benicia, a large number of mechanics and laborers. There was also in the tpwns of Benieia and Vallejo a large floating popplatiop. Temptedby the great value of these lands in their highly improved state, many of these persons squatted upon the ranch. “The land holders in possessionresisted. “The houses of the rent majority of the settlers were erected in the pig ttime, asit wasnecessaryto entertheinclosedfieldsbystealth. These houseswere built of rough red wood boards setup edgewise, With shedroof and without Window.fire place, or floor. They were about 8 feet square, sometimeseight by"ten feet, andnevero V61’ 8feleXthigh. We have no hesitation in saiying that they were utterly unfit for the habitation of humanbeings, and further, that they were never designed lor permanent residences.The modeof erectingtheseshantioswas as follows: the planks were sawed the right length in the townof Vallejo or Benieia.in the afteruoon of the day and at nightfall were londed upon n. cart. About 11 o'clock at night the team would start for the intended settlement reaching thereabout one or 2 o‘clock in the 11101111 Between that liountnd day light the housewould cerccted and finished.Some times the house would be put togethermthniuls.b t when too near the residence of the land holder possessions, crewswould beusedtopreventthesound of the hainmer attracting attention. Very few of this class ofsettlers remainedupon their claims abovea few days but soon returned to their ordinary occupa“tionsin the towns. Generally after they would leavetheland holders would removetheshunt from the ground. Iii some cases they would pull 1 icin down with force immediately upon discovering them, and in the presence of the settlers. "A few of them got settlements near enough to their places of employmentto enablethem to in town or at the navy yard, and to sleep work in their shantics someregularly, others only occasionally. These generally remained longer than the others, but none of this class have remained up to the time of th"e trial. None of the settlerswho went on since the will". Was rejected have attemptedregular in provements or cultivation. A few have harvest the grain planted by the land'liolders: as it row on their quarter they would harvest it. an offer this as evidence of good faith and cultivation. We have no hesitationin pronouncing, from the evidence, that these are not settlers Within the spirit of the preemption laws, but are more speculators, desirousof getting the improvements of another to sell and to make money. "There areon the 805001 a few persops who claim preemption rights, but who occupya different position from the above. They are GIBOHwBho, before the rejection of the treat. pure used small parooll Mr. JULIAN. Of land under“LHPJO, of quantity lessthan 160 acres say from ten up to 70 or 80 acres. ThlS class of persons with some exceptions, desiredto extend the rr boundaries so as to include 160 acres, the amount allowed by the general preemption laws of the U.S. This they could only do by takm 1nthe land of their contermine us neighbors who had bought and were holding under the same title w1thilO themselves. Those who would loseby this encroachment strenuously objected, and contests and conflicts were the speedy result.”