Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1845-06-12
Ohio County.

We suppose that most of our readers are aware
that a suit was commenced in the Dearborn Circuit
Court, at the last term, for the purpose Of testing the
constitutionality of the law creating Ripley and Ohio
counties. From the best information we can obtain,
the case stands as follows:
The citizens of the Aurora and Wilmington inter-
ests employed Messrs. SQuibb and Patterson to survey
the original boundary of Dearborn county. We have
understood that, according to their survey, the area
embraced within their lines falls nearly seventeen
miles short of tho constitutional requirement of four
hundred square miles. A fictitious suit was begun in
the Dearborn Circuit Court between two Wilmington
men, in an action of trespass for breaking and enter
ing closes or, In other words, for trespassing upon
lands. One tract Of land was described as situated in
Ohio county, and another in Ripley county, although
neither of the men who began the suit owned a foot
of land in either county-but that fact was put In
question by the p~leadings. The suit was managed
by one firm of lawyers-one of the firm on one side,
and one on the other.
The defendant plead to the Jurisdiction of the court.
that, as to one piece of land, he ought to have been
sued in Ohio county and as to the other, in Ripley
county. The plaintiff contended that both of the
tracts of land were situated in Dearborn county, as
the laws forming Ohio comfy and attaching part of
Dearborn to Ripley, were unconstitutional or at least
one of them. The defendant then offered in evidence
to support his plea, the two surveyors who had sur
veyed the county of Dearborn to prove that there was
not four hundred squares in 1t; also a map of Dear
born, Ohio and Ripley, with the number of acres, &c.
in each marked upon it, and also the certificate of
Micajah t. Williams, Surveyor General, as to the
number of acres in Dearborn before Ohio was taken
off. All this evidence the Court, and we think cor
rectly, refused to hear the defendant excepted the
opinion of the Court upon this state of facts.
1t seems that in 1877, Dearborn embraced a portion
of Ripley, and bad about five hundred square miles
that when Ripley was formed, they attached to her a
tier of townships from Dearborn, leaving Dearborn
the size she was before the formation of Ohio county
and less than four hundred square miles, if their sur
vey be correct. If that be the case, the first uncon-
stitutional law was when they created Ripley and
if that be declared unconstitutional, Dearborn has
about FIVE hundred square miles, and as Ohio has not
one hundred square miles, of course the law as to her
is constitutional.
1t is the policy of the Supreme Court not to declare
an act of the Legislature unconstitutional unless it is
clearly so. We have nc idea that the Supreme Court
will disturb either Ripley or Ohio, and certainly mol
Ohio county. For when Ohio was formed, Dearborn
had already been reduced below four hundred square
miles (taking the evidence offered In the case Just re-
ferred to as true) by attaching that portion to Ripley,
and the act forming Ohio did not reduce Dearborn be-
low the constitutional quantity, for it was already
done. Whatever will be the result Of the suit, Ohio
county must and piR stand.