The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-05-13
ruu oARDKNEK CASE.
CRIMINAL COURT FOR the DssTkiCI VI
COLU MbtA.
Fxrroarxo roa TINS REPrstie.l
roRTY-sEvENrH DAY. Sst~ydsy, Moy ]

FoRTY-sEvENTH DAY.-SsfsSday' Moy'.
lIS coxr,SukrioS.
Nr May. N the court means to extend its
decision to embrace qoesuo" .u~" 80
beyond the press nj proposition oes'e W " o0ro.
The learned council ON the epPoS.ss 'ue Ia sos-
not only did their objection 70 70 tne examination
whicb ws nrnDose 20 make touching the character
and appesra nee OF the mining title Ia the alcaldes
Office at Lsguinia'. ea! % me iasrodoctson OF any
country. Nov if the court consider that ~ in.
Guided 10 the present proposition, | bag leave to
make few observations.
The CcUsr. Please proceed, thea.
Mr. NAY My colleague has we'll said 10 the
court that the issue which this Jury is sworn to
try ia as TO the truth or falsity Of The memorial
presented by George A. Gardiner to the commits
sioners who adludicated his claim which memorial
contains statement thnt be was the owner of an
extensive mine located in the department of Rio
Verde, In the State of San Luis Potosi, Mexico
There are two things to be considered
First, The title Of this person to that mine and
that question includes the considerati m Of the
deed, which Ia the precise question before US We
nave got to negative the fact of hs bein the owner
OF That mine; and, whether be was the owner
meuts.
Second, Was that mine located in the State of
san LUIS Potosi? That is the geographical part
OF the inquiry In our examination in chief
we're OF course confined to the examination Of The
geography OF the State of San Luis Potos ; and we
old NOT 90 out oft We conceived, when we had
sho~h ttlat tDsre Was no mining title IN the pre-
fects office at Rio Terde-the mining title
which the claim was based, and the only one pre-.
sented to the Commissioners on Mexican Claims
mat we bad negatved that title. We have shown,
IN point OF fact, that that office bad been searched
oy two agents Of the Government at different
times, and that mining title could be found in
1T We have offered evidence TO the court showing
that, In point of law, there could be there
because the project il political officer, who has
nothing to do with the announcement of mines
the granting of possession of them. We have OF
Tered further evidence TO show that the proper
place, under the laws of Mexico, for Dr. Gardiner
TO get his mining title, if he bad any mine in the
State OF San Luis Potosi, was GuadalcaEar. The
Law was read from the printed statute book, and
also given by word Of mouth from the stand by a
learned Mexican lawyer, showing that, under the
laws OF that country, the only tribunals which had
cognizance of mining titles were the mining depu-
tatlons. We gave the names of the mining depu-
tations in the State of San Luis Potosi, five in
number, and also their locations and showed, by
the laws, that if there be mining deputation in
the district where mine ia located, the party must
60 TO the nearest one to the mine to get his title.
As have already said, we have successfully de-
monstrate0 that there no mining title at Rio
Verde, and could be none. That was the only title
we knew any thing about, and rested there.
Captain Barry was called and asked whether he
had found mining title at the acalde's office in
Laguinilas. According to the statement of my
colleague, be had gone there because il was the
county town Of that district, and there being ia
dical officer there in the person of the alcade, he
was determined to carry out the negative, nd show
that there was no mining title to be found in La
guinlilas. He was Intercepted to whether he
had searched the office, and who were with him
He said that be had searched the office along with
Mr.. Mccormick and the engineer Of Queretaro,
and had found no mining title there. There was
then nothing touching that title upon which we
could offer proof, there being title which we
could ind except the one which supposed we
had sufficiently disproved. We examined the wit.
ness with respect TO the topography of San Luis
PotOsi, and showed that he had gone everywhere
within the limits OF the district where the mine was
alleged to be located, and bad found mine. As
the mine was said TO be in San Luis Potosi, con-
ceived, of course, that when we bad proved that
there was no mining title in that State, and no
mine IN point of facrto be found, that there was
an end both Of our research for the mine and min.
ing title We had nothing to do with DR.. Card
ner's mine being in any other State. The title
upon which his claim grounded from the
State OF San Luis Potos; and therefore, if the mine
was shown to be out of that State, the irresistible
inference was that il was not his
1t may be supposed to be necessary that we
should have gone into the States of Guanajuato,
Zacatecas, New Leon, and Tamauipas, all these
being the states surrounding San Luis Potos for
the purpose OF inquiry; but supposed the inquiry
was to be limited of course. to that thing which
was the issue here, to wit: Whether or not there
was mine in the State of San Luis Potosi, On
the cross examination, questions were asked as TO
the route pursued by the commissioners and Capt
Barry, IN going into and coming oct of that
country, which were wholly aside from the ex-
animation and search for the mines in San Luis
Potosl Just az we bad expected, when the other
n
show that DR.. Gardiner had taken his compa Mons
away from Laguinilla5, and shown them some old
mines which he said belonged to him. We had
stated that il easy for him 10 do that bscause
rybod 7 knew that there sort of difficulty
in finding old mines in the adjoining State Of
Queretaro- In my opening address to the Jury |
stated that the mining districts of JaIpan Xichu
and Escaras, were not far distant from the bound
airy Of the State of Sal Luis Potos, in the ueigh
boring States Of Quere aro and Guanajuao. We
did not go into those States to look for mines. III
We had, we might have found these very mines
which we think were shown by Gardiner to Slo.
cum and Abbot. The question presented by his
case Is, where are the mines which be showed
those persons We now want the opportunity 10
prove to the satisfaction of the Jury that the mines
shown by Gardiner to his companions were tbose
Of Jalpan, in which be had no interest and which.
visited
In order to meet the very case now presented, it
being supposed that, as there no mines in the
department Of Rio Verde, il would be necessary
Tor the defendant to go south of La guinilas into
the State of Queretaro, t. the old mines of Jalpan
which were for the most part abandoned on the in
dependence OF Mexico, we thought it requisite to
get the most exact Information in respect to the
boundaries OF the States of San Lula Potosi and
Queretaro. The archives Of the government of
Queretaro were consulted before we visited San
Luis and we obtained from the Governor of Que.
retaro the most recent and authentic map OF that
State, marking its rivers, towns, and other place.
and the boundary between it and Laguinillas
Captain Doubleday has testified that that map was
compared with a map of the State Of San Luis Po-
tOsi, in the possession of Colonel Reyes who, as
Typographical engineer of that State was possess.
ed OF the best maps Of it, and both were found 10
agree in respect to the boundaries. We expect
to show By that map that Messrs. Abbot and
Slocum went directly south, out of the State
of San Luis Potosi, aud into the State of Que
retaro, to the old mines of Jalpan. That the
junction of the Carrasal and Ayutla rivera at the
point at which DIR Gardiner and his compa Mons
crossed them, is four lea CUES south of the State
of San Luis Potosi. Yet when Nessrs Abbot and
Slocum got to the junction, they say they were
probably only third, and certainly not more
than one half, of the distance from the village of
LaguiniLa as to the mines. We further want to
prove, by the testimony of witnesses who have
travelled across the boundary between San Luis
Potosi and Queretaro, and who have seen the
boundary stones, and who know the distance from
the boundary to thoge rivers a matter of their
personal knowledge, that you cannot strike the
nearest riyer-the Carrasal-wiIhin four leagues
south of the southern boundary of the State of San
Luis Potosi The testimony of Abbot and Socum,
in reference to the route which they took 10 the
mines, differs from the testimony of witnesses
which we have offered only in respect to distances
We want to call witnesses whose information ia
more exact than that of Abbot and Slocum who
say they travelled about two miles an hour and
who, without having compass with the m or tax.
ing notes of their route, made out a map of il at
ter they had returned to Laguinas. They had