The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-05-14
raE GARDINER CASE
,,S.L COURT FOR THE DisrKioi oT
RlMiNA COLUMBIA.
rnrnnprsn FoR THE REPuBLIO.J
FoR THE REPusLiS

Mr.. MAY. bring a map here , Gs soe vbsrs bv
Queretaro. obtained from r ,sd : COW Of The uan
law II ought 10 pe n,nH go to Annapolis and ask
OF Maryland, s,,nish me with the beat copy OF
,n Nan of that State. he coot. ~voiu give more
VOC AIsp -, ,,,rn copy than one OF the sams State
respect 70 " Nh Carolina. The States OF Mexico
obtained , ~ Ihsir own boundasies, and their maps
lay iu,iv, of these boundaries are the best evil
conur should like 10 have some authority
III clarence to that fact, because do not place
nuch reliance on any map
Mr. May l am going on TO show that this map,
oht,ipsd under these sanctions, was afterwards
compared with another map Of the two States OF
Querstaro and San Luis Potos, in the possession
OF the colonel of engineers who was laying out the
roads in the district Of Lagunlas. We will bring
the witness who made the comparison to fortify its
accuracy.
The Cousr. That 10 the sensible way Of pro-
ceedlng.
Mr. MAY That ia what wish to do. I am now
proceeding link by link.
Mr.. CAaLrsLr. / deny that this map ia entitled
to any more credit because Mr.. May received it
from the governor.
The CoURr. The fact ia this: The original sur
yey Is kept in the proper office. Copies are made
from that, and they are sold TO any one who pays
for them. The governors map il no better than
any other one. | never saw q reliable map in my
life. have already decided that map IL not evil
dence by itself. A witness may take it, and say
that such place - properly located; that 1t ID
surrounded by such and such natural objects.
When that ia done, the jury may take the map
and examine il in conjunction with what they
have heard. lt was a mistake to suppose that
admitted DisturuelPs map because il came from
the State Department That language may have
been used; bat the ground upon which the paper
was received was, that it was recognised in the
treaty of lS4S. 1t was permitted to go to the jury
out of respect TO the acts OF the Government;
though reluctantly, because | had no more conf
dence in that than in any other map.
Mr.. CARLISLE. think we have now arrived at
the fact hat what is proposed to be given in evil
dence ia wholly i.materal
The CoUsT. If MIR. May had made map at
the bar, 1t would be as good as the map from the
governor, provided anybody proved that the places
were laid out on II correctly. When IT - proved
that places are improperly laid down on map,
the jury take it and examine it In connexion with
the evidence.
Mr.. MAY. If we show that map is accurate
with respect to forty places, cannot the jury pre-
sumo in favor of ITS general accuracy
The Cousr. think not.
MIR. MAY then exhibited to the court the copy of
the governors map, which had been projected at
bis suggestion, on auGDhIarged scale at the Coast
Survey Office.
The court then adjourned until 10 O'Clock on
Monday.
FORTY EIGHTH DAY-Mondoy, Nay 9.
The court was held to-day in the cham Der of the
aldermen.
Captain Doubleday, recalled.
Mr. MAY Did you see the mining title which
was In the alcalde's office at La guinillas?
.Ans. / did.
CUES. Did you examine it carefully
.Ans. Yes, sir
Ques. Describe its appearance to the Jury.
Mr.. BRADLEY The witnsss has been examined
with reference to this matter in bis examination in
chief We would like to have the rule fixed.
Mr.. MAY. This is the same question which has
been asked Mr.. Partridge.
The Cousr The court is of opinion that the sues-
ton may be put.
Vitrlfss. 1t seemed to be stained very evenly.
The stains were very much of the same tint. 1t
was not unequally stained, like the rest of the pa
pers to the right and the left of it. They bad upon
them what were apparently water stains. These
water stains were of a different appear from
those on the mining title. The water sta ms on
the pa pers to the right and left Of the mining title
fitted each other. There was large water stain
on the paper preceding the mining title which
hIted exactly TO a stain on the paper which fol
lowed il.
Owes Were the stains upon the mining tits'
Ans. They were not
Cues Did you make a comparison with view
of satisfying your mind as TO whether the stains
fitted each other?
Ans Yes, sir. II sewed the back, and
the edges In several places not stained, but
were Of a brilliant white, like paper.
suss. Did you read the paper through
Ans Yes, air; two or three times.
St1es Was the Huesteca range of mountains, or
CerTo Gordo, mentioned?
ans. Neither was mentioned in il.
Sues Are you clear upon that poinR
-iBs. Yes, sir. My attention was called TO the
fact, and went back and made special kamina
ton to whether they were mentioned or not.
IL struck me an extraordinary circumstance
that they were not mentioned. am certain that
they not
eass Have you visited the State of Qusretaro2
Ans. Yes,
eeass. Describe its northern boundary linee
-dns. COPIED it's northern boundary line from
the map OF Rueretaro.
Mr.. MAY. Did | understand you to testify the
other day that it was seven leagues from the tow n
of Laguinlllas TO the southern boundary of San
Luis PotosiP
Ans. / did not measure the distance with
scale. said that it could not be than that
Mr.. BRADLEY. How far is this admissible as
rebutting proof1
The CoURr. do not think that the last question
is within the rule.
Mr.. MAY. IL for the purpose of expl anation,
and / understood the court to state that might
always get that when we desired it.
Cues. 10 the witness) l understand that you
did not scale, but that your answer was
merely conjecturaR
Ans. judged from my own map. At the time
copied the southern boundary of the State of San
Luis Potosi from the map which | obtained from
the Governor OF Queretaro, the scale which accom-
pauleo II had been mIslaid or lost. The scale was
folded under, and was torn of. There 10 an mac
cUracy in the southern boundary of the State OF
San Luis Potosi, ked in my map, in conse-
qucnce OF the loss of that scale.
Mr.. MAY. i understand when you projected
your map Of the southern boundary of the State of
san Luis Potosi that you consulted the map Oh
tanned from the Governor Of Queretaro for that
purpose; but that the scale which accompanied
II being lost you made inaccuracy in locating
that southern boundary your map, which you
now discover, the scale having been found, by
comparing il with the one from which you copied?
1yis Yes, sir.
the CoURr. He has stated that plainly as he
could so before.
Witness. ] would like TO state the circum-
stances attending the marking Of the route on my
map. did not make the whole of the map my
self from actual survey; it was imp possible for me
to have done so. | compiled 1t from ms ps of the
States of Queretaro and San Luis Potosi.
Mr.. BRADLEY. You need not state where you
got the map from. We have nothing earth to
do with that.
Here lengthy discussion ensued in reference to
the admlssibility of maps and the boundaries be
tween the States Of Queretaro and San Luis Po
tosi. Alter which the court made the following
decision:
The Cousr. The United States propose to ask
where the southern boundary of San Luis Potosi
10; and they exhibit maps, saying they are going
to show where The mines of Jalpan are, which
they say are the mines shown by the defendant to
mis- witnesses. .......
Maps are generally not evidence by themselves
they mere diagrams. So far locations ara
shown to be properly made on ma ps, the two toge.
Their are evidence, when thar evidence ia otherwise
competent
Explanations may be made as to any error the
witness may have fallen into and is desirous Of cor
recting-that il, what he has actually said and
erred IN saying llyt rr<-