Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1854-03-02


Coz. .FREMoNT's LAND CLAIM.-The
California papers by the last mail from
San Francisco, bring the decision Of
Judge Hoffman, delivered in the district
court of California on the 7th Of Janu-
ary, in. the case of the United States VS..
John c. Fremont, appellee. This was
case of appeal BY the United States,
from the decision Of the board of COM
missions for ascertsining and settling
private land claims in California. ON the
claim of Col. Fremont to tract of land
containing ten square leagues, called
the Mariposas grant, the commissioners
having decided in favor of the claim.
Col Fremont's claim rested on pur-
chase made by HIM on the 18th of Feb
ruary, 1847, of John B. AlTarsdo, a
Mexican officer, of the tract OF land In
question, he having three years PreVl-
eusly obtained the grant fFem the Mex=
fcan Governor. The grant was issued
February 29, 1874, on the petition of
Alvarado, who represented that he was
desirous of contributing to the spread
of agriculture and to the industry of
the country, and therefore solicited the
Governor to grant him ten leagues OF
land 'tnorth of the river San Joaquin,
within the limits of the Sierra Nevada, %
&c, without any definite description OF
boundary, and representing that he
could not present plan of it, because
It was on the confines of the wild Indi-
ans, and a wilderness country. The
grant was made expressly Subject to
the approval of the Departmental As
sembly, and upon the usual conditions. "
The genuineness of the grant was not
disputed, but the approval of the De-
partmental Assembly was not obtained,
and it did not appear that the grant had
ever been presented to that body.
Two objections were made to the claim
BY the District Attorney, the first of
which was that the land was not segre-
gated from the public domain before the
change of sovereignties, there having
been no survey of the land or juridical
possession even had the title been COM
plete, and the conditions of the grant
fully complied with. On this point, the
judge, on full consideration and compar-
-fson of the case with decided cases in
Louisiana and Florida, decided that the
description was sufficiently definite to
exempt it from the objection.
The other objection was that the con-
ditions of the grant were never complied
with, and that the title being inchoate
and imperfect, not having been ap-
proved by the Departmental Assembly,
and other conditions not having been
complied with, ne equitable obligation
rested on the United States to perfect it.
One of the conditions was that within
year from the date of the grant house
should be erec.ed on the land, and that
it should be inhabited.
This condition was never performed,
and Alvarado never, in fact, entered
upon the land, although he applied to
the Governor for military force to en-
able him to drive off a body of hostile
Indians who infested it, which the Gov
.ernor promised to furnish him. But
before the object was accomplished, in
the beginning of 1916, the war with the
United States broke out the revolution
took place-and the country was ceded
to the United States, and the title was
subsequently, transferred to Fremont.
1t was urged in excuse for the non-per-
formance of the conditions that the hos
tile occupation of the land prevented.
Fremont on making the purchase made
some efforts to settle and cultivate the
land. But, the report states:
"Being ordered home under arrest,
he employed an agent to go upon the
land, cultivate, and inhabit it. That
agent was, by Fremont's directions, sup
piled with money, agricultural imple-
ments, provisions, &C., but on going to
the land, in the spring of l847, found
the Indians so hostile that he was obliged
to abandon the enterprise. The same
agent twice visited the land during the
following summer but foundth Indians
so dangerous that he was unable to make
any settlement. The land was not final
ly settled until after Fremont's return
from the United States in 1849. But
since that time, the claimant has erected
upon it numerous valuable improve
ments, consisting of dwelling houses,
machine shops, &C., and is now in pos
session of the tract"
The judge discussed the question at
length, considering in detail the various
and the cases cited, and
finally decided that with every desire to
give the claimant the full benefit of eve-
y favorable consideration to which he
was entitled, was unable to resist the
that the objection was valid,
md he accordingly decided against the
Journal.
THREE DOLLAR GOLD PIEcEs.-The t
nnual report of the Director of the u. h
J. Mint, dated the 9th of January last,
ays that the three dollar gold coin, au-