Mariposa Democrat., 1858-03-25
THE LATE DECISION.

Stract OF the decision oil the supreme Court OF
the State in the case Of Biddle Boggs rs. the
Merced Mining Company-one of the most i'm
portant legal decisions rendered in California,
or in any other State, as affecting the interests
of so large number of citizens as are the mi
ners here. The Court has decided that the
minerals are the property of the discoverers,
and their legal successors no matter on whose
land they may chance to be.
This is the principle on which the miners
in this State have acted since the beginning
of mining operations, and its correctness has
never, to our knowledge, been legally contest
ed previous to the present suit. The miners
on the grant have labored and expended large
sums of money on their claims-thc company
just sued have improvements valued at about
$s00,0O0-all having been done in good faith,
in the expectation that the rights conceded
by the people at large, and acknowledged in
equity would be respected by Fremont; and
it would have been gross injustice on the part
of the Court, had they decided adversely to
the miners.
But the question was not solely one of
equity. The Court held that but two points
were properly to be considered in making its
award, which were
l. Whether the title to the mineral passed
to Fremont?
2. Whether, conceding that it did not, the
defendant had the right to extract the gold
while the title in fee simple of the land is in
the lessor Of the plaintiff?
The Court say that the title to the minerals
in the soil did not pass to Fremont by the
terms Of the grant, but are still in the posses
sion Of the State, having passed into her SOW
ereignty from the quasi possession of the Uni
ted States, which possession was derived from
Mexico. Also, that the title in fee simple held
by Col. Fremont does not debar the defend
ants from the right of extracting the gold from
the territory in question The decision is in
consoDance with the views of every disnter-
ested person in the State. The government
of the United States has not granted, and
could not if it would, grant the minerals to Col
Fremont else why is it not so set forth in the
patent, for II was solely with view to secure
the minerals that the grant was located where
it is; and if the transfer of them could have
been obtained, it is not likely that clause so
necessary to the attainment Of the object in
. view would have been omitted, and thereby
subject the claim to expensive litigation.
The original grant was not intended to be
located on mineral lands, and its present
boundaries are the third which have been
marked out since the surveyors first com
menced their labors with a view to locate the
grant--each change apparently being rade
to include in its limits greater portion of the
mineral land, until, finally, it has gorged all
that could have been embraced in it by locat-
ing it in body. The grant was for "grazing
and agricultural lands" if we remember Alright
and to that class of land the grantee should
have been restricted, which would have pre-
cluded the troubles to this county nseparable
from the existence of this grant being in it. AT
present the grant is retarding our prosperity
by subjecting to vexatious and costly litigation
men whose enterprise would otherwise prove
of great service to the county. Situated as
the grant is, it is an obstruction to the pros
perity and growth of all the southwestern
portion of this county. TO the will of Col.
Fremont is subjected the introduction of water
8. to the rich placers hereabouts If he chooses
according to the decision of the Legislature
I'm m ~ fork;J fbo oco J,toh 10 tI,,
district across his grant, thus cutting off the
miners from the only river which can supply
them with water The power to cause such
a deprivation, or in other words, to control the
welfare of an entire community, should never
be placed in any mans hands, in any country
especially in free America
What effect will the decision have upon the
construction of Fremont's dtch2 is a question
which everybody is now asking.s If the ditch
depends upon money to be raised by loans on
the grant, or by the sale of portion of it,
we fear that the chances of its being construct
ed are but few; for as the minerals cannot be
conveyed by him, nothing can be expected
from that quarter. If Col. Fremont can con-
troll sufficient funds TO do the work without re-
sort to this means, and is disposed to bring in
the ditch the decision of the Court will not, of
course, materially interfere with the project.
We are among the incredulous, we must con-
fess-our reasons have been given heretofore
though our hope is as strong as that of 9TH
ers; and until the ditch is commenced, we
shall still believe that the great Expected has
neither the will nor the means to construct it.
This conclusion is forced upon us by careful
view Of things as they are and should itprove
otherwise than as we predict we will be most
agreeably disappointed
DEMOCRATIC MEETING IN MARYsvILLE.-A
meeting of the Democracy of Marysville, for
- tbo p,,L; Of al