The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-02-25
[FROM our OWN CORRESPONDENTS

memorial has been presented to the Senate in
behalf of five hundred families who have settled
upon tract of land in Louisiana, know as the
"Houmas gfant," which sets forth a case emphati-
cally demanding the attention of Congress and the
country. The title to this land has been in dispute
during more than half a century-and some of the
settlers have been in possession about fifty years.
They went upon the lands in good faith, knowing
the so-called 'fgrant'' to be fraudulent and void
and have remained in possession, relying upon the
legal and equitable action of Congress, and the iu.
dicial tribunals, in declaring the grant nuity,
and in confirming them in their possession as set
tiers upon land which has ever been righteully a
part of the public domain of the UNITED STATES
patent was, however, issued TO the grantees on
the 22d August, 1874. In 1885, Congress pa ssed an
act authorizing suit to be brought to test the
validity of the patent thus issued. The clear intent
and meaning OF this act, was to restore the lands
to the mass of the public domain should the courts
decide the patent to be invalid; but Congress has
been defeated in its equitable ard patriotic design
by the subsequent surrepttious introduction into
the body of an act ostensibly designed for another
purpose, OF clause section entirely foreign from
the objects and intent of such act.
In pursuance of the act of 1885, suit was brought
in the Circuit Court, sitting at New Orleans where
by the validity of the patent in question was nut at
issue. In 1885, at the November term of said court
it was decided that the patent for the lands in this
grant "was issued" without authority of law and
therefore imperative and void! 1t was ordered
that the patent be delivered up to the clerk of the
court, within thirty days after notice of the Decree
to be cancelled If the representatives of the gran
tee had found themselves aggrieyed by this decis-
ion, they had right to seek a remedy by appeal to
the Supreme Court, but no appeal was taken. The
matter was therefore res judicata, and the Houmas
claim stood before the country, under the sanction
of Congress, and by the judgment of the court
branded fraud.
The land embraced by it thus became vacant pub
lie land subject as other public land to be surveyed
and sold to settlers Others 1t will not be denied
that the settlers upon the land needed the aid of
Congress, or the EXECUTIVE, to invest them with
perfect titles; nor will it be questioned, on the
other hand that, for Congress to legislate five hun
dred heads of families out of their homes on the
lands for the purpose of giving this vast extent of
country to two or three other individuals, would
be a most fragrant act of Injustice
Such, however, has been the result of the act of
I'd June, 1858, entitled can act to provide for the
location OF certain confirmed private land claims in
the State of Missouri, and for other purposes So
The intention OF this act, its title imports would
seem to have been to locate certain confrmed'
claims in Missouri. The second section of the act
provides, however, that certain claims in the east
ern district of the Territory of Orleans now Lou
isiana) shall be confrmed-and this includes the
famous Houmas claim, on which are settled five
hundred honest farmers, head of families
1t is well known fact that Mr.. SLIDELL, Senator
in Congress from louisiana owns t,cenfu t,co thou
sand acres within this claim, and that one or two
other individuals claim the remainder of this large
grant Mr. SLIDELL purchased his interest of t,centy
t'eo thousand acres many years ago, from RlGHrOR
and WILLIAMS. Discovering afterwards that the
grant was invalid he refused to pay the remainder
of bis purchase money to the vendors and was
sued, which suit he resisted. The court held how
ever, that he could not recover, inasmuch as the
maxim coveat emptor applicable to the case and
he, as purchaser must take the consequence of his
i'll adyised adventure.
In this suit Mr.. SLIDELL admitted that he had no
right to the lands in the Houmas Grant. But in
stead of abandoning a title he considered worth
less we find him holding on to the claim.
In 1885, ga bill to provide for the location of GER
tain Private Land Gains in the State of Missouri"
&c, was reported in the Senate by Mr.. BENJAMIN,
Chairman OF the Committee on Private Land
Claims, with the obnoxious End section which con-
firms the Houmas claim, and secures to Mr. Sill
DELL t,centytco thousand acres of the public domain
worth more than million of dollars. Thus is Mr.
SLIDELL's title affirmed to body of land embraced
by claim which he in person had denounced as
a fraud when he was sued by RIGHToN.
1t is evident that the End section referred to is
foreign to the intent of the act for the title of the
act shows that it was intended to provide for the
location of confirmed claims, and not for the
confirmation" of located claims, as has been eff.
fected by the interlarded End section.
By the operation of this I'd section, five hun
dred families, many of whom settled those woods
forty years back, and alter enduring the tolls and
deprivations incident to the life of the backwoods
man, have at length surrounded themselves with
the comfor of homes, and begun taste the fruits
OF their labors and their improvements, are to be
driven forth.
The original bill was introduced by Senator GEY
Err, whose character for high honor and rectitude
gave members confidence in the measure and aver
ted any suspicion OF the ruin that was to fall in
consequence of the second section, upon the five
hundred settlers on the Houmas claim The bill
was surprise, and large majority of both Hou-
SEES are claimed to have been entirely ignorant of
the obnoxious provision. =.
The settlers now appeal to Congress for redress
Surely they entitled to be heard notwitbstand-
ing the high position of their oppressors. Unless
there additional facts to these tending to show
that the petitioners have equitable rights in the
case il is due to the honor and dignity of Congress
that the case should be thoroughly investigated.
To throw five hundred families homeless upon the
world is no triaing affair, and, prma acie, the
ed upon fraudulent title in the Courts, came to
Congress and surreptitiously procured a law SUBJ
legalizing the fraud and preserving its
fruits. If Mr.. BENJAMIN was not aware of the op-
Grafton Of his BILL but himself imposed upon by
interruptions parties, he cannot fail to take active
lead now in the move for redress. In any event,
as the petitioners have spread the foregoing facts
before Congress in a formal circular, It is to be
presumed that the Louisiana Senators will demand
re-opening of the case, with view to explanation
and the vindication of their own course.
As anticipated, the House has rejected the Post
office Appropriation Bill by an overwhelming ma
their stern determination not to pass any more APP
preparations until bill modifying the tariff, and
thus providing the money to spend, shall be also
passed. do not believe they will swerve from this
position in the least. The result will be final
agreement upon the Tariff of 'A6, with the Free