The hydraulic press., 1860-07-14
Rejected spanish Grants.


j A letter was received short time ago from
United States Attorney General Black, Civ.
ing list of Spanish Grants which have beer
proven fraudulent The information was
furnished to the House of Representatives in
reply to a resolution of that body, calling
for it. This result was arrived at by an ex-
animation of the archives of the Mexican
Government, and many of the forgeries dis
covered through the medium of photo
graphy Mr.. Black says that these archives
furnish irresistible proof that there has been
"an organized system of fabricating land IT,
ties carried on for long time in California
by Mexican officials; that forgery and perju-
ry had been reduced to regular occupa-
i ton; and that the making of false grants,
with the subornation of witnesses to prove
them, had become trade and business
A portion of the grants disposed of as
fraudulent in faser of the 'Government, is
! given by MIR. Black as follows: The Limans
tour claim, Suffers claim, Basset's claim,
Nye's claim, the Fuentes claim, the Tesche-
macher claim, Ellen E. Whites claim, VIM
Bennet's claim, Rose and Kinlock's claim,
James Noes claim, Andreas Pico's claim,
Rafael Garcia's claim, Galbraith's claim, An
tonic Mario Osios's claim, Francisco Pico's
claim, James Murphy's claim, Emanuel
Pratts claim, the Iturbide claim, Hiram
Crimes claim, Mariana Guadaloupe yallejo's
claim, the Luco claim, the Santillan claim,
the New Almaden Quicksilver Mines, Peter
Shewebeck's claim, the Quicksilver Mines of
| Panoche Grande, and the Punte de Lobo's
claim. In relation to the iSutter claim, Mr..
Black says:
"Capt. Sutter asserted that he was the
| owner of thirtythree square leagues in the
valley of the Sacramento under two grants,
one of which had been made by Alyarado
in the year l84l to himself for eleven leagues !;
the other twenty-five leagues was under a
grant alleged to have been made by Michel
toreaa to Sutter and his son. The grant by
Alvarado was genuine, but that bearing the
name of Micheltorena for twenty two leagues
was, without doubt, fabrication 1t must
at least, have been made by Micheltorena af-
ter he had ceased to be Governor of Cali
fornia, and after successful revolution had
driven him from his capital But the facts
from which these conclusions were deduced
were ascertained only after the most thor
ough examination of the archives. The
Board of Land Commissioners and the Dis
trict Court not having that archiye evidence
before the2a, and for that reason misunder-
standing the Mexican system of doing busi-
ness, and the historical facts connected with
the colonization Of the country, decided that
Sutter and his graneee we're eatitled to the
whole thirty three lcagues of land, which
they claanaed.
"That decree would have giyen to body
of spectators entire domiafoa over the
most valuable portion of the Sacramento
valley, including Sacramento City, the capi-
tai of the State, and Marysville, anosher city
nearly as large; one side of the Sacramento
| river for more than Fifty miles, both sides of
the American river for six miles above its
meath, thirty miles on both sides of the
Feather river, besides large tracts of coun-
I; try watered by the Yuba and the Bear Riv-
ers. 1t incladed portions of FIVE organized
counties, and an indefinite number of small
but fourishing towns. 1t took ia some of
tuC iOOb Nisio Ot OtCifd NtSddst1 WHiIA oil z
! filled with inexhaustible treasures of mineral
wealth, and it covered valleys of almostfabu-
lous fertility. The fraudulent character of
! the second, or Sobrante grant, was SO clear
! ly established by the production of the OFF,
cial correspondence between Micheltorena
and his subordinates, that the Supreme
Court were bound to reverse the decree of
the District Court, and reject the claim. In
justice to Capt. Sutter, whose name is his
| torical, ought to add that be is not belev-
| ed to have fabricated the claim himself, nor
did he voluntarily assert its genuineness,
but be was the dupe and instrument of 9TH
: ers"
1t has been asserted that Mr.. Black has
himself an interest in more than one fraud
ulent Spanish grant; that some of his state
ments in relation to the points decided, are
not exactly true; that the eloquent manner
in which he speaks of the forgeries and per-
juries Of others, is merely an outcry against
others, to prevent too close scrutiny into
some Of his own misdoings; but until the
evidence on this head be furnished beyond q
| doubt, we see no reason to impeach his mo
| tlves as faithful Pubiic servant, acting
ably and energeticaliy in the discharge of
his public duties. He is also accused of
squandering $4,000 appropriated by Con-
gresstog get at the bottom ofthese Mexican land
! frauds. If he has performed one-haaf the
good he says he has done, to put titles at
rest in California, he would freely be for
given, if he had lavished four times that
amount in producing the result SO happily
attained.
SINGULAR FREAKS OF LIGHTNfxG.-Three
pine trees, standing between fifteen and twenty
feet apart, in the rear of Mr.. Samuel McBrown's
residence, at Columbia Hill, struck by light
ming on Thursday last, one of them being con-
siderably splintered at the base. The electric
fluid passed thence into the kitchen, knocking